Any other weightweenie training by power?

can you explain that? Don't know what you mean

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Until now almost everyone has trained by Hear Rate, determining training zones using max heart rate or Lactate threshold heart rate, since a few years with the production of powermeters there has been a new tendency towards training by power, as power is a much more objetive approach for determining workload. Power is not affected by mood or temperature, HR is.
Im new to training by power and would like to know if any other weight weenies are following this training method. if you want more info check this documents:
http://curve.phpwebhosting.com/~mtfbwy/pdq/power.htm
http://www.topica.com/lists/wattage/rea ... =901936066

weel, interesting. I'm not at the moment, but it will be something for the future though. isn't there a way to combine power training with "normal" hrm training? Power training is really interesting. I need to read more about it!

Thanks

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In fact power training is combined with HR training, HR is used for high volume low intesity workouts while power is used for high intensity workouts.
If you do intervals looking at your HR Im sure that the power output for the last interval is much lower than for the first, therefore workload varies along the session, if you use a powermeter you can aim at a determinated power output for all the intervals...at least this is what i have understood.
The thing about training by power is that there is a lot of discussion around it as it is a relatively new thing.
For more info do not doubt to contact me.

Yeah, I've been training with power for a couple years now. And what I can say is that at times it is just too much info for me to follow. It takes a lot, on the bike and off the bike to be dedicated to power training. You will also find yourself doing a lot of solo rides, one of the great aspects of cycling is the team. And I know for me, the power training often too a back seat to training with my teammates. I don't think the power meter is a good replacement for the HR meter. An indoor trainer with a power computer is a more cost effective solution, using it periodically under a standard set of conditions to gauge training progress. Power meters are complicated and heavy, things to keep in mind.

This is a good idea for a discussion. We should call it Power to Weight Weenies!

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I train by the burning of my legs. Numbers don't mean jack. NO PAIN, NO GAIN!

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spoken with such youthful spirit. keep it up. don't let the old men tell you otherwise. I bet Eddy Meckx never had a power meter.

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It is a good idea to train by analyzing power. I actually do it once in a while to fullfill my (nerdy) needs and to know my progress theoretically. However, I don't advise this type of measurement for people that are not into evaluating and analysing their data own, it would take you more time. If you have a coach or someone to analyze it for you, then go for it. If not, just go out there and train that's the best way.

I am my own coach, and I don't have that much time to ride so I want to take the most profit of it. If by training by power for 4000 km I could reach the same performance as I would by just riding hard but putting in 8000 km, I wouldn't doubt it, I think training by power is the next step.
I prefer to be my own coach as my daily schedule changes constantly, so if I know what workouts I have to do and I can organize myself.
I agree you have to do solo rides, but only the first one or two months, and this disciplined trainig pays off in june when you ride faster than your teammates, at that time it's when you think that all those solo rides where worth it. I can assure.
I normally ride with people that are fit year round, and it's very motivating to be dropped off the first ride, and then changing characters two months latter, when the ones being dropped off are them

That is really awesome Spaniardclimber. I am planning to train smarter 2 weeks from now and use my poweroutput data everyday.
I will purchase a better power meter. Do you know what is a better powermeter out there? What do you use?

thank you

There is no BEST powermeter, each one has its pros/cons and you must decide the one that suits you best.
I first had a polar power meter, I made the mistake of buying before reading, and found that it could have problems with indoor trainers. I also switch between cassettes frequently, and the distance between the sensor and chain is crucial, so when I put the 12-17 cassette, this space is too wide for correct readings.
There is also Power tap, but then again you have to use the same wheel for training and racing, and since I have three wheelsets (I use one for racing, one for road training and one for the indoor trainer) this option was discarded. Powertap is great if you have mora than one bike as you just have to change the wheel from one bike to another.
SRM was discarded for it's price.
And the best option for me (but remember this is personal) was ergomo, I can switch wheels and use it with my indoor trainer. The software that comes with it is great. People at ergomo are very friendly and they answer your questions almost inmediately. I have had my ergomo installed on monday and only did one ride as I am in my rest & recovery week, so I can't give you any feedback on it, if you wait two or three more weeks Ill post some opinions.
The good or bad thing about power training is that you have to read alot, and since english is not my first language and all what you read is very technical I find some difficulties in understanding it, but it's also a challenge.

Thanks so much spaniardclimber. I had the same dilemna with the power meters too. The first you mentioned ,Polar, was quite inaccurate. Powertap is better but I train and race on both 700c (road) and 650c (triathlon) so that wouldn't work for me either. SRM? I've read about it and it is very promising however it is priced as much as a whole bike. I'll probably wait till training season before I buy one.

I started using a Powertap last year, at my coach's request. Wasn't about to spend the money on an SRM, and I like being able to put the Powertap on my cross bike during Fall.

To really get the max benefit from it, you have to tailor your workouts around it. I was doing very specific climbing workouts with it several days in a row. Also, it's really nice to have the downloadable graphs so you can see how your intervals and workouts went.

Right now, I am just using my old HRM since I only started training again this month (bad car accident last year). For base training, the HRM is fine.

How do you like your powertap? I was thinking if it is a very good training tool in terms of powermeters, I'd rather just sell my 650c tri bike and buy a 700c tri bike instead of buying a SRM since the price would be the same. by this, I can switch wheelsets with my road and tri bikes.