Originally Posted by
Eyedrop
Everyone says power blows away heart rate, which makes sense. How much faster will I improve my fitness if I use a power meter properly vs. $50 chest strap HRM? I do get good results with HRM vs. just RPE but I do wonder about power...
It's doubtful it will change your fitness. I've got 3 power meters and use them religiously because I'm curious but there's no getting around the fact that you still have to do the work. Even with a powermeter there's a significant amount of RPE used in determining how hard to go for a particular interval. A powermeter provides a more objective measure of your improvement so if you're still experimenting with training regimens then it could be helpful. It's also convenient for short (under 5 min) intervals and for assessing your strengths and weaknesses.
Hard training combined with lots of racing will do a good job of increasing your fitness. A powermeter might be slightly more efficient and it's certainly interesting so you'll have to weigh the pros and cons. I wouldn't expect you're going to boost your FTP by 5% just because you get a powermeter.