Intro

After training and pushing yourself to the limit, you will be prepared to take all of that hard-won fitness and do your best on race day. The most important thing on the bike will be pacing yourself correctly.

Most triathletes do not understand how easy it is to ride too fast on the bike leg; it’s the number one cause of DNF’s in triathlons. The difference between a well-paced bike leg and a poorly paced one can be as little as 15 watts (normalized) for an average in the event.

It’s not just about average watts; it’s about how you produce those watts, how many “surges” you make during the triathlon, and whether you go harder in the beginning or save some for the finish. All of these factors can dramatically impact your run time and can be easily monitored with a pedal power meter like Assioma.
How you will produce watts is the first consideration to think about when developing a tri-racing strategy.

Not all watts are created equal

You can create 1,000 watts by pedaling in the 53:12 gear at a very high force but slow cadence, or you can produce 1,000 watts by pedaling in the 39:21 gear at a low force but very fast cadence. The watts are the same in the end, but you called on very different muscle-fiber types to produce them.

More fast-twitch (Type II) muscle fibers are recruited when you are pedaling in a high-force, low-cadence situation, whereas more slow-twitch (Type I) fibers are recruited in a low-force, high-cadence situation.

I use a tool in TrainingPeaks WKO+ software called Quadrant Analysis to help you understand exactly how you create the watts.
Quadrant Analysis takes your power data and plots it in four different quadrants so you can see exactly how you did create your watts.
Quadrant 1 is high force and fast cadence like sprinting, Quadrant II is high force and slow cadence, like climbing a steep hill