Educate me on training with a power meter

Triathlon Forum
1

I just won a quarq power meter on ebay and it will be arriving in a week. Can someone educate me on the power meter? What do terms like wattage and ftp mean? Can you recommend some books/articles to read? I am eager to learn how to make my training more efficient. (I have a coach that will analyze my data for me)

Thanks,

Jason

2

Why would anyone buy a powermeter when they can use hr?

3

Get this book:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Meter-Handbook-Triathletes/dp/1934030953
.

4

There are some books just look on amazon. For me the quarq saves me from myself. Riding smarter during races. Riding harder during training. It never lies.

5

Why would anyone buy a powermeter when they can use hr?

HR is terrible compared to a power meter, power opens up many training options and also accurate pacing.

6

Why would anyone buy a powermeter when they can use hr?

10/10. Well done.

7

Why would anyone buy a powermeter when they can use hr?

Why would I even bother training, I’m still BOP with my 1:15 HM.

8

Buy training and racing with a power meterRead it cover to cover twice. Feel extremely motivatedDo a FTP test, feel disheartenedRise above it and start crushing yourself as prescribed by Hunter Allen in the book…Be awesomePost about it on slowtwitch and be called a drafter/liar/whatever

9

i agree with others regarding the need to read a book or some web info and do a good FTP test. Once you get a sense for the band about +/- 20% of your ftp, you can start making sure your training tends to fall in the zone where it helps you improve.

One of the things I have only understood this year is the need for careful pacing on some types of intervals. I was doing 5 mins v02 intervals yesterday and it’s easy to go out hard on those and then end up with the correct average, but in truth doing that shorts me by using my anaerobic system for the first minute or so, which means i’m really just doing 4 minutes at the correct load, not 5, even though i might get better watts average for the pootly paced interval.

So read some stuff and talk to people who understand. I have a few people that I share workouts with and we are able to talk through our training, that helps me a lot.

There’s a lot of bullshit out there too and people who want to mystify it so you feel the need to hire a coach.

10

This:

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/power-analysis-101

Then this:
https://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/articles?DCI=96&PS=15&categoryfilter=0&searchtext=&searchmode=anyword

If you get it and want more, only then order the book everyone recommends:
http://www.amazon.com/Training-Racing-Power-Meter-Hunter/dp/1934030554

.

11

I just won a quarq power meter on ebay and it will be arriving in a week. Can someone educate me on the power meter? What do terms like wattage and ftp mean? Can you recommend some books/articles to read? I am eager to learn how to make my training more efficient. (I have a coach that will analyze my data for me)

Thanks,

Jason

I posted a similar question and was given this link as a recommendation to start: http://home.trainingpeaks.com/...ith-power-ebook.aspx

I have the Hunter and Coggan book as well, but that will take me some time to get through. I definitely want to read it.