Normalized power higher than average power on intervals.icu

Hi,

I was trying to check some data from a KOM I took where Strava and the Garmin Connect app were showing me 346W avg for exactly 7’. However Strava doesn’t show normalized power and neither does the Garmin Connect app for a selected part of the ride, so I tried to check on Intervals.icu.

However there it says I did 364W avg. with a NP of 352W, which seems odd given the duration of the interval and the fact that I had to stop pedalling a few times with turns and so on. I’ve seen it before on short sprints…
Link: Intervals.icu
Screenshot:

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Looks odd but seems legit…

“For very short intervals, normalized power can be lower than average power. This is because that when calculating normalized power, each data point in the selected range is calculated using the entirety of the 30 seconds prior to itself, which is the basis of NP. … The same is true for a 30-second peak or a minute.”

Why is my normalized power lower than my average power? – TrainingPeaks Help Center

How can NP be lower than avg power? - Training - TrainerRoad

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Indeed, I read that as well but I thought that a 7’ “interval” should be sufficiently long to get a somewhat accurate number…

My coach with his premium Trainingpeaks account got 344W avg and 352W NP, unfortunately my basic account doesn’t show me those numbers.

Apparently it’s not good for intervals under 15-20 mins according the the second Forum posting, the rule being the higher number is the one to focus on.

I don’t know the truth in it all, but it’s interesting to see.

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Decent effort too! Nice work!

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Thanks! Although I’m not at race weight at the moment, at 67-68kg I’m going alright :grinning:
My 5’ PB last year was 365W for 5’ but on an incline so a bit easier to apply power, so I’m happy to get close to that for 7’ now on a flat lap with quite a few corners…

When the Garmin keeps showing numbers in the regio of 350-400W when you look down, it sure is good for the moral.

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You can see why NP is lower if you turn on the 30s power trace. NP is based off a 30s moving average so low power before and after an interval will knock it down.

Hey David, thanks for the response!

I saw that as well but Trainingpeaks then gives me a different number, where NP is higher than AP, so I found it a bit strange.

Perhaps concentrate on the intervals, and not so much on whether AP and NP is right or not. It’s irritating, but won’t make your workout pass or fail.

As long as you hit the (target) power for the workout, you will benefit from doing the workout.