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Training with Power
Why You Should Train with a Power Meter

Benefits | Drawbacks | Summary

For the price of an entry level bike ($700), to the price of an entry level racing bike ($1500), you can be faster and stronger, all without spending more time on your bike. There is a catch. It's not made of carbon fiber or titanium, and it will add a bit of weight to your bike. Of course, you've read about it before. A couple of months ago, VeloNews ran a training article about it. Greg Lemond used it years ago. Most of the pros now use it. More of your competitors are using it. You better start thinking about getting it. Seriously.

I'm talking about power meters. Not only do they measure and record your wattage, but they produce very useful reports that you can analyze on your computer, or download to your coach. They also have most (if not more) functions of a cyclometer and heart rate monitors. They've been around for some time now, and several years ago, they began appearing in mail order shop catalogs, and the occasional bike shop.

The problem was that they were expensive, and few knew how to use or train effectively with them. Those excuses are mainly gone now. Graber produces the PowerTap hub that retails for about $800 for a built wheel and SRM has a model of cranks that you can get for about $1500. Polar has one that interfaces with one of their heart rate monitors for about an additional $300. Now I know what you're thinking. Yes, you can get wheels which will help you climb faster, and those gee whiz handlebars sure would be comfortable. But wouldn't it be better to be faster, stronger, and leap large buildings? Isn't it time to train more efficiently, rather than hope that the routine "you really stuck to..." works this season?

The benefits of power based training are many:

It eliminates guesswork from gauging exercise intensity. Even those with exceptional "feel" are unlikely to judge their wattage any better than to within perhaps 10%, whereas a power meter is accurate to ±2% or less. Trying to use a Rate of Perceived (RPE) exertion scale is notoriously inaccurate. While many advocate tossing the HRM, I believe it has value while training or racing with a power meter.

It allows fitness to be precisely and accurately quantified and tracked both daily and over time. Workouts become carefully controlled, and along with a periodized program, training is less haphazard, making peak performances easier to predict. Carefully planned training may also help prevent overtraining and injury.

Power meters have other uses, such as pacing during interval training, time trials, and even breakaways in mass start races. I find pacing for intervals and time trials almost mindless with a power meter. I know how many watts to produce at various levels, and I just do it.

Power meters keep you working. As you see your power fluctuating, you realize that you're not really working as hard as you could be. Sure, your heart rate is constant, but your watts produced is slipping.

Of course, there are drawbacks;

It appeals to the more analytical and technically oriented. Not everyone is inclined, whether by background or temperament, to take a quantitative approach to training; furthermore, feedback during a ride or race may only serve as an unwelcome distraction, rather than provide valued information. Heck, I train athletes who still don't use a heart rate monitor!

Incorporating a power meter into your training requires a structured program and demands patience. Personally, as a coach, I find this to be a good thing. Use of a power meter, HRM and a periodized training plan go hand-in-hand. For many, the planning, structure, analysis, and record-keeping required by such a system are an added hassle in a sport that is time-intensive enough already. Of course, all these systems come with software that makes the analysis fairly simple.

Power meters are conducive to solitary training. As Dr. Andrew Coggan, PH.D, has pointed out, the levels in his power-based training schema are referenced to "the athlete's own unique (and current) ability," which usually necessitates training alone, at least during more intense and structured workouts. It really should be that way with heart rate based training also.

Even the most affordable models are expensive. Power meters will probably never be priced comparably to HRMs, and like any electronic device, they can malfunction and be unreliable. Still, they are less expensive than many of the latest exotic frames and crazy-light components, which seem so ubiquitous, while arguably of much greater benefit.

If you don't have the desire or discipline to stick to a training program, a power meter probably won't change that.

The mysteries of training with power are starting to be explained. Any coach worth his or her salt knows how to develop a plan for using one, and analyze the data. Hopefully, your coach uses one. Charles Howe, who provided information for this article, has an excellent manual you can reference (contact me and I'll send it to you). Beginning users will have huge amounts of questions, but go out and ride. Watch the data flow in as you ride across varied terrain and varied intensity. Then send me e-mail, and ask me some questions. If you are an athlete working with JDS Sportcoaching, you can get a PowerTap at close to wholesale cost.

Because of my bionic heart, heart rate training is pretty much out of the question. I had an excuse to buy a power meter that I had secretly desired for some time. I knew the theories and I'd done the readings; it was time to measure my power output and train by it. Now it's your turn — or your competition's.

Jonathan Siegel, Director of Coaching
JDS Sportcoaching, LLC

Jonathan Siegel, CSCS, is an RRCA-certified running coach and certified cycling coach. If you have training questions or comments or are interested in a lactate test, contact JDS Sportcoaching,LLC.