School me on deciphering PM data

[joec]

dont confuse leg strength with power,

while the gym work is a good idea, its the aerobic engine you need to focus on to get your FTP up,

[MattSoutherden]

Yeah. I'm just yanking your chain.

And joec is right. Your average 10 year old can easily generate enough force on the pedals to push 400W. You just need to be able to keep doing it.

How much history of power data do you have? Do you have GoldenCheetah? Out of the box it will give you an estimate of your Critical Power based on your ride history.

One tool that is often overlooked in analysing power data is the W' [double-you prime] graph.

Here's a simple explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86Sw3vOCq9U

So, given the area under the graph for a given time period should be your work capacity at that power, you can look at your interval sessions and get an indication if your CP may set too low, and your should really be able to push more Watts for that longer time period if you just HTFU and suffer.

Bear in mind that this is a simple indicator. A track sprinter, for instance, probably really does have the ability to go massively harder for 1 minute than they do - relatively - for 30 minutes. Most other cyclists, it's good enough.

So, if your CP is set correctly, then you should be able to do intervals to exhaustion and the W' graph should bottom out to zero - the battery is empty. If you see that you do a session of 2 minute or 5 minute intervals (or maybe you go and blast that local 3 minute climb just once) and the W' chart keeps dipping below zero during the efforts, before climbing back up in recovery, then your CP is probably set too low.

[Rick]

I have written (bemoaned?) my extensive experiences with weightlifting in other threads.
I have come to the conclusion that, for me, it does absolutely nothing for cycling. Maybe my 10 sec sprint is better....but who cares ?
So don't feel like it should have done anything for you. But, of course, there seems to be a lot of individual variation on that subject.

By my calcs, 100 W steady-state power corresponds to only about 14 pounds of peak pressure on the pedals.
(90 RPM; 170mm cranks) and everything can scale linearly from there. (Any double check to this calc ?)
So even 1000 W is only about 140 lbs; but that means you would have to squat double that (280 including body weight) for both legs simultaneously repeatedly to simulate cycling. I could easily squat that, but I don't think I have ever hit 1000 W even for a full second while riding. My squat speed would probably be much slower than the speed required for 90 RPM pedaling.

[addictR1]

dont confuse leg strength with power,

while the gym work is a good idea, its the aerobic engine you need to focus on to get your FTP up,

guess i also need to pick up running again...

thanks matt for the info and link... will check that out.

Rick: for me since i've been doing leg excercises.. i've actually noticed i can climb better. probably because now i'm more acceptable to the pain?

[MattSoutherden]

Here we go. Did a workout this evening where my W' dropped below zero. I think I need to re-test.



Sigh. More pain.

[addictR1]

matt that's with golden cheetah right?

to get started.. should i import all of my previous activities? i usually just connect them to garmin connect and strava only.

[eric]

Yes! Import all your old data. Calculation of many values needs historical data. For example the Performance Manager's Long Term Stress looks at the last 45 days of training stress, and in reality much farther back. (I wrote the original PM for GC though 3.2 has a new one now)

Your data is important. Don't leave it on some web site where it can disappear. Keep copies. I save the .fit files that I read directly off the garmin. (I never use Garmin Connect because it's terrible software and won't even work in a browser on Linux, and rarely use Strava).
Also write some notes for each ride- how you feel, how you did, etc. If you learned anything (i.e. what not to eat on a century) write it down. In five years you'll be wanting that info.

Running is good training for running. Unless you're doing it when you can't ride for some reason in which case it's better than nothing, riding will be more useful training for riding. I lift weights for general fitness and to address some upper body weaknesses for cycling but it's never done a thing for my riding. I used to stop lifting for the peak of race season. I'd come back to it in the fall and my leg press numbers would be half what I was doing before I stopped. After a couple months they'd be back up. Doubling my leg press has no noticeable effect on my riding. Maybe if I sprinted a lot it might but I'm a climber not a track sprinter.

Mostly what you need to get stronger on the bike is to ride more. Maybe you should come out for some of my Mt Hamilton or Diablo repeat sessions. Structured training (intervals) can make an improvement faster or improve specific areas of fitness but volume counts for a lot. Especially for longer rides/races.

[addictR1]

doh! in that case.. any way i can export from garmin connect or strava for my historical data?

EDIT: found my answer here:
https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/art ... pplication

[glepore]

I have Golden Cheetah on a couple computers-the dropbox synch is useful.

As to weightlifting, it may do nothing for cycling, but it does tons for life. Look at research on bone loss if you don't do weighbearing stuff (I don't do enough).

[Gearjunkie]

Hi

Newbie Golden Cheetah question: where do I put in my CP once I've done the 20 minute FTP test?

Cheers
GJ

[boysa]

Head to Preferences-Athlete-Power Zones

[pdlpsher1]

I have been using a power meter for over a year. I really enjoy using it but I have to admit I don't use any analytical software or follow any power training plans. I don't race so all of my riding is recreational by definition. What that being said the power meter is still an invaluable tool. I have the following advice for someone who is new to power meters.

- I think for the average people (i.e. non professionals) we tend to generate more power on the climbs than on the flats. My max average power for 5min, 20min, and 1hr are all on climbs. I have researched this topic and the best answer I got is that when we are climbing we recruit more muscle groups and hence we're able to push the aerobic engine to a higher level. In conclusion the best way to find the 20min FTP is on a climb, preferably a steep climb with grades equal to or exceeding 8%. If one is participating in competitive group rides or race that is a very good place to obtain a short duration max. power. My best 5min. average power came from a competitive group ride climbing a hill.
- I use the power meter to experiment and find the optimal cadence. After a year of trial and error I've found I could maintain a higher wattage longer at 80rpm than at 60rpm. My average cadence has increased to over 80rpm for the rides that I do.
- Strava is a good tool to do simple power analysis and it's free. If you are a Strava user all the power data is sent over along with the other data. Strava provides the weighted average power for the entire ride as well as the average power for each segment. The weighted average power formula used by Strava is slightly different from normalized power (about 5watts lower).
- Since I don't race, when I'm riding alone I treat each Strava segment as a TT. In other words my goal is to ride each segment as quickly as possible. Having a power meter will improve your pacing as pacing is very important in a TT. With a power meter you'll quickly see the metabolic 'costs' of power surges...each surge is usually followed by a significant power drop.
- When comparing power output to others rider weight has a huge impact. If the rider is bigger with all else being equal the bigger rider will put out more power. A better metric for comparison is watts per kg. Don't be ashamed if you are a small rider and your power is lower.

In conclusion there are many ways to use a power meter, even for someone like myself who doesn't rely on power analysis software.

[Gearjunkie]

Thanks for the reply boysa.

But I can't find "preferences". There is an "Athlete" pull down at the top left of the page but no "power zones" under that.

I'm using version 3.3.0 (the latest I think) if that makes any difference.

[boysa]

Are you running it on OSX or windows? On a Mac, look to the left of "Athlete" and you should see a "Golden Cheetah" pull-down. Under that, you'll find "Preferences" where you make any and all adjustments. If it's Windows, I'm not sure but it should be similar.

[jekyll man]

Thanks for the reply boysa.

But I can't find "preferences". There is an "Athlete" pull down at the top left of the page but no "power zones" under that.

I'm using version 3.3.0 (the latest I think) if that makes any difference.

For windows,
Tools>Options>Athlete

Then you'll see a Power zones tab below.

Set your CP/Ftp there remembering to save and then the "default" tab allows you to set your zones from there.