I had a breakthrough today and my HIE signature increased by 1.9 kj. My FTP decreased by three points, almost 1%
Is this normal?
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Yes. Xert’s wizards can explain why, but I think that increasing you HIE is very good. And a 3 point drop is really nothing, taken the amount of calculations and margins of error…
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It just seems odd that having a breakthrough and a 20% increase in HIE can also have a decrease in FTP. I’m not worried about the FTP drop, I just want to understand why.
It’s a regression algorithm that adjusts your signature variables to best match your max efforts. Not so simple to untangle.
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How did you achieve your breakthrough?
The way I look at it is that the two values stack on top of each other.
We are often stuck on the idea of equating FTP to performance, but things are more complex than that.
So if FTP is power you can sustain for 1hr or longer and HIE is the amount of work you can do above that threshold you can breakthrough by exceeding either one of these.
You can get a breakthrough by going 101% for an hour or you can punch thru your PP in 20s. In the first case it’s the result of increased FTP (and your power curve will go up on its tail end, >20m) in the latter your PD curve will grow on the short duration side. In either scenarios you have exceeded your previous performance.
With this approach, people training for ultra endurance and for cyclocross or crits can both achieve breakthrough, which simply means exceeding your previous performance, not necessarily increase FTP.
Their algorithm tries to find the best fit for your power duration curve and so you may end up seeing a negative adjustment in FTP when HIE is going up, and vice versa.
Hope this helps
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That’s exactly what I needed to hear. I was doing short, explosive, intervals. I should see an improvement on longer efforts where that increased HIE will come into play. Thanks!
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I’m sorry if this sounds stupid. I’m still not understanding how my estimated TP and LTP continue to drop during a training plan for improving 6-minute power. If the rest intervals that I’m given in Xert workouts are
To simplify what I have in mind, let’s say that Xert workouts give me effort intervals and rest intervals. The efforts are typically some percentage above TP depending on the sessions. There may be other longer efforts at a power lower than my given TP. Then the rest-intervals are often much less than the TP. I understand that TP and LTP are calculated by my output during activities, ostensibly incorporating power and duration of efforts and rests along with their relative arrangements within the activities. If during the training plan my prescribed efforts progress as my [ability] develops, then the watts prescribed during rest-intervals would also increase as long as the rest-intervals’ duration is unchanged. My 6-minute power is calculated without performing a steady 6-min output, but it increases as my actual output increases during activities across the plan. Why is there the assumption that other facets decrease? Subjectively, (without performing a 1-hour test) I expect that the power that I could sustain for 20 minutes, 60 minutes will be greater than when I started the plan. What am I missing?
Maybe you’ve changed something or re-forecasted? I had a quick peek and it looks like your projected Threshold is increasing by the end of the program.
If your goal is to increase your 6 minute power, it’s still possible to increase your 6 min power even if Threshold stays the same (or even slightly decreases), if you’re able to “focus” your training on HIE & Peak Power. FTP isn’t everything! 