Last September I underwent brain surgery and in mid-October I was given the thumbs up to ride Z1 - Z2 and monitor my HR and head. This was perfect timing, as my 32 week plan started in the 3rd week of October. Currently I have no imposed restrictions.
What I was not able to do was a power test. My last reliable TP was just before the crash in late June. Both Golden Cheetah and WKO5 indicate my measured FTP as 187W (ugh) and my WKO5 modeled FTP as 215. Back in June it was considerably higher. I realize that this time of year a drop is to be expected, I’m not worried about that.
I’m in the final week of hypertrophy. I see that upcoming workouts are still mostly Z2, some Z3.
I am wondering when I can slot in a power test. Or should I use the modeled FTP (I feel, by RPE, 187 is too low)? Or does it really matter at this stage?
Thanks.
BTW, I’m really enjoying the 32 week plan, especially the weights.
Happy to hear you are recovering from Brain surgery! Good that you are able to ride and workout again.
Yeah your power will be lower. For right now just focus on the weight and strength training. Use the lower FTP but also perceived and exertion and heart rate. You don’t want to complete a field test now, especially during the hypertrophy phase, the results will not be a true indicator either.
You will get your first field test after completing the strength and resistance program and before starting the sweet spot training when hit certain power targets gets more important!
So hang in there. You will be ok. Don’t stress about the models all that much right now. I know the WKO one goes off your peak power numbers, even just short ones such as 1 minute and without doing testing through the whole power curve that number won’t be as accurate as it can be.
I have little doubt your FTP will come back up after several weeks of sweet spot training especially after completing the strength and resistance program. You are going to be stronger. Trust the process.