Indoor trainer with power meter

Congrats on getting a PM and a sweet wheelset to go with it

A PM is an amazing tool.

When properly used it will allow you to achieve a very precise training intensity and load.
It is the best way to measure progress.
It can allow you to pace your races properly and can also help figure out how well you are set up aerodynamically

But you have to learn to use it properly or else it's an overpriced useless metric on your screen.

LB is right, you forget about speed. The right way to do it is do a test, figure out what is known as your threshold power and everythin is derived from that.

Ideally you have a plan or a coach that works with power. A good starting point is Coggan's book on training with power or a bit easier read is Skiba's.


Best thing to do is to ride with it for a few days just to get used to numbers. I'll pre-empt one of the first questions about why power jumps all over. Set your Garmin to average every 3 or 10s :-) Get a feel for what is hard, easy, recovery.....

There was a mentor group dedicated to training with power if you are patient and like to read.
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...

Lots of people train with power so you should be able to find lots of help. Have fun !

I think the big issue is trying to adjust the resistance on an old-school trainer. My watts vary so much based on the resistence. A coach told me I could ballpark by taking my weight in kg x 3, which puts me around 180 target for endurance. I am finding that REALLY difficult to stay at. I have to feel like I am riding through SAND to get there. I am out of cycling shape, but have still been doing Crossfit and running a lot. Feels like I am climbing a mountain. Yikes! Thanks for the info!

Endurance is about 60-70% of threshold ?
If you are doing 3x weight at endurance you are doing 3w/kg
Assuming endurance is say 66% that mean your threshold is 4.5w/kg and you are winning Kona :-)

Sorry to throw scientific terms at you but 3x your weight at endurance is wrong unless you are winning Kona

A strong female cyclist on this board does VO2 intervals at 210, threshold at 190, tempo at 155 and Z2 around 130ish.



Edited by marcag 2016-03-20 1:55 PM

When training with power one of the most important concepts is your "threshold power". It's the power you could maintain for 1hr. All other 'stuff' is derived from that number. Your zones for example are a % of that number. Endurance, according to Coggan for example is 56 to 75% of that number.

So the important thing is to eventually figure out that number. There are several ways to estimate it, Nicole's 5 and 20min test is probably one of the better ones.

There is also something known in the "power world" as "power profiles". It's "typical" watts/kg for various levels of cyclists from untrained to world class

Here is the chart

Look at the leftmost column. FT means functional threshold...the thing I described above

Look at a "good" cat 3 woman rider : 3:06 w/kg. This means in an all out 1hr TT should should be able to do 180watts if she weighs 60kg. That's all out and that HURTS.



Edited by marcag 2016-03-20 2:52 PM

You're going to love the power meter. I got mine this winter and it's transformed my indoor training. I took the advice here and got Coggan's book. VERY helpful.

A question, as you might end up having it as well:
With indoor work on the powermeter, then going out for races without a power meter, do you guys have any strategies or angles to take other than the rpe connection to what was learned while on the trainer? I find myself now wishing I had the live power stats to head onto the road

Find a HR to power correlation and bring that outdoor.Works very well for longer duration intervals.

Thx, started doing that at varied power intensities in some indoor/outdoor bricks.

And just so people don't start thinking they're all terrible and such, the population is not going to be evenly spread across the whole table. A very significant number are going to be down under Cat 5, and then each category up gets smaller and smaller. Down to maybe just a handful up in World Class. A well set up Cat 4 level can put up a relatively fast split in a smaller local tri. Believe some respected riders here are at Cat 4 or 5 levels.

I second this; it's easy to get discouraged looking at this chart. I think the label "untrained" is a bit off putting considering a lot of people, that train a lot, fall into that category. I believe however, this is specific to cycling, so don't forget this is a three event sport and it's just as important to be good at all three, than to be great at any single one.

That said, a power meter if used properly will not only affect your cycling, but other two sports as well. Do the winter bike focus program that marc and shane hosted and it will open up a whole new world for you. It will hurt. A lot. But it will open you up to a new level for sure. Stick to it and you will see results. I went up over one category in three months using it. However, what it will really teach you is how to suffer. Every workout seems to hit that precise area where it is just past what you think you can do, but still within the boundary of what you can do*. That keeps pushing you forward and, for me, helped in my swim and run as well. It's a game changer.

*You will curse them at times...believe me.

