General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Give me power or give me (slow) death? Rss Feed  
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2009-01-23 7:52 AM

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Subject: Give me power or give me (slow) death?
I'm wanting some raw input about power training. Costs a bit so is it worth it to you? Fad or real benefit incrementally substantial over hrm/pe? Worth it for longer events or mostly on the sprint/oly? What are your thoughts?


2009-01-23 8:06 AM
in reply to: #1924359

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Subject: RE: Give me power or give me (slow) death?

Power is only valuable if and ONLY if you use it properly.  By that I mean have someone (or yourself) knowledgeable enough to interpret it and train you using it.

If you just want to use it to see how much power you produce, you've just bought yourself a really expensive HRM.

Power allows you to pin point your effort.  HR has it's limitations (changes due to dehydration, sleep, etc) and power doesn't care about that.  I see training with power as the 'next level' once you have figured out how your body works.  It's a great tool if used properly.

It's good for all distances, short and long.



Edited by Marvarnett 2009-01-23 8:07 AM
2009-01-23 9:59 AM
in reply to: #1924359

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Subject: RE: Give me power or give me (slow) death?
phatknot - 2009-01-23 8:52 AM

I'm wanting some raw input about power training. Costs a bit so is it worth it to you? Fad or real benefit incrementally substantial over hrm/pe? Worth it for longer events or mostly on the sprint/oly? What are your thoughts?


Hey this is a topic I love. I'd say that too many people think that using a power meter will make you faster. Powermeters are great tools for measuring intensity but it won't make you faster.

I do pretty well on the bike (typically 2:05-2:10 in a HIM bike split) and I don't use one. So not using one doesn't mean you can't ride fast or you can't pace yourself well. I'm not against using them and I do think there are people that could benefit from using them. I just don't think it's worth the $$ for me. I value a really good triathlon coach over a powermeter anyday.
2009-01-23 11:41 AM
in reply to: #1924359

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Subject: RE: Give me power or give me (slow) death?

Dan and Jeremy both make good points about the uses of a Power Meter. Not having a power meter isn't going to doom you to being a MOP cyclist nor is having one going to guarantee that you will become a super cyclist.

Power Meters are tools just like a HRM or trainer or anything else you use to make  you a better athlete.  I just started using a Power Tap last fall, but I have been coaching athletes using Power for a couple of years now and just from anecdotal evidence I see them getting faster.  I believe that this is a result of more efficiently using your training time as much as anything. For example if I were to prescribe trainer intervals that take and hour to do and you go by HR and RPE you may or may not be training at the same level by the last interval or two (your HR may be higher and you may feel like you are working just as hard), where as with a PM if your intervals were 5 min @ 105% of Threshold Power (which for arguments sake lets say is 300w) you would know that you have to hold 315w on each and every interval, so the first and last one are exactly the same. It may not sound like much over the course of one workout, but over a training cycle for a race or a race season it adds up. A PM is also useful for pacing in longer events (and shorter ones as well), taking the 300w FTP into account you would look to hold somewhere around 210w-220w for an Ironman (~70%) and 240w-250w for a Half (~80-85%). This is going to allow you to come off the bike and run like you are trained to do and not walk half or all of the run because you went too hard on the bike.

Power also gives you the ability to see inprovement  (or lack there of) over the life of your training cycle and allows you or your coach to make corrections to acheive the desired result.

Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Allan Coggins and Hunter Allen is a great book to read in order to get a working knowledge of power. 

 

2009-01-23 12:48 PM
in reply to: #1924359

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Subject: RE: Give me power or give me (slow) death?

Nothing to add beyond what the other fine gentlemen have added.

I got a powermeter at the end of last summer in order to help pacing with my IM. I now strickly train off power on the bike and pace on the run having dropped HR all together.  It's way more objective.  I want to get the fastest results in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of training (who doesn't).  To me, it has been totally worth the investment.

2009-01-24 7:02 AM
in reply to: #1925333

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Subject: RE: Give me power or give me (slow) death?
thanks everyone. I have the coach already. the next question is am i ready? and the answer is probably no, but i don't like no's.


2009-01-24 2:56 PM
in reply to: #1925108

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Subject: RE: Give me power or give me (slow) death?
Rocket Man - 2009-01-23 12:41 PM

Dan and Jeremy both make good points about the uses of a Power Meter. Not having a power meter isn't going to doom GUARANTEE you to being a MOP cyclist

If it will do that for me....where can I get one of these?

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