average or norm power for calculating my FTP

Hi

I'm into my 3rd week of prep training for next year from a fairly untrained state having had a year off cycling. I'm estimating my FTP is ~220 from training rides using average power.

But I'm thinking this could be underestimating my true FTP. Where I live there are no stretches of flat road to complete a 20 test to estimate FTP and certainly not a 40km tt course. Due to the rolling roads my norm power is always 10-20w higher than the average power

....so could anyone advise of if I should be using the norm power for the ride/race?

should I undertake 20 min test on my turbo once per month to track changes in my FTP rather than use the data from rolling rides/races.

all help much appreciated
cheers
Paul

 

It is usually best to find a protocol that is readily repeatable (assuming the protocol is a reasonable one to start with). That might involve using the same stretch of road (in my case a 4km continuous loop). If you don't have a stretch of road sufficient to ride up to 30min without interruption, then the trainer is a good option - but remember that you should compare trainer test to trainer test. Races are never repeatable (aside from ITTs on same course) so using that method would not be reliable.

Then use the other methods of "FTP detection" as signals that it might be time to retest, e.g. you notice a hard 1hr race with an IF > 1.05. That would indicate that perhaps your fitness has improved and it's time to retest and reset FTP.