At the gym a guy asks if I’m finished with the training bicycle. He isn’t happy with the seat on his.  I find out he plays the saxophone for a band that had a hit in the 1960s called Amen Corner.

The hit was “If Paradise is half as nice”.

We start chatting about fitness. He suddenly mentions FTP.

I thought FTP was a technical term for file transfer on computers.

“FTP?” I ask what is that?

FTP is the “functional threshold power”.

It’s highest average power you can go at for an hour on a bicycle.

This is how to calculate it :

1. After a warm up cycle very hard for 20 minutes.
2. Stop after 20 minutes and look at the average power reading on the cycling machine and take the figure in Watts. Say it’s 180 Watts.
3. Now take this figure and multiple by 0.95. This is now your FTP . In this example your FTP is 0.95 x 180 = 171 Watts.

You can also download the Trainerroad App to calculate your FTP. The App pairs with Wattbike’s and other cycling equipment in the gym using bluetooth.  The App isn’t free by the way.

So what if I calculate my FTP?

So what is the question I ask?

To measure your fitness the higher this number is the better your fitness is .

If you are on a training plan to get fit using a bicycle use FTP as a metric to measure your fitness.

Watch your FTP move from your old number to a higher number and celebrate by singing “If Paradise is half as nice….”