Thank the LORD! I am hitting around 125-135 for basic riding. If I am doing intervals I can hold 165 or so but only for a couple of minutes. ) This makes a LOT more sense. Scared the crap out of me!! Thanks. Hee hee

Your paces are pretty similar to mine, maybe a little faster for the longer stuff. I would say 125-135 is also a "basic ride" effort for me. Kind of like my "all day" or maybe Ironman pace, if I did those. I don't consider myself a very strong rider, but I can hold 165 for quite a while--not "easy" but probably for at least an hour, maybe more if I put my mind to it. Something like Oly effort. Sprint would be in the neighborhood of 180ish. Just guessing--I haven't raced with the PM yet, just thinking about effort level and how long I can hold it. My last two FTP tests were 195 and 206. Honestly, I'm not sure how that translates to actual speed. When I look at the chart, it says that, at about 3.75 w/kg, I'm a "Cat 2" rider. LOL. I would never even enter a bike race of any category as I would be DFL and probably asked to quit so I didn't get in the way!

The bike is my weakest event. In a good race, I can barely crack the top 25% of the women's AG field, usually more like the bottom of the top third. I've never topped my AG on the bike. So I don't know. Maybe I haven't been very aero in the past (have been tweaking bike fit a lot lately), or the best women in my AG are incredibly strong cyclists, or it's just that my absolute power is low because I'm pretty lightweight, so I get creamed by heavier people with a higher absolute power on a flat course. (I do notice that most of the women who fly past me on the bike are heavier, more muscular riders.) Or some combo thereof. I almost think I'm just really good at completely wasting myself in 20 minutes. It's about the length of a 5K, and I've done a lot of those in my time. So maybe I test beyond my actual ability. There is NO WAY I could hold my supposed FTP for an hour! Even with a gun to my head, I don't think I could do it to save my life!

As for resistance, I never move the knob (I also have a Cyclops) unless setting up the trainer again after I've been away (I have one in the US and one in Vietnam). I just use the gears to change resistance. One thing to be aware of is to keep tire pressure consistent. That can really affect resistance and, if it's too low, make it hard to hit higher power/resistance on the trainer. You don't tend to notice a tire that's going flat as quickly as out on the road.

Edited by Hot Runner 2016-03-22 7:33 AM

Not sure how you are measuring your FTP but if the above is true, it's probably not an accurate FTP. Do you take a % of your 20min ?

Edited by marcag 2016-03-22 7:46 AM

Isn't it supposed to be 95% of the 20-minute test? I just don't think I could hold 95% for an hour. Maybe 90% (if the gun was there), but not 95%. Thus my comment that maybe I'm testing above my ability, just because I've had a whole lot of practice at burning all my matches within 20 minutes, albeit mostly as a runner, not a cyclist. (I also swam the 1500m in HS, which again, is a roughly 20-minute endeavor.)

it does depend on the person and if you did a 5' blow out before the 20 min test. Some people are 92%, others 97.
The 5' and 20min on different days gives an indication of what type you are.

Hmm....the test protocol didn't include a 5-minute trial. There was an extended warmup (almost 40 minutes) with some pretty intense pickups. Not sure I am that much better at a 5-minute test. Last time I did both I think there was maybe a 20 watt differential. I'm just good at emptying my tank in 20 minutes!

I think my riding style/size may also be an issue. I'm pushing a really high cadence on those tests (96-100 RPM) that's faster than what I would normally do in a workout or in a race. That's pretty hard to sustain, cardio-wise, for an hour. I think I'm still working on the strength to push bigger gears that would let me ride longer at the same power at a more sustainable cadence (like 85-90ish). There's also the issue that the test, most of my training, and almost all of my racing are in pretty hot conditions--makes the above even more of an issue. It would be well into the 70's, even with AC, during the test, and most of the time when I'm on the trainer. Maybe sustaining a higher % in cooler temps would be easier. I know in a 5K, the heat doesn't really seem to be a factor except in how sucky I feel at the end, but it definitely affects performance for 10K and above.

Edited by Hot Runner 2016-03-22 8:24 AM

Position also matters. If you test 20w less in aero, that is something to consider
If you have a huge drop off in power between 5 and 20min that is something
If you do it at 70 vs 100 that's a sign. If you struggle doing high power at low cadence that's something to consider.
Heating/cooling is critical. Pacing makes a big difference
many others.

All things you discover with experience and can guide your next steps