A Compendium of CP and FTP Resources
by Steve Palladino
coach and consultant, Palladino Power Project
April 16, 2019
Since 2017, I have produced a number of resources devoted to the understanding and application of functional threshold power (FTP) and critical power (CP). In this compendium, I compile these resources into one location.
So much of distance runners’ training and racing involves the use of FTP/CP estimations. Power zones are typically based on CP/FTP. For most runners, races from 5K to marathon are executed at FTP/CP +/- 10%. Race power targets can be based on FTP/CP. (1,2,3)
It is clear that to optimally run with power, a sound grasp of CP and FTP is important. To that end, here are the resources that I have generated:
2017: Running Functional Threshold Power - A Primer
2019: Understanding and Applying CP Testing for Runners (revised/updated 2020)
2019: Estimating FTP/CP from Race Power Data
2019: Testing Protocols for Runners (webinar)
2019: SuperPower Calculator - Google Sheets version (SPCs)
2019: Using the CP Test analyzer function in the SuperPower Calculator. (YouTube tutorial for SPCs v3)
2019: Using the SuperPower Calculator to estimate FTP/CP from race data. (YouTube tutorial for SPCs v3)
2020: Using Running Power on the Treadmill
2020: How does Stryd auto-CP work?
2020: Protocol for CP Testing ⭐
2020: SuperPower Calculator - Web-Based version (SPCw)
2020: SPCs v4 - Using the CP Test Calculator Function (YouTube tutorial for SPCs v4)
2020: SPCw - Using the CP Test Calculator Function (YouTube tutorial for SPCw)
2020: Demo of the multi day CP calculator function in SuperPower Calculator v4. (YouTube tutorial for SPCs v4)
2020: Estimating FTP / CP from short duration races using the SuperPower Calculator (YouTube tutorial for SPCs v4)
2020: Four methods of FTP/CP estimation offered by the SuperPower Calculator (YouTube tutorial for SPCs v4)
2021: A method to roughly estimate FTP/CP for runners not ready to properly test.
2021: P^3 Calculators in Final Surge: Estimate CP, RWC, and “power@VO2max" from a CP test (YouTube demo)
2021: P^3 Calculators in Final Surge: Estimate CP/FTP from races greater than or equal to 40 minutes (YouTube demo)
2021: P^3 Calculators in Final Surge: Estimate CP/FTP from races less than or equal to 40 minutes (YouTube demo)
2022: How to analyze CP test data (YouTube demonstration)
2023: Calculating CP/FTP from a CP Test (article) ⭐
2023: Updated Stratifications for CP/FTP and Running Effectiveness for Stryd Devices (article)
2023: FTP/CP are conceptually the same (FB post)
2023: Race Power as a Percentage of FTP/CP (article)