Welcome New customers & Threshold Testing

We're very happy to welcome so many new customers this season. We encourage you to dig-deep into the rich features of the ErgVideo product, and take advantage of the comprehensive library of training sessions and even free training plans offered by ErgVideo and world-renowned coaches.  If this is your first ErgVideo newsletter, you can read the previous editions at our archive page.

Many new customers have asked me about the Threshold Test ErgVideo, the role of testing, and the threshold setting itself when riding ErgVideos. This a great time to review that information, since most of you in the northern climates are just restarting your serious training for next season, and those in the south may want to take a snapshot of fitness just as outdoor training resumes.

5-time National Champ Glen Rendall leads you on the Treshold Test

If you hang out a little on the internet, you probably know that the discussion of fitness testing can go on forever, and all sorts of experts will weigh in on whether Functional Threshold Power, Lactate Threshold Heart Rate, Anaerobic Threshold Power, Max Aerobic Power, or VO2max tests are the best indicators for your cycling performance. I've never met two experts or coaches who agree on everything, and more often, they seem to agree on nothing! It isn't practical to try to please every internet expert by providing a special test tuned (or user-tunable) precisely to their "custom requirements".  It would only complicate our product and confuse our customers who really desire simplicity, and appreciate ErgVideo for its profound ease of use.

We selected the threshold power test because it yields a simple, uncomplicated, and unambiguous single number. It's easy to understand that if the number gets bigger from one test to another, you are getting fitter for cycling and triathlon. No ratios, no math, no graphs. We also chose it following the immense popularity of the test and the "FTP metric" as described in Training and Racing with a Power Meter, by Hunter Allen and Andy Coggan, and used in TrainingPeaks WKO+ software. The test is purely performance based; it does not require needles to measure blood lactate levels, it is simple, repeatable, and above all, it can be self-administered. You do not need to hire a coach or an expert to supervise you during the test**.

 Glen's rhythm is fluid and smooth.

The actual definition of the FTP is the maximum average power you can sustain for a 60 minute period. The threshold test is a simple "timed" time trial, where you chose either a 20 minute or 60 minute test period. To be most accurate, the 60 minute test is preferred. The result of the 20 minute test can be used, but it is scaled to estimate your average power that you should be able to do in a one hour trial.

Your results will vary depending on how well warmed up or "pre-fatigued" you are. Repeatability of the test is important, and you must execute the same warmup protocol whenever you test. For this reason, we made the warm-up NOT user adjustable. It consists of some easy riding, then a long interval at threshold, and a few short over-threshold intervals. Of course you can adjust the intensity of this warmup (like all ErgVideos), but you should execute it at the threshold power setting from your most recent test, NOT necessarily your personal best! The test protocol always begins with the warmup, and automatically progresses to the test phase. You cannot reach the test phase without performing the warmup. This is for your physical benefit, AND it is to ensure you calibrate your CompuTrainer while the tire is sufficiently warmed-up, right before the test-phase begins. All of these factors contribute to the accuracy and repeatability of results.

The warmup is executed in the familiar Erg mode, as with all ErgVideos. This keeps you on target for the warm-up session. The test itself, however, is executed in "course" mode where you can ride at ANY power level you choose by changing gear and pedaling faster or slower. In this case, the CompuTrainer is only measuring your output power against a load; it is not actively controlling your power as in Erg mode. You should ride as hard as you can sustain for the entire test period. You are presented with a constant grade, so you don't have to become skilled at optimizing your power for changing terrain: it won't change. Just adopt a pace and try to hold it. Most people find they over-estimate how much power they can sustain at first, so it is wise to start conservatively, and ramp-up the power later on if you can. When the test ends, ErgVideo automatically computes and presents your results. A whole Multirider studio of 8 riders can be tested at once.

You ride the whole session, from warm-up to the test, with 5-time Canadian Champion Glen Rendall. He is smooth and focused, perfectly rhythmic and spins quickly throughout. He's perhaps the perfect pacer.

You should enter test scores in the ErgVideo Ride designer (and Multirider session configuration) boxes marked "Actual Threshold Power". This is a quantity that you can only change with better training or by choosing better parents. Only change it after a test when a new score has been achieved. For MOST ErgVideo sessions you should also enter the same number in the "Threshold SETTING" boxes when you configure a ride. This way, you will feel power levels at the correct proportion to your own threshold power as we intended when the ErgVideo session was designed. We scale all of the ErgVideo sessions to achieve a specific training effect or "zones focus", and it assumes your threshold setting is the same as your Actual Threshold power. For example, the MAP Intervals ErgVideo includes intervals at power levels well above 100% threshold power, and durations that are well-known to enhance the Max Aerobic Power performance factor. Likewise for Endurance Intervals, Anaerobic Intervals, Threshold intervals and even the Base/Tempo training sessions. Likewise for racing ErgVideos, make the threshold setting equal to your actual threshold to feel the real gut-busting effort of real competition.

  Lake Placid Tri: Actual Theshold = 100% of Threshold Setting.

  Lake Placid Tri: Actual Theshold = 85% of Threshold Setting.

On the left hand side, we see the "Time in zones" distribution of the Lake Placid Tri ErgVideo when it is ridden with Threshold Setting = Actual Threshold (for example, 250W). There is lots of time spent in Zone 3 and Zone 4, with some hard efforts in Zone 5 and 6. On the right side, we see the impact of riding with the Threshold Setting configured at only 85% of the Actual threshold (213W and 250W respectively). We see much less time spent in zones 4, 5 and 6 and much more time in the lower zones, indicating a much easier ride. We have instantly transformed the session from a Tempo/Threshold killer workout, to a much easier Endurance/Tempo focused workout, which may be more approapriate for your own training goals in a particular phase of your training, or for a longer ride.

I hope this explains the Threshold Test ErgVideo, and also explains how to use the ErgVideo "Actual Threshold" and "Threshold Settings" settings so you can get the most from your ErgVideo Training.

Until next time, we erge you to erg! :)
Paul Smeulders and David Stevenson
ErgVideo.com

**Of course, you should consult a doctor before testing and it is helpful to have someone around who can help out if some emergency arises, if only to call for services.