since i first made some software for training with power from 1986 i have seen through the years seen coach coming through the world like grass,not that i want to judge any coaching but how many of you use them and have a power training program with the coach and when you ask something specific do they know
or is it just look at numbers and thats it ,or is it far more then that
not that i sell any program or have interest in this but the people i have seen using it ,seems only getting feedback on their power file´s is it that heading these days or do i see it wrong .
can they give also some mechanic answers on test let say drag or pedal freq or heart rate function
Most people here with power meters use CyclingPeaks to look at the data, but I think very few know how to manipulate their training to get the best value out of their units, and fewer use coaches that do.
I have a Powertap, but I don’t know how to use it other than to make sure my power is x% of my functional threshold power for y minutes based on a training plan I found online. I am certainly no expert.
Ok, sorry if it came across harsh - but I really don’t know if I am understanding him correctly - this is what I think he is asking:
Translated as (is this what you are asking?) - “Coaches and cyclists adapting to training with power has developed slower than I would have anticipated. How many athletes here use a power meter and have training program specifically developed for use with a power meter? Is your coach able to answer specific questions regarding training with power? Do you just review the power data, or is there more to it? Does the power meter also provide other information such as: Coefficient of Drag x Frontal Area (CdA), cadence and heart rate?”
**My answer: ** I have a power meter, and my training plan is written specifically around the use of a power meter. The coach that has developed this plan is very knowledgeable in regards to specific questions I have. (Rich Strauss - www.cruciblefitness.com ). Yes, we use it for much more than just looking at the power data. See www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com - power 411. The power meter directly provides information for cadence and heart rate. It can be used to approximate CdA thru data gathered from a field test (sorry, I don’t have the link for the protocol, but can be found doing a search on Gordo’s Tri forum www.coachgordo.com ).
Ok now someone can correct me on something where my english is not perfect!
I would say that many people use it as an expensive cycling computer, and that’s it. I know I did for the first 2 years I used it. I had one of the first PT’s out there.
The topica wattage list, Charles Howe’s original “Training by Power” and Coggan’s schema on power zones, along with the Cycling Peaks software, have completely changed that for me.
Over every parameter, from 5 second power to an hour, I’m 5-20% higher than I was 5 yrs. ago, on about 1/3rd of the training. I really don’t think I could have accomplished that, or the results I’ve gotten, without a power meter.
Also, using it to work on my TT position has been invaluable. I’m not sure how else you can really field test your TT position w/o a power meter (well, I do, actually, but I just don’t trust the other methods).
One word of advice I’d have for everyone using it as an expensive cycle computer:download every ride! When you figure out how to train by power (or hire a coach who knows what he’s doing), that old data can be really valuable.
ok shaner question if you do not mind in broken english or should i do it in dutch?
do you know how many revolutions you do in a race? ,and have you any info on correlation and covariance of this to the power,and to the heart rate? also any standard devation used in those figure`s
ps i know the protocol for determine drag wrote this in 1988
and this with powermeter can only be used for 0 yaw ,as testing in windtunnel i done you can gain alot more in testing yaw 0-30 to find the best position overall,you cannot do that with a power meter on the track or road with o wind speed,but its better then having nothing
My cadence usually averages 90 for a half ironman and 93 for an olympic distance. I don’t have specific numbers for you, but I can say that if I hold the same power a lower cadence (higher torque) my heart rate will drop slightly, but I do not run as well off of a lower cadence, higher torque ride.
since i first made some software for training with power from 1986 i have seen through the years seen coach coming through the world like grass,not that i want to judge any coaching but how many of you use them and have a power training program with the coach and when you ask something specific do they know
If you’re serious about understanding what some coaches and athletes are doing with power meters, you should subscribe to the wattage mail list at lists.topica.com. That’s were you’ll probably see as much of the state-of-the-art as is being discussed publicly.
I use CyclingPeaks and work with my coach to analyze my data. Could we do more with the data? Yes, certainly. But we use it to make some crude analysis of aerodynamics. And even more, to analyze performance over set intervals and to monitor fatigue. I’ve also used it, I think effectively, to define a relatively narrow band of “optimal” cadence. We also use it, I think most effectively, to monitor how I train in different energy systems and to monitor how I am applying my workload. I think it is important to always look for new ways to take advantage of the tools you have, but it’s also important not to become obsessed with the numbers and to remember, at some level, it is just about training hard.
