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Cycling Training Tips

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Introduction to Training with Power Meter

Power meters like SRM, Ergomo and Powertap are very useful if you want to optimize your training and start getting better results. Before you throw away all your pocket money consider how serious you are with your training. If you find it very difficult to stick to a rigid training scheme, doing specific intervals in heart rate target zones, then a power meter might not be the best choice for you. If you think that analyzing your performances or registrating your training sessions is a waste of time, then you are probably not ready for cycling with a power meter yet. But if you get excited when you turn on your computer immediately after parking your bike, watching your heart rate file, then you will likely be even more excited about the data from a power meter. If you like to make training plans or have a cycling coach who works out plans for you, then a power meter will be a very powerful tool, which gives you opportunity to make better training plans.

Power meter training starts a new era

Like the heart rate monitors started a new era back in the 80´s, and got mainstream in the mid 90´s, the power meters started a new one in the early 90´s and are now getting popular among amateur riders here in 2006. The SRM crank system was the one and only power meter system in the beginning, but now there are a couple of other systems on the market. Powertap and Ergomo uses different technologies than SRM´s crank system, but they give a precise measurement of watts. SRM is the most expensive system, while Powertap and Ergomo is less expensive. I will not make further comments on the differences between SRM, Powertap and Ergomo, but instead save my words for a review later. What you need to know is, that there are different technologies and different prices. Generally they all allow the workload to be measured correctly.

In the first couple of weeks I will recommend that you just continue to train as normal. It will be a very good education for you to spent this time studying how quickly the power meter react to your effort. People get surprised when they accelerate the bike for the first time and discover that they are pushing more than 500W (for a short while, naturally”¦)

After a few weeks you will be getting more familar with your new equipment. You are now ready to make your first observations with this powerful tool. Before you can start doing intervals or pacing with your power meter, you have to make a test of your physical performance. To make things easy and time saving, I recommend you do a 5 minutes allout test to measure your wattmax. You can use the software that followed your power meter or you can a software system like Cyclingpeaks which offers more opportunities. After your 5 minutes allout test you have to figure out what your average power output was. Also notice your body weight since this is an important factor when comparing test results. You are now able to make your first training program based on test results from your power output.

Make maximum power tests to define your intervals

It is possible to convert your test result to shorter or longer intervals. There will be less accuracy depending on what kind of rider you are. Some people can keep a high percentage of their VO2 max for a very long period of time, and other people who are much better at shorter distances where they can perform impressing high average watts for short intervals. Therefore this table is only a guideline and the best way to define your target zones is to do a test at that specific distance. If you are a track rider and are training for 1km time trials (anaerobic endurance and strength) you will have to test your power output at that distance.

Power output Training examples
Sprinting 200-?? % 5×150m (complete rest)
Anaerobic endurance 100-130% 5x(1+6min)
VO2 max 90-105% 3x(3+2min)
Threshold 85- 90% 3x(8+4min)
Endurance 50-85% 3 hours
Recovery 40-50% 1 hour

Next time you go to a race, use your power meter to collect data from the race. You will see, that you spend time in all the target zones in the table. Have a look at the interesting parts of the race. This investigation is an important part of having a power meter, and it is here you can discover things you would never have found out. You can see the difference it makes in crosswinds to sit behind a bunch of riders compared to suffering in a long line. When you see that big difference, you will definitely try even harder to keep your good position in the bunch in the crosswinds next time.

Time trialists uses watts for pacing

Time trialists love to train with power meters because they can see exactly how good they perform and make it easier for them to see progress. With a little training it is possible to use the power meter as a pacer during the time trial. In this situation they can compare their physical performance from time trial to time trial. These data files are not affected by the wind, course or equipment, so they are very useful to see how the form changes.

If you have a velodrome in your neighborhood you can make tests to improve your position on your bike. Serious time trialists should consider this and at least give it a try. Testing in a wind tunnel is very expensive, so testing on a velodrome with your power meter might be a cheap alternative. When you do the tests you will need at least one assistant to take split times for each lap. With a little training in this setup, you can try different positions and equipment, and see which combination saves most watts. This part of using a power meter is the more challenging part, but I promise, that it is very satisfying when you save a couple of watts.

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5 Biggest Mistakes in Heart Rate Monitor Training

1 – Comparing heart rate values with others

The fact is that you can only compare heart rate values with your own previous registrations. The reason for this is that we all have a different anatomy of our cardiovascular system. But these systems are all based on the same physiological mechanisms. Thus, we can learn from each others’ physiological experiences and adaptations, but we can’t compare individual heart rate values. E.g. your resting heart rate is 58bpm while your friend’s heart rate is 42bpm, still I can’t say which one of you are in the best shape nor have the highest VO2 max.

