What Is A Good FTP Peloton? Is Yours Too Low?

FTP or Functional Threshold Power is the best way to find out how much power you can hold in one hour. The metric helps peloton riders to know their capabilities.

Now, let’s ponder the question, what is a good FTP Peloton?

Maybe you won’t like the wishy-washy answer- it depends.

I’m sorry but this is the fact that FTP depends on which power zone you are in, your power to weight ratio, and your repeatability.

You may see male pro peloton users achieving 400w FTP. But it’s just a number that calibrates your training. Remember that your cycling performance is more than just a high FTP. When you’re a beginner, it’s natural that your FTP is low and it will increase over time.

Now, if you ask ‘is my FTP too low?’, then the first thing we need to know is which power zone you are in. There’s a section below, scroll down to know how you can measure your FTP.

Now, let’s be quick to know what are the signs of a low FTP:

When over-under intervals do not seem exhausting. Over-under intervals are both physically and mentally challenging. It’s because your body is forced to exceed the lactate processing limits. At these moments, your physical and mental triggers want a full rest for recovery. But what you’re doing is to teach your body how to recover while it works hard.
When long threshold intervals seem too easy. When you’ll notice that you can sustain up to 40 minutes at FTP without taking enough rest, don’t feel challenged, then perhaps your FTP is low.

So, what’s exactly happening here?

When you can ride perfectly well above the indicated power at the time of a rest interval, maybe you’re hampering your recovery for the next interval. In such cases, you may not go hard enough during the work interval and a little too hard at the time of recovery interval.

If you’re facing these, try to bump the intensity of your workouts by 2-3%.

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How To Measure FTP On Peloton?

If it wasn’t a peloton, you would need to do some maths. But lucky you cause here no math is required! You can go through a 20-minutes FTP test and your average output value will display on the touchscreen.

Now, you may feel confused thinking that ‘will 20-minutes be enough to measure your performance of one hour?’.

Well, that’s a good question but Peloton is offering the easier solution so that you don’t have to go through a total of 60 minutes to know your FTP. The average result of 20 minutes is enough.

So, let’s see how to identify your FTP on Peloton:

Start with taking a ‘10-minutes FTP Warm-Up Ride’ from any of the Power Zone Instructors. This will help you prepare your body for the test as well as learn some tricks for success.
Complete a 20-minutes FTP Test Ride’ and find your average output.
Once your ride is complete, you can find the output of the 20-minutes test displayed on the ride recap screen.

There’s a great answer to ‘how do I know if my FTP is good?’- this question. If you want to know how your FTP stacks up, you can convert it into a power-to-weight ratio. Divide your FTP by your weight in kg.

So, if you’re a 150-pound rider having 200w FTP, your power-to-weight ratio is 2.9.

For an average new rider, it’s normal to be in the 2.0 range. Top cyclists stay in up to the 7.0 range. Although this numbering isn’t that significant, you still can compare your level to other riders.

Now, if you don’t know how to display your Power Zones on the peloton touchscreen, then follow the steps below:

Click on your username after turning the touchscreen on. You’ll find the username in the lower-left corner.
Look at the top-left corner, you’ll notice a red gear symbol. Then, go to the Performances tab.
Now, you’ll find two options ‘Custom Value’ and ‘Edit Power Zones’ under ‘Power Zones’.
Next, enter the average output that you’ve got earlier from the FTP test ride and then click ‘OK’.
Select ‘Display Power Zones’.
Finally, choose any of the Power Zones and you’re ready to go!

The Limitations Of FTP

Yes, although FTP is undoubtedly an effective measure of our fitness, there’s a lack of specificity.

A sprinter is focused on sharp and short accelerations whereas time trials riders their body for coping with long and sustained efforts. Therefore, the result from the FTP test is not the only pointer of fitness because the sprinter has a bunch of skills that you can’t overlook.

So, when you focus on your sprinter improvement, you may even lose a bit of fitness on the endurance part. What it means is, a dropped FTP is not always a representation of failures.

How To Improve Your FTP

You already know how important it is to improve your performance if you want the most out of the Power Zones. Improving your FTP will make the paths easier.

Do not go too hard at the beginning. Go easy, make progress, and go harder with time. It’s important to get physically and mentally comfy with that. So, start slowly and prepare your mind.
Must go through the FTP warm-up ride before you start the main workout.
Set a goal and try your best to achieve it.
If the average output numbers bother you metally, you can entirely forget the numbers and go with the flow.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can FTP tests improve my performance?

Although FTP isn’t everything it definitely improves performance. When you test FTP every few weeks, it will tell you whether your training plan is going ideally or not. Also, it compels you to work harder.

How should I use FTP results in my training?

As we’ve been saying, start slow. Then, increase steadily without expecting big leaps. Even a 2.5% increase in FTP will work like a champ.

What if my FTP sucks?

We request you not to stress about it. Just keep training steadily with patience, you will see the number rise by degrees.

How often should I test my FTP?

In case you don’t like the result of the FTP test, you’ll tend to repeat the test so frequently. But you should resist the urge. Test once a month but keep consistency. It will work better.

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