A Knight To Be

I did the 4 Dimensional Power Test again today. The new plan I'm on (100 Mile Gravel Grinder) has this on the 2nd day. The 4DP Full Frontal test protocol is the stuff nightmares are made of. A session so painful and demanding it can bring grown men to tears. I tested with another protocol, "Half Monty" just two days ago and will discuss how the two compare. The previous 12-week plans all ended with the fitness test. Instead of a race or event, you go ahead and set new records to make your future workouts even harder. You see where this is going, right? There's a good reason it's called "The Sufferfest." Usually, there's buildup, and some planning for the test is involved, much like a real race. It includes pre-test prep, physical and mental, event strategy, mindfulness work, and more. Going through the motions is priceless and can undoubtedly push one through those horrid dark places a Full Frontal 4DP Test takes you to. Nonetheless, I st...

After a pretty "bad" 4DP Full Frontal test, where I aimed high but instead maintained my results (albeit in a very fatigued state), I decided to take a week to prep, and do the Half Monty Fitness Test . (* At this time, The Half Monty test is only available to Knights Of Sufferlandria in The Sufferfest App, but is slated for release soon). The Half Monty is a ramp to the max, followed by a heart-rate constrained effort. The aim is to determine Maximal Aerobic Capacity (MAP, 5min power) and Functional Threshold Power (FTP, 20min power), as well as Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR). So no sprints or 1-minute all-out effort. Yay, I guess. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. My #1 worst nightmare is a ramp test. Why? Because it will ALWAYS be as hard as it possibly can be. Failure is the only escape. ("Ramped to Failure" - for my headstone, please.) So I've been deliberately avoiding ramp tests, much like a sneezing and coughing stranger thes...

Last week I completed another 12-week cycling training plan with The Sufferfest. The grand-finale, yet again, is the excruciating Full Frontal 4DP test session. As a brief reminder, since most who endure this go deep into denial, you undergo a series of 4 maximal power output tests to get a complete and comprehensive profile of your abilities. And these are: Neuromuscular Power (NM): 5-second max power Anaerobic Capacity (AC): 1 minute Maximal Aerobic Power (MAP): 5 minutes Functional Threshold Power (FTP): 20 minutes It looks like this: 4DP Full Frontal Power Output Graph (on a bad day) More info: https://thesufferfest.com/blogs/training-resources/4dp-full-frontal-fitness-test-faq Completing the test creates and applies a "4DP Profile" to your training plan and subsequent workouts. Right. Moving on. So last week I completed the third instance of the test . The first was upon my arrival at Sufferlandria, part of the immigration process. I then fol...