While I believe that using a powermeter makes a lot of sense and is a great way to measure performance and build a fitness plan and execute a race plan, I also think there are probably ways to accomplish the same results using other methods. Or maybe I’m just a cheap bastard that doesnt want to spend another $500-1000.
Lets hear how others have trained and improved on their racing without a power meter. Thanks
CycleOps Powercal w/Heartrate
For general usage and to see if you actually want to go this route, this isn’t a bad option either and it’s definitely not $700
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The best way to train without a power meter is to do a hard time trial to your LBS and purchase a power meter.
Trainerroad.com, enough said.
I just go by speed if it’s a course I know or by felt exertion. Nothing scientific by any means.
I know believe that heart rate is too inconsistent and slow to respond for pacing on the bike or even run. It’s a good reference for fitness and setting zones on the run, but I’m finding is less and less important of a metric as I get more fit. I think RPE/breathing rate is better. But keep in mind that often at the start of the bike you need to go easier that you REP indicates and much harder at the end to actually ride and even power output. Meaning, if you pacing correctly, the effort will continuously get harder towards the end of that leg.
Heart rate.
Go do two or three 20 minute intervals on a relatively flat course and see if you can hold 155? 160? 165?
That will give you some magic numbers.
RPE. I gave up on hrms more than a decade ago. As my bike computers petered out over the last few years I haven’t replaced them. I’ve never had a powermeter, and I don’t want one. I train and race by perceived exertion, and it works quite well.
x2 on TrainerRoad. Using virtual power will get you all the benefits of a power meter when you’re on the trainer and over time you’ll get a pretty decent sense of what different power levels feel like so you will get better at managing on the road workouts sans power meter. Plus TR has a ton of power based individual workouts scaled to your individual FTP and structured training plans which will help you learn about training with power. Its a steal for $10 a month. Money well spent.
While I believe that using a powermeter makes a lot of sense and is a great way to measure performance and build a fitness plan and execute a race plan, I also think there are probably ways to accomplish the same results using other methods. Thanks
Yes, there certainly are a myriad of ways to get results without using a pm.
See every cyclist ever before powermeters became a thing…
I agree. I rarely look at the data during the ride but will compare after to similar RPE efforts and courses. When I’m in full training mode I will do FTP tests indoors every 4-6 weeks to measure tangible improvement.
Ride lots. Mostly hard.
What you think is a lot, probably isn’t; what you think is hard, definitely isn’t.
Solo, with groups, TT’s, hill repeats. in the morning, at lunch and at night.
Yup, ride lots. Mostly hard.
In the old days…before PM or HR monitors we were still able to train, amazingly! When our legs hurt we went to a easier gear and spun faster. When our lungs hurt, we went to a harder gear and spun slower. When both legs and lungs hurt we were dialed in just perfectly!
I use a power meter, but I also use the same courses. If the conditions (traffic, wind, humidity, etc.) are near the same I try to hit mile markers based on time. I really like my out and back routes because I will then try as a goal to go a little further out past the turn point in the same amount of time. I have to admit that I have set those mile points based on submaximal power output. Now that I have a feel for the basic metrics I can use RPE instead of watching the PM.
Long mountain climbs are another good place to train without a PM for the same reason. If you have a situation that can weed out variability you get a better idea, but even with a rolling hill course where my vi is more like 1.3 I still use the clock to see if I can beat my previous best times. I suppose it is personal preference, but now that I have used a PM I would rather use RPE than go back to a HRM.
The best way to train without a power meter is to do a hard time trial to your LBS and purchase a power meter.
LOL, funny, I like it
One thing I noticed when going from HR to Power was when I used HR my first interval was WAY too hard to get my HR in the desired zone. For instance 3x15 @ Z4 or something. Once I got the power meter I notice that my initial power was off the charts and would steadily drop until my last interval I couldn’t get to Z4 power but was in Z4 HR.
The power meter helped me to train better I think. I start out easier now and try to increase the effort.
As others have said though, sans power meter ride hard, recover, ride hard again
I don’t use a PM or heart rate. RPE all the way and always have been. I’ve done a few HIM’s that way and it worked out well. I didn’t even wear a watch, but I knew, within a couple minutes, what the race clock would be reading when I rolled in to T1, T2, and the finish. I’ll let you know how it goes for longer distance after IMC.
I do wear an old garmin 410, because I like to track my training hours and various segments on strava, but I never use it to get real time data while training.
I don’t use power, I don’t own a trainer and only occasionally I use a Heart Rate Monitor. I go with perceived effort, I try to avoid getting dropped by my training partners and/or try to pass every other cyclist on the road. In summary I train the way I race.
A power meter is just a tool. The “train with power” thing is really about the structured interval workouts and, even more importantly, the structured plan of workouts played out over time.
To poor man this without a PM, you need a) a structured workout plan and b) a decent feel for how long you can ride “all out” for various time increments so you can develop your own sliding RPE scale. (This is where TrainerRoad helps a lot because after a winter on the trainer, you will have a decent feel for matching RPE to actual watts based power zones). Its all about varying effort levels inside a workout and then stringing various workouts together over time. A power meter makes that part easy because you just match your watts to the particular target and follow the plan. You can still do that without a power meter. Its just less precise.
I agree.
The more I ride, I find that less depends on making sure every second of every ride counts. It’s more about breaking little records on my route, having a “race to the finish” with a buddy, etc.
To me, a powermeter is just a tool to keep me honest.
I bought a power meter, but when I’m doing all out efforts, I could give a crap what it says. Love to see that data later, though, and analyze the crap out of it.
I recently did IMTX and it helped me stay within a certain range, though.
I think that if you’re going to use it for longer stuff, you can use it real time. For shorter stuff, don’t bother. Go by RPE.