DO YOUR HOME WORK!

Physiological testing is no longer the preserve of the sports science lab. Coach Tom Bell explains how to measure your key benchmarks from the (dis)comfort of your home

- Tom Bell

Over the last few weeks, many pro racers and their coaches have been busy testing in the lab. This early-season testing is a mainstay at the top level of the sport. It helps coaches understand their athletes’ fitness profiles and to set training intensity targets and priorities. But fitness testing isn’t just for pros. It can be helpful for cyclists of all abilities – and in this feature we will explore the home-based testing protocols that you can undertake for a fraction of the cost of lab testing.

As a coach, I often have athletes use home-based testing because it can be performed more regularly, and also provides important data on actual performance as opposed to physiological metrics such as VO2 max, which don’t always predict real-world performance. In this feature, we’ll review three home-based testing approaches that require only a power meter or smart trainer and a device, such as a laptop or cycling computer, to record the data.

We’ll follow two hypothetical athletes through this article to explore how well the different testing protocols work for different individuals, assessing the pros and cons of the different methods. Both datasets are from real athletes, albeit with names changed for confidentiality.

Our first athlete, Jane, describes herself as a “diesel engine”. She is able to maintain high power in steadier events (4.4W/kg for over an hour), but struggles to respond to breakaways. Our second athlete, Sarah, is a more explosive rider and excels in races with many surges and attacks. She has a slightly lower one-hour power of 4.3W/kg. Both are preparing for punchy criterium-style races.

THE 20-MINUTE FTP TEST