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Training with Power – What is Training with Power
Part I of III
Thor Kirleis, ETC Tech Man
Part I of III on Training with Power, what it is, and what it can do to help you achieve your goals on the bike.
The most effective way to get fast on the bike is to train with power. Training with power ensures that your workouts make you stronger and faster and step you towards your goals.
Taken a step further, training with power helps pinpoint optimal cadence, pace, and even aero positioning. It shows the most efficient way to ride a variety of terrain, such as hills, flats, and into the wind, and it even tells you when you need rest.
Power is the essence of bike training, numbers stripped to the core. It is the context around all of your rides, the foundation upon which other training methodologies are based. More importantly, training with it can take your cycling to the next level.
What is Power?
Power is the amount of work you do in a given period of time. The more work you do, the more power you generate and subsequently the faster you go. So to go faster on the bike, you have to produce more work.
Measured in watts, power is an objective number. It is not skewed by environment, such as high winds or hilly terrain. It is a direct measure of the stimulus to how hard you push the pedals. It is more meaningful than heart rate or speed, both of which are readings of the responses to you pushing the pedals (the stimulus).
Power, as a measure of raw energy output, is the most important number there is. All other training methodologies are built on top of it. So get raw, use numbers that directly reflect how hard you push the pedals, and train with power to achieve those goals most effectively. If you do, I guarantee you’ll get faster and stronger more quickly and even squeeze an extra 5% more out of yourself (more on this later)!
Why Train with Power?
Training with Power eliminates the guesswork out of wondering where your current fitness is, whether you are in fact getting stronger, and how to go about getting to where you want to be.
Power measurements tell you how hard you are able to push the pedals today and how hard you need to push them for your goal. In between is, quite simply, a gradual progression of you trying to push the pedals harder and harder. You can calculate the exact watts you would need to achieve your goal. Thus your training is, simple enough, about building the wattage you can produce to the point where you can average that chosen number.
Comparing this to training by HR monitoring, what HR would you need in order to power your bike a 24 mph on a flat section of road with no wind? This is much harder to answer, as there are too many variables that could affect the number. Not so with Power.
Consider this example:
Power Pete and Heart Rate Hank have a friendly rivalry on the club 40K TT at the end of the season. Pete and Hank have trained with HR for a few years and have seen similar gains. The rivalry started when they realized that no matter the course, they always finish within 10 seconds of each other. This year the stakes are higher: Loser buys rounds at the local pub… for the entire team!
Power Pete read up on power-based training and decided to purchase a power meter while Heart Rate Hank stayed with HR monitoring training. While Hank had his HR zones already figured out and a training plan aligned to spend time training in each of the zones, Pete installed the power meter on his bike and, after a few rides and tests, had figured his numbers out. Pete was pleased to see that he could quite regularly average 225W while training on the course.
In training, Pete knew that in order to beat Hank and as a stretch goal average over 24 mph on the course, he would have push his average wattage up. He figured that if he could push, on average, 250W he would be guaranteed a win – and he wouldn’t have to buy the team beers.
So Pete started with longer intervals, each time trying to push slightly more watts. He started to really enjoy training with power because, as he realized, he didn’t need to worry about whether the day would be windy or even if the terrain was hilly. He just knew that he had to put out 230W, then 235W, and up to 250W. In fact, during his training, it was so easy to see his output that when he would be on a favorite stretch of road, instead of sitting at 230W, he pushed it a bit to 240W, to squeeze a little more out of himself.
Meanwhile, Hank was training in his zones. He often wondered just how fast he was supposed to be riding because there were times when his HR just wasn’t there. There were also a few days that were really windy. He knew he was suppose to get his HR to zone five, but with the wind he wasn’t quite sure what speed that would be or if he should push harder.
By the time the 40K TT came, the two rivals felt ready. Power Pete dialed his wattage to 250W over the fairly flat course and cruised to victory. Hank knew only that his HR should be in the highest zone, but he wasn’t quite sure after that, as there were too many variables getting in the way. Although Hank gave it his all, he lagged Pete by almost a full minute even though he felt pretty good out there.
Coming next: Training with Power – Benefits of Training with Power – Part II
Thor Kirleis is a friend of Endurance Training Center; he is passionate about endurance sports and can be reached at thor@kirleis.org.
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