Training with a power meter: the ins and outs

[SciencetoSport]

Cycling is a fairly unique sport due to the ability to be able to get a direct measure of workload. Power meters have been around for a few decades already and are able to measure your power output in real time during training and racing. Immediately after the power meters were first released to the consumer market, they were extremely expensive and heavy, use was limited to certain professional cycling teams and others that could afford them. Recent advances in technology have seen power meters become cheaper and as a result their popularity has increased among cyclists of all levels. In this article, we will provide some insight into how we use power meters with our athletes.

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[raptor-22]

power meter sales slowing down?

[Iwan Kemp]

power meter sales slowing down?

 

From the opening paragraph:

 

"Recent advances in technology have seen power meters become cheaper and as a result their popularity has increased among cyclists of all levels."

[Natural Defender]

An interesting read though.

[Pure Savage]

Anybody seen a proper marked improvement going from HR to Power training that is not a pro athlete? It makes indoor training sessions easier to execute, but I am not 100% sold on the bike. 

 

I normally just hang on up the climbs and recover till the next one, repeat. Will a power meter make a difference?

[raptor-22]

From the opening paragraph:

 

"Recent advances in technology have seen power meters become cheaper and as a result their popularity has increased among cyclists of all levels."

 

 

yes while sales of cyclng related goods are generally down. Popularity does not equal growth in sales over a rolling period.

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/tag/statistics

 

generally the industry is in a down turn

[LOOK695]

From the opening paragraph:

 

"Recent advances in technology have seen power meters become cheaper and as a result their popularity has increased among cyclists of all levels."

Still waaaaay to pricey for my wallet???? Edited June 14, 2016 by LOOK695

[EmptyB]

Anybody seen a proper marked improvement going from HR to Power training that is not a pro athlete? It makes indoor training sessions easier to execute, but I am not 100% sold on the bike.

 

I normally just hang on up the climbs and recover till the next one, repeat. Will a power meter make a difference?

Agreed, for indoor training they are fantastic and that's where I like to use them...but that's it.

 

They've been around long enough for me to know it won't make any difference to me on the bike outdoors. In fact, I don't wanna look at all that cr@p while I'm riding...

[Escapee..]

Anybody seen a proper marked improvement going from HR to Power training that is not a pro athlete? It makes indoor training sessions easier to execute, but I am not 100% sold on the bike. 

 

I normally just hang on up the climbs and recover till the next one, repeat. Will a power meter make a difference?

 

Most guys I know that ride with it, swear by it.

 

Nothing to do with the fact that they are doing 3-5 hours more per week on the bike 

[Thomo]

Tough to say anything bad once you've invested so much in the piece of equipment.

 

I do think there's enough evidence though to justify the use of powermeters.

But like any training tool, it's only effective when used properly.

Will it make you win races - no, probably not if you weren't good enough to win to start.

[Zatek]

I am doing about 5 hours less a week and race in VA. I ave about 8 hours a week and 4 hours is power based training.

[Thomo]

Training tools/aids (when used properly) open the door to quality training vs quantity training.

[cadenceblur]

Training tools/aids (when used properly) open the door to quality training vs quantity training.

Indeed that's what it's about. They're also like a mirror showing you exactly where you're at.

[V12man]

Indeed that's what it's about. They're also like a mirror showing you exactly where you're at.

I find that I can cut out the "junk miles" - my trianing has become more efficient time wise - better results - less time.

 

Now to focus on not falling off the bike so much....

[SciencetoSport]

Anybody seen a proper marked improvement going from HR to Power training that is not a pro athlete? It makes indoor training sessions easier to execute, but I am not 100% sold on the bike. 

 

I normally just hang on up the climbs and recover till the next one, repeat. Will a power meter make a difference?

We know how much you chaps love to #Hammer

 

We still use heart rate to prescribe training and are firm believers that you can train very effectively with heart rate, no matter the level of the athlete.

 

Power adds an extra variable that allows us to effectively monitor training load and progression (improvements).

 

In addition, the relationship between heart rate and power output and perception of effort helps us monitor fatigue too.

 

As indicated above, information is only valuable if you know how to interpret it.

 

Would it help if we held a talk to discuss this in more detail? I am sure we could organize this if there was enough interest.

[SciencetoSport]

An interesting read though.

 

Thank you for the feedback.