What Is A Good FTP For My Age? (Beginners Guide)
Indoor biking is a game-changer technique for bike riders, especially for professional cyclists.
The measure of your functional threshold power is your fitness under cycling conditions.
A good functional threshold power score is an excellent pointer to a good rider or cyclist, as the case may be.
The bone of contention for every rider is knowing the standard FTP score for their age range.
An FTP score measures your fitness based on individual reflection of body type, aerobic fitness, and body weight. There is no standard FTP Score for any age bracket as the FTP Score is highly personal. Hence, no general FTP test peloton score is a standard for any age bracket.
What Is a Good FTP For My Age Female?
Averagely, 200 watts is an excellent functional threshold power score for an amateur female bike rider.
A female beginner, regardless of age, will fall below 200 watts in a minute FTP test.
However, on an average grade, a professional female cyclist will beat 300 watts to fall between 350-400 watts.
Note that there is no general standard grading regarding the age bracket for an excellent functional threshold power.
Instead, several factors are considered for a minute FTP test, giving different results under the combined elements.
The type of rider, strength to body weight ratio, aerobic fitness, and several other reasons make the FTP highly individual.
You wouldn’t expect a recreational bike rider to produce as much power as a competitive rider regardless of age or gender.
Hence, any accurate FTP test score that gives the rider maximum performance is good.
For example, I think 200 watts for the FTP ramp test is okay for a regular middle-aged female rider.
A female rider’s excellent functional threshold power matches the desired outdoor performance.
We can only say that a rider’s FTP is low when the desired outdoor output of the rider or cyclist is low.
The age factor in a cycling FTP test arguably has little impact on a rider’s functional threshold power.
However, you will agree that a mature female will undoubtedly attain a higher FTP test score than a younger female.
In most professional events, age is not a basis for measuring a good FTP test score.
In order words, a good FTP score largely depends on the overall effort of the rider and not the rider’s age bracket.
What Is a Good FTP For My Age Peloton?
The peloton FTP minute test is a measure of a cyclist’s fitness within the space of 60 minutes.
A good FTP test score for a peloton minute FTP test is between 200 to 300 watts for an average rider.
However, a professional rider with lots of experience and training should rank as high as 400 watts and above.
Although the peloton FTP test is to last for an hour, the measure of fitness is majorly within the first 20 minutes.
Within the first 20 minutes of the peloton minute test, an average of 250 watts is a good FTP score.
The reason is that the peloton FTP test takes 95 percent of the total workout output within the first 20 minutes as the max effort of the rider.
However, understanding the rhetoric of the functional threshold power and how to improve it is key to getting the most from bikes.
With the above in mind, you will agree that the peloton FTP test lasts 20 minutes.
Within this time, your maximum effort level, cadence, and general performance determine the FTP test score.
It is needful to state that no single score is a standard for the peloton FTP minute test.
Any score attained measures your cycling fitness compared to available professional cycling data.
Everyone’s peloton FTP test score is relative and highly on an individual base; hence it differs from one person to another.
What Is a Good FTP For a 60-Year-Old Cyclist?
For a 60-year-old cyclist, a peloton FTP score of 250 watts is a good marker.
However, some 60-year-old pro cyclists can attain a whooping peloton FTP test score as high as 300-320 watts.
But since the minute FTP test is relative, a good score will vary with the prevailing conditions.
In some cases, the age of old-time professionals is not the limiting factor to overall cycling performance.
All things are equal; a 60-year-old cyclist is as good as an amateur cyclist with the whole experience.
So you shouldn’t be surprised to see a 60-year-old cyclist hitting as high as 300 watts on a peloton FTP test.
In my opinion, as low as 200 watts and above for a 60-year-old cyclist is a tie-breaker.
As mentioned above, among other limiting factors, the age factor only has a minute impact on an FTP test score.
A cyclist who has been up and doing for more than 40 years will not just rapidly decline in output as you think.
The functional threshold power is a measure of control over body weight that favors a small body weight.
Therefore, a weighted cyclist means a minor ability to body weight ratio, which directly signifies lesser functional threshold power.
For example, an aged cyclist typically has control to body weight ratio of about 5-6, which increases the FTP.
What Is a Good FTP For a Beginner Cyclist?
A beginner’s FTP for males and females usually is around 140-200 watts relative to the cyclist.
Usually, the female gender has the base as 140-160 watts while the male attains the 200 watts FTP score benchmark.
Hence, for a beginner, an FTP test score of 170 and above is a good FTP for that level.
As you can see, every value above is a range pointing to the non-specific nature of gathered results.
No exact watt value stands as a standard for all riders. If the peloton FTP score suits your personal desired performance, you can count it as a good score relative to you.
Even though 150 watts are below average for an FTP test, it is still a tie-breaker.
Under a professional cycling endurance event, a beginner with 200 watts FTP is an excellent spot-on for max performance.
However, it is not the case in a competitive sprint event where speed is vital over strength.
Also, a lower peloton FTP test score isn’t the end, as any beginner cyclist can build up an FTP score.
So long as you can generate great strength from the input, you will have a good FTP on the peloton scale.
Excellent functional threshold power is the accurate and maximum performance from cycling workouts.
What Is a Good FTP Score?
Generally, for average bike riders, a peloton FTP test score hovering around 200-300 watts is good.
Professional cyclists should be able to crank from 400 watts and above in an FTP test.
The above FTP scores are only data gathered from experience, and a good FTP score yields maximum outdoor performance.
No general standard value benchmark is set as an excellent FTP test score since the test is highly individual.
However, functional threshold power testing measures a rider’s cycling performance regarding body weight.
Therefore, a high power-to-body weight ratio generally signifies a good FTP score for whichever cyclist.
Generally, an excellent outdoor cycling performance is easily a good pointer to a good FTP score.
It means that the desired output in actual cycling is the correct indication of a good FTP score.
The functional threshold power is a skill you learn through constant training intervals.
Since a good FTP test score is very relative and on an individual scale, I can only be speculative about the FTP grading.
However, the table below shows the average peloton FTP test score for different categories of cyclists regarding gender.
The Average Range of Peloton FTP Test Scores For Riders on a gender base;
| Rider Category | Average Peloton FTP Test Score(watts) |
|---|---|
| Male Beginners | 170- 210 |
| Female Beginners | 146-200 |
| Experienced Male | 214-300 |
| Experienced Female | 189-250 |
Conclusion
The result of a peloton functional threshold power test is a measure of fitness for bike riders and competitive cyclists—factors such as effort input, experience, body weight, and heartbeat rate influence the FTP test.
An average of 250 watts FTP is a good marker for a regular rider regardless of gender.
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