Power is the amount of energy generated per unit of time. In cycling terms, it applies to the amount of energy that is transferred to the pedals and it is measured in watts. Power has been acknowledged as the key factor in cycling performance for many years. The more power the better, though it's not just about who produces the most watts. It also has to be related to the rider's weight. The athlete who creates more power for their bodyweight will win the race. This is why the power to weight ratio is so important when it comes to judging how good a rider is, especially in the hills. The higher the watts per kilogram of bodyweight, the better the rider. For example, two riders are about to start a climb both have their SST (Steady State Threshold) at 200 watts & 160 bpm. Rider 1 weighs 60 kg (132lbs) whilst rider 2 weighs 70kg (154 lbs). Rider 1 has a power to weight ratio @ SST of 3.33 watts per kg, whilst Rider 2 produces only 2.85 watts per kg at SST. Rider 1 should be the first to the top by quite a long way.

There are several power meters available. The SRM is the gold standard and offer models ranging from $1500 to $3500. Power-tap™, ERGOMO™ & Ibike™ offer several meters for reasonable prices. All of these are use-able on the road or on your indoor trainer as they are all fitted directly to your bike. Many people have a Computrainer for indoor training, which show watts very accurately if they are calibrated correctly. Any of these choices are good though I favor the SRM PRO as you can use it indoors, outdoors and for racing and it seems to be the most reliable.

Once you have your power meter, you need to know how to use it effectively. The simplest approach is to train using the power zones prescribed and to use heart-rate as a secondary guide. Over time you should see your heart-rate generally get lower at the same power output – this is a good sign of what's called a “central adaptation”.

At first you'll notice that the power readings fluctuate a lot. This is normal. Power is a direct reflection of intensity so it will change rapidly and often. Heart-rate is more stable and slower to change but is subject to variations on a daily basis much more easily by heat, fatigue, altitude, nutrition, etc. Think of heart-rate as a guide to total physiological stress and power as the better judge of exercise intensity. Therefore using the two together is best though power is what really matters, as “ a watt is a watt no matter what”! and power wins races not high heart-rates!

As you get used to your power meter, look for controlled rides that sit tightly in your power zones with an average also in that zone. Pacing studies show that maintaining a constant power output is the most efficient way to success. Downloading your power data will tell you whether or not you did what you set out to do. The graphs should not have big surges during steady efforts. For example, if your ride is supposed to be 1 hr in your LT zone, and this is 175-200 watts, try to stay in this power zone all the time. It is possible, though not desired, to fool yourself in to thinking that you did an LT ride by doing 50 mins @ 160 watts then a 10 min splurge at 250 watts to still give you an average in the LT zone. It easy to see though that for most of the ride you were really below LT and for 10 minutes you did an SST workout – this is obviously not what we are after!

When you do low cadence strength work, again look to stay in the power zone prescribed. Too often in this particular case, people ride these sessions too hard and end up in a power zone above the prescription resulting in more lactate being produced. Power and lactate are much more closely linked than heart-rate and lactate. Often the heartrate will stay low on these strength sessions so people push harder to raise the heartrate. This is not the desired approach.

Conversely, the power meter can help you do accurate high cadence workouts. A typical scenario is that the athlete has been laboratory tested and let's say we found LT to be at 130 bpm & 90 rpm. When they start to do high cadence work at 105 rpm+ the heart-rate will be higher than normal due to the increased neuromuscular stress. Often this causes people to back off the intensity to keep the heart-rates down. Although this seems like a logical approach, it actually causes them to produce less power and in this case would give an AERO stimulus rather than the desired LT stimulus. With the power meter you can increase cadence and stay in the correct power zone. For the first few times the heart-rate will be high, though over the weeks it should drop down to near the laboratory tested levels. This again shows and adaptation and is a positive training effect.

You can also use the power meter to perform very accurate field tests to see how you are progressing on a regular basis. I suggest that people do two time-trials periodically in their training plan….

40 mins @ LT watts & 90 rpm The goal here is to simply record your heart-rate. Over time we should see a lower average heart-rate over the 40 mins.

30 minute Turbo Time-trial Here, after a good warm-up, you simply do 30 minutes at time-trial effort and record your average watts. Over time you should be producing more watts over the 30 minutes.

With your power meter in tow you can look forward to quicker improvements through more accurate training. Furthermore, you can a mass a catalog of true data on yourself so that once you find the elusive recipe for cycling success, you can repeat it year after year (just like Lance Armstrong!)

Over the past 10 years, Gareth Thomas has earned the reputation of being a world-class endurance coach & athletic consultant. Highly qualified from advanced fitness and coaching skills to holistic therapies, sports psychology and nutrition, Gareth brings a tremendous wealth of knowledge and expertise to his clients. As an Ironman Triathlete and former member of Team Great Britain at the World Long Distance Championships, Gareth has a personal understanding of what it takes to perform. He couples this with a highly technical understanding of the science and practicalities of training. He is regarded as the leading authority on blood lactate and it's application to endurance athletes.

Over the years, his range of clients has included:

•  National & World Champions in Triathlon, Duathlon & Mountain Biking

•  International Ironman Champions, Top Pro Finishers & Age Group Ironman Champions

•  ITU World Cup Professional Triathletes including Elite Canadian and USA representatives

•  National Age Group Champions & National Team Representatives: Triathletes & Duathletes

•  Professional Mountain Bikers (X-Country) inc. World Masters Silver Medalist 2004

•  Elite & Recreational Road Cyclists

•  Elite & Recreational Runners

•  Moto-X & Extreme Sport Competitors

•  Executives & Newcomers to the Athletic Lifestyle

All Coach Gareth services are custom to the individual. All training programs are based on the individual's personal metabolic profile, structural make-up, lifestyle, goals, time constraints and athletic history. Gareth believes that everyone is an athlete and the techniques used to train the finest athletes in the world are equally applicable to the newcomer to health & fitness

Gareth Thomas
High Performance Coach
gareth@coachgareth.com
www.coachgareth.com
TRI-FIT, Los Angeles & ICPH Denver