Your maximum heart rate is correlated to your age, but that does not mean that we all fit in to 220-age formula. There is a huge standard deviation because we all are anatomically different. Just like with the resting heart rates, maximum heart rates does not predict performance.

2 ”“ Not being aware of factors affecting heart rate

Your working heart rate at the same external workload changes from day to day because it is affected by several factors including caffeine, water balance, temperature, physical stress, psychological stress etc. Thus, you should know how these things affect your heart rate since that is essential if you want to use your current heart rate for pacing. Taking action of the response from your heart rate monitor on your effort is an important part of using this tool. E.g. if you feel your heart rate is too high compared to the workload, then consider if there is a good reason for this (dehydration, too much coffee etc.) When you have found the answer, then take action on it.

3 ”“ Not analyzing heart rate data

Heart rate monitor training is much about analyzing. If you have an advanced or professional heart rate monitor from Polar, you can collect tons of data for analyzing on your personal computer. This is an important process if you want to get the full value out of your heart rate monitor. When you get used to see your heart rate records, you will begin to get a deeper understanding of how your body works. If you add some studying in exercise physiology to your analyzing, you will be able to make better decisions about your future cycling training. And that is exactly the point of spending reviewing your bike rides.

4 ”“ Wrong use of heart rate monitor during races

When you enter a race, you will see that you are able to ride faster than you normally do at training. It is difficult, if not impossible, to make clever decisions based on your current heart rate in a cycling race. I’ve heard several riders give up, when they were trying to jump from the peloton because they thought their heart rate indicated that they should slow down. That is definitively a big mistake since there is large tactical factor in play in cycling races. Thus, if you are lucky, the peloton will slow down and stop struggling to close the gap. And that is why experience is so much more important in races than heart rate registrations.

5 ”“ Wrong use of target zones during training

Heart rate target zones are a way to categorize different types of training. Many riders use basic training programs where they are supposed to work at percentage of their maximum heart rate. But these programs are born to be inadequate since there is a huge deviation in relative working heart rates (Just like with minimum and maximum heart rates). Thus, these target zones should be based on your personal experiences and testing procedures, not a general formula. Also I will recommend you to not making the target zones to small, because of the factors influencing on the heart rate. One day you are in top of the target zone and the next day you are in the bottom, but the subjective feeling might be the same. Thus, if the interval is too small you are likely to cross the limits which will make you work either easier or harder to stay in the target zone.

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How To Make It To The Podium With Less Training

Yesterday I published and commented on the results from Dave Simonson. Today, I will talk about Marc Moeller who is a category 3 rider with an ambition of promoting to category 2 this season. That goal sounds quite fair if Marc’s training wasn’t limited to only 8 hours per week. Thus, Marc gave me a challenge when he entered the project, but also a great chance to test how much progress you can achieve with training program with limited time available.

Wattage controlled intervals
I chose to push Marc’s intervals to the maximum capable amount. He was supposed to do intervals three times a week, but these days were not only like regular interval days, they were really tough workouts that required a dedicated effort to succeed. These intervals were monitored on his PowerTap Pro. There was a risk that this program could be a failure if the total training load was too heavy.

The three interval days were one session with anaerobic intervals (6 bursts of 40 seconds at 600-650W, recovery 6minutes), one training day with VO2 max intervals (3 times 3minutes 400W, 3min recovery or a couple of sets of 6 bursts of 40/20seconds at 410+ W) and finally one day with threshold power intervals in the range of 3 to 15minutes, normally with a total time of 24-30minutes. Two times a week there were sprint sessions with short power sprints and regular sprints.

Have a look at the graphs and full results

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Long Slow Distance Training (LSD)

Long Slow Distance Training

If we take a look at long distance running, I will have to introduce you to a legendary coach: Arthur Lydiard. He invented the term ”˜jogging’ and got famous for his strategies to achieve peak performance in long distance running events. When the runners started to run longer distances, they got more efficient and achieved a better endurance. LSD (Long Slow Distance) improves your peripheral adaptations, which means increased capillary density, more myoglobin, more mitochondrias, better use of free fatty acids as fuel and larger glycogen stores. Also there are probably some neural adaptations that make running more efficient. Training at slow speeds has only very little effect on VO2 maximum.
Read the full article about Long Slow Distance Training

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18 Hours Per Week Training Program

This training program is designed for serious riders who already have a solid mileage. I will recommend that you use a heart rate monitor or even better a power meter in your training. During short intervals a heart rate monitor is worth nothing because the reactions from the cardiac system are delayed with a few minutes. People that enter this program should know about the terms overreaching and overtraining.

Have a look at the 18 hours per week training program

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