Ramp It Up (But Not Too Much)

It’s a while since I’ve done a Zwift ride that’s heavy on new experiences and screenshots to take. Today’s Ramp Test puts an end to that.

I’m going to drop a spoiler right at the start here – which you may have already seen if you follow me on Strava:

Final FTP: 228w.

This is down from my most recent 20 minute effort, and also below my yearly target of 230w. But I think it’s fair, and I learned a lot. So I’m going to share all that with you in this post.

• 

• 

• 

Not pictured in this post was my warm up ride. I did about 20 minutes around Zwift’s London classique route. I’m wondering if I perhaps over exerted slightly during my warm up. Probably not. Hard to say. I consciously had to reign myself in a couple of times, but I felt like I needed to loosen up my legs all the same.

I should say that I took three rest days between this ride and my last. This was on purpose. I knew I needed to do a ramp test ahead of the forthcoming Zwift Academy, and also the Garmin keeps telling me I’m in an unproductive training period, so figured a few rest days would do me good.

That turned out not to be the case. As above, my FTP wasn’t improved upon from the rest. My legs definitely felt better today than any of the last three. I’ve had tightness in my thighs all week, but today they felt alright again. So no excuses there.

But after this ride the Garmin still said unproductive. Ahh well.

• 

• 

As part of the ramp test workout you do get a five minute free ride to warm up also. Id taken a short break between my warm up ride and starting the ramp test. Talking at most a couple of minutes. A toilet break and of course, having to reload Zwift. Sigh. Again, don’t think that had any bearing.

I found myself having to reign it in again during the 5 minute warm up freeride. I tried to stay as close to 100w as possible.

I must also confess I was pretty nervous, or maybe apprehensive is a better word to describe how I felt as I started this ride. Previous formal FTP tests haven’t been overly fun for me.

I think perhaps the most crucial thing to note when taking the ramp test is that the minute increases are not enforced.

At least as not as I understand it.

If you get to e.g. 300w, and then the next arch hits and you are asked to jump to 320w, you don’t fail the workout if you make it to the next arch but you’re still at 300w.

I maybe wrong here, and if I am, please do let me know in the comments.

• 

• 

This is an important thing to note as I feel that I perhaps could have continued just that little bit further but ended up kinda giving up when the next harder minute kicked in towards the end.

I’d love to see stats as to how many people give up around the arches versus in the middle of the minute. Something about those arches really does ramp up the mental difficulty factor of the workout.

Upon starting out I probably messed up by going a little over wattage early doors.

Again, I suspect many do this.

Those wasted excess watts early on come back to bite only a few minutes later.

And it really does feel like a few minutes. When compared to the 20 minute test at any rate. The 20 minute FTP test is absolutely brutal. This, by comparison, is much more manageable. It’s not fun, don’t get me wrong, but it’s over so fast that I wasn’t in the same sort of pain that I am in after the full FTP test.

• 

• 

With that in mind, I think next time I wouldn’t be quite so apprehensive going into the test.

Perhaps I’d done a bit of over thinking. Or maybe put a bit too much pressure on myself.

One of the on-screen prompts throughout does mention how much of this kind of test to your limits is as much mental as it is physical.

I’ve not been in a great place, mentally, over the last several weeks due to a bit of a horrible contract I’ve been working on. That ends tomorrow, thankfully. Maybe I should have waited? Then again, is a ramp test any way to celebrate my freedom?! I think not.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

I’d definitely recommend taking at least a couple of very easy, or rest days prior to doing this kind of test. Being at your best – mentally and physically – is super important as the pain ramps up.

Again I think mentally I wasn’t super well positioned to tackle this one today. When the going got tough, I wasn’t in a position where I truly wanted to keep going. In hindsight I know I had at least a few more seconds left in the tank, and I think that bit does bug me that I gave up before I was truly physically exhausted.

Mentally I was done though.

• 

• 

It doesn’t sound like much to hold 260w, 280w… even 300w for a minute. And normally it wouldn’t be.

But cumulatively, with no respite, just ever harder, it’s knackering. And whilst I keep saying it, it’s really important to stress how mentally fatiguing I found this as well as the physical side. I think I was greatly unprepared for that.

I’m really glad I did the test, especially prior to the start of Zwift Academy, as it’s important to do the workouts at a level I can sustain. I’m certainly not one of those cyclists who wants the highest FTP they can have, purely for bragging rights. I find the figure to be very helpful for setting the right levels in terms of workouts and personal fitness goals. Sure, seeing it increase is nice. But with those increases comes ever harder workouts, and that can be just as off-putting as chasing the increase can be motivating. Kinda a weird double edged sword.

So there we go. I came out of the other side with a revised FTP of 228w.

I feel this is a fair assessment of my current ability. I’m definitely down on where I was. I know this and was already aware of it after struggling with the SST session a few weeks prior.

Partly I out this down to weight loss. I’m significantly under where I started at a year and a half ago, and whilst I haven’t weighed myself in a few weeks, I suspect I’m still around 65kg. This is down from 73kg when I started, and around 67kg when I set my highest FTP figure earlier this year.

I’m not unhappy nor disappointed with the drop in FTP.

I was unsure how accurate the shorter ramp test would be, but I think the outcome is about spot on. Bit of shame it’s not at 230w for personal goal reasons, but I think as a marker for my current fitness I’m happier at 228w than 238w which was killing me.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Would I recommend this as an alternative to the 20 minute FTP test?

Yes.

However, I’d say the 20 minute test is a more accurate initial measurement.

I think if all I had done was this test, I wouldn’t be quite so sure of its legitimacy. But having done the “full” test, and this, and road tests, I can be fairly confident that it’s about as accurate as I am going to get without a true 20 minute effort.

I’d do this test again more readily than I would the 20 minute test, that’s for sure.

I also would definitely try harder to keep pedalling until absolute exhaustion, rather than giving up at hitting the arch and seeing it jump by another 20w. I think I should have kept pedalling a bit longer even if I couldn’t keep up the target watts. This may have been enough to see me through for those last two watts to hit 230. Or maybe not.

The only way to find out is to redo the test!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the differences between the Ramp Test and the “proper” 20 minute FTP test. Did you do better in one, or find them both equal? Leave a comment and let me know.