commonly accepted (whether it's right or not... let's not get into) practice is Allen and Coggan's book "Training and Racing with a Power meter"
I'd suggest picking it up and reading it, it had a lot of insight that helped keep me from using my PT as an expensive HR monitor.

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

Thanks buddy, I'll look into that. Any other suggestions also welcome.

Cheers
Angelo

first I'd read some of the Coggan and Friel articles. Then do some testing to figure out your FTP.

Overly simplified approach would be 20 min intervals @ your FTP.

After you read some of those articles you'll learn about some other key workouts, but I'd say building your FTP will give you the most gains in an oly distance (or any other) distance.

"Is 20 watts enough, or is this the wrong approach to training with a Power Meter?"

I would say way sub-optimal as opposed to wrong. A variety of intensities and durations of efforts will be a better path to improvement. Hunter/ACs book is a good place to start. Also:

http://physfarm.com/...39f2afc02bd5316fcec4

Good luck.

If your training with a power meter train with power. If your training with a HRM train with a HRM. Forget about trying to train with both at once. It is irrelevant what you HRM % is when your reading power output and vice versa. There are workouts you can do that use both power and HR - mainly intervals where you use the HR to determine the end of the interval session. But it is self defeating to try and train with both all the time. As others have suggested get the Hunter Coggan texts and Friel also has some free stuff on his site somewhere. But ultimatly you are looking to work out your FTP - which is functional threshold power - for 60 mins. This is the power output at which you can maintain for 60mins and no longer. It is generally accepted as being equivalant to your Lactate Threshold - the point at which your muscles are producing as much lactate acid as they can get rid or at the same time. Your LT is a very good predictor or performance and used in HR training to determine your training zones. FTP is used in a similar way to determine wattage training zones. Just don't expect to jump on your turbo trainer and put out some zone 3 power sessions and expect to see your HR sat bang in the middle of zone 3 - it does not work like that. When you get the power meter spend a coupl of months collecting data. You will soon see what your FTP is especially if you get in some hard races approx. 1hr duration. As for improving - there is no secret formula. Power meters just make it more accurate and easier to see where your training is heading, what is working and what is not. Essentially until you have used one and got some data of your own you can't do much more than use it like a HRM. After a couple of months when the data starts to build up, that is when you can really start and use the info to inform your next training sessions and decide what areas you need to improve.

Good luck.

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He who understands the WHY, will understand the HOW.

i'm new to training with power too. I've had a number of friends suggest the above mentioned book. good luck!

I just pre-ordered a Quarq SRAM S975 setup so I too will be trying to figure this stuff out.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

While you will get a sound advice here, it will only be bits and pieces. Reading literature on the subject is an optimum solution for you.
The question you asked requires a book long answer. There are no shortcuts. The bible on training with power meter has already been suggested to you. Now I can also add Dr. Skiba's books, very short and informative, down to the point and very practical.
You will have to do some testing to establish your baseline numbers, set your training zones and than the real work begins.
Good luck.

There are a lot of resources out there. Power meters require some research on your part to make the data as useful as it can be. I highly recommend Phil Skiba's books, one is specifically on the use of power for multisport. Info at http://physfarm.com/...1&products_id=20

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Jason
Dig It Triathlon and Multisport
http://www.digittri.com

Some great suggestions. I think the key thing is that training with power is no more complex than training by HR or perceived exertion. You want to read and educate yourself on the physiology. Do the tests, determine your current level and then do the training to raise it. If you ride at 95% of your FTP for an Olympic race, then work to raise your FTP and now you can go faster!

Kevin

You've hit one of the main uses of a power meter - to inform your training.

The second is to use your PM to dial in your pacing. Did you start out too fast? Put it too much of a burst at the end? How did you ride the headwinds, tailwinds, hills and downhills?

There is a optimal pacing given a course and the conditions, and the closer you get to that, the faster you'll finish.

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Steen Rose
http://www.athletesontrack.com

Thanks everyone. I had completed a 1 hr indoor trainer session last week. The first 30 mins was a bit inconsistent, but the last 30 minutes was solid and continuous effort. PM results are:
avg cad - 95
avg spd - 28.1km/h
avg pwr - 156
avg hr - 145

Felt tired coming off the bike, but mostly fine the next day.

Would these numbers indicate my FTP?

They seem softer than my 40km TT in the Oly 4 week ago, but the course was hilly, with a mild tail wind down the hills! I managed 180watts and 29.4 kmh @ 96Cad
Do we experience lower numbers indoors?

Thanks again for any advice.

No............get the book...or at least hunt around the WWW. You'll see specific testing protocols for FTP

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http://theworldthroumyeyes.tumblr.com/

The 40k would be closer to your FTP

I'm normally lower indoors too

jaretj

See here:
http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/...harged-training.html

here:
http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/...ven-deadly-sins.html

and here:
http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/...s-testing-ftp-2.html

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_________________________________________________________________________________
Training Plans -- Power Meter Hire -- SRM Sales Australia -- cyclecoach.com -- My Blog -- Sydney Turbo Studio

quite frankly, i think it would be a good idea if you got a trainer. somebody to at least teach you the basics and probably help you getting out more of the time you spent sitting on the bike

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:::: Rocco's Studio 69 ::::

I've got to second (or third) Dr. Phil's book. It's short, easy to understand, and makes a lot of sense. I'll be basing my training for this season off of everything Dr Phil recommends.

Cheers,
Mike

Is there a method to determine the best combination of Power, HR and cadence, for a particular effort? Any book in particular that explains the combination of the three parameters?

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Giovanni Ciriani
http://www.GlobusSHT.com