Damien09

I just got my first power meter. there is a lot of info out there. i was wondering if anyone knew of a good book or a training program that easy enough to find for a beginner with power meters. As all this info is overwhelming to decided which one to use over another. Any help would be appreciated.

Seattle Forrest

Training and Racing with a PM. You'll get 20 more recommendations for that book on the first page of this thread.

For now just ride the way you normally do and collect the data. Download Golden Cheetah, which is free. Load your rides into it when you finish them. Look at the Critical Power chart and the map of where you burned your matches. This will be a lot easier to get a handle on if you don't try to figure everything out at once.

PepeM

The Cyclist Training Bible and Training and Racing with a Power Meter are probably the two essential ones, but there is a lot of info in there and they won't give you a preset, straightforward training plan which you can just follow without needing to do some planning on your own. The Time Crunched Cyclist Program does give you a straightforward plan you can just follow without needing any input from you. Some people like it, some don't. How long have you been riding? I think it can be a bit brutal for beginners.

RChung

You got a power meter but don't know what to do with it? That's not just putting the cart before the horse, that's buying a cart before even thinking about owning a horse.

I've never been able to get through that book.

I mostly agree with this. People new to power meters are anxious to change things but they don't yet have enough information to know what to change. As Seattle Forest says, just do normal rides for a while, record everything, learn how to zero your power meter before every ride, and pay attention to how you feel and how your feelings correlate to what you're recording or seeing on the display. If you use Golden Cheetah (or any program, really) make a note after each ride about your "session RPE." Sprint if you want (everyone does), try to find out what your max power is if you want (everyone does) but don't do anything different for a couple or few weeks. After a few weeks, you'll have a baseline.

Damien09

I have been cycling for about a year and, off and on before that. so in no way adept but not unknowledgeabal either. i have allways been active so fittness is ok for training plans. i have been using some of stravas training plans ,which i think may be modeled after time crunched cyclist training plans. thanks for knowlegable input from everyone so far. originaly i was plaing to do like seattle said. but i thought that if there was a book or trianing program to keep me on track or, other tips that have been learned threw trial and error it might be worth asking. like doing a 20 min ftp test? as i have seen mention of that.

Doge

Same boat - 7 years on this one, I used the Polar in the 90s. Still don't know what to do with them outside of using for testing.

RChung

It's a power meter, not a bolt-on motor. It's like a bathroom scale. Just buying one and keeping it in the cabinet under the sink doesn't mean you're going to lose weight. You have to interpret what it tells you, and then use that to change your behavior.

Doge

What behavior do you change based on what you see?

Clipped_in

Friel's Power Meter Handbook is a good basic introduction to understanding how to use that new gizmo you just bought. You can decide after reading that if you want to really dig into the Allen & Coggin book.

Seattle Forrest

How hard (or fast) to push down on the pedals, and how long to spend doing it.

RChung

That's one possibility. Another is to change the "demand" side.

Doge

I think focusing on your feeling (gut, AM HR, HR in training) is more important than your output.

I think the PM is a good tool to have for some things. I do not think it is a good tool at all for racing - sans TT. Recording the race is after the fact and nothing wrong with that. But during the race it tells you what you can or cannot do.

For training, I just am not sure. Using a PM means you do not use a HRM to guide you. Most people have both, but what is in charge? HRM are old tech compared to PM, but combined with your gut and measuring yourself in the AM, you can get a good picture of how you feel. As very many over train - epidemic with youth in several sports, they work harder and get slower. Most would be better listening to their bodies instead of doing a set routine.

Closest thing I can think of is a gym with weights. If you lift the same weight at the same speed and distance you did the last workout, you are doing the same power. But, not all trainers think this is a good idea. Some think if you are tired, fatigued - you should lift lighter. Some don't.

So while it is a nice tool for some things, and recording is fun, we don't use a PM for training or racing.

pinoy92231

No idea about any books but check out Trainer Road. Its a website/program that guides you through and provide training programs using power meters

RChung

Quelle surprise.

Power calibrates RPE. RPE modulates power.

Seattle Forrest

I can make it up all the hills around me faster with a PM than without one. Because a power meter is more sensitive and precise than gut feeling.

I mean I have limits, and I know when I'm done based on how I feel not what my PM says. But up until that point, the PM is much better at predicting how much gas I have left in the tank.

I think there are two kinds of people. Some folks are really in tune with their bodies in the moment, good at pacing themselves, etc. Other people are really good at ignoring what their bodies tell them and pushing through things like pain and fatigue. These people are good at cycling or long distance running because they tune out that feedback from their body.

Here's a neat article that supports your point of view: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/op...smtyp=cur&_r=0

Doge

Thanks for that. Interesting. The head part is huge.
Your comment on getting up faster with a PM is believable. And also training harder with one. There needs to be consideration of how hard someone should train and when they need to rest, rebuild, taper. The PM doesn't really do that.

The last 4 years during heavy training coach want's an AM resting HR combined with feel to determine how hard to work that day. That means how hard in the gym, on the bike, rowing and sleep. Elevated HR in the AM means maybe a nap, instead of a ride. This is the determiner over the PM watts (when using a PM).

Seattle Forrest

The PM doesn't tell me how much rest I should get; it also doesn't tell me what I should eat or how often I should have sex with my girlfriend. It just measures power. But then my HRM can't tell me where the nearest Starbucks is either.

This makes me think the hill thing isn't clear at all. It's not that seeing my power shames me into riding harder!

Without a PM, I work too hard too early on and lose steam before I get to the top; or I'm conscious not to do that and don't give it enough. With a PM, and a very rough idea how big the hill is, I can stay pretty close to the maximum power I can sustain for however long it will take me to climb the hill. Gut feel isn't accurate enough to choose the best pace for an X minute effort, at least for me.

kc0bbq

Power analysis software does pretty much tell you how much rest you should get.

Won't help with the girlfriend, though.

Seattle Forrest

You mean this?

• TSS less than 150 - low (recovery generally complete by following day)
• 150-300 - medium (some residual fatigue may be present the next day, but gone by 2nd day)
• 300-450 - high (some residual fatigue may be present even after 2 days)
• Greater than 450 - very high (residual fatigue lasting several days likely)

It's always been pretty close for me. Enough to know what I'm doing tomorrow based on what the ride summary on my Garmin says.

I was trying to be clever; I don't think Doge's complaint that a power meter isn't a complete training plan is a fair criticism. A power meter is a tool like any other, and it's up to you to know how to use it.

Heathpack 

No. He was referring to the Performance Management Chart in WKO (or similar in other data analysis software). Strava Premium tracks this as well. Things like Fitness, Freshness and Training Stress Balance. The idea is when your TSB is too low, you need rest.

This software is not as good as an experienced human being at making rest decisions, however, because it's majorly based on TSS and the TSS formula does not factor in all that makes one ride more difficult than another- altitude for example, or heat stress, or off-the-bike life stress.

So for me, coach trumps PMC every time. I also now have developed a pretty good sense of when TSB does and does not reflect reality. But that takes time and a willingness to not be too dazzled by the numbers.

bored117 

Golden Cheetah is good start and book recommendation too...
I would focus on getting data accumulated first... even before using it for training... Gotta start somewhere.
I put power meter on my wife's bike recently... and using it more for pacing in her case at this point going up hill... she is newer cyclist with tendency to suffer through hill by going up anaerobic, then going at recovery pace until she is at her SST or Aerobic Threshold eventually... Not that it is bad to do that... but that makes it less efficient for longer hills.
Eventually, once enough data is gathered, maybe I can be her coach managing the workouts, intensities, etc.
For me, power meter really is for 3 things... 1) to manage over/under training. 2) to pace myself on longer rides. 3) to manage my fitness progress... How to do these are in Golden Cheetah or books everyone mentioned. Hope you enjoy yours and get something good out of it!

Doge

Well, first, thanks for the dialog. But I think you can learn to feel that. And you can learn faster without reading the screen.
If you are doing this to race/go faster developing the feels is a higher priority. The guys off the front may not be consulting the PM.
For a TT - use them. For everything else, seems to be somewhat of a crutch.
Frankly I am not sure. Most the family is running on genes. But while power is an important component of winning races, it is just a component.

Doge

Did you just agree with me publicly?

Heathpack 

Well, I can't help it if you are right sometimes.

Doge

I'm actually not all that set on one way over the other. I just think the art outweighs the science. The genes trump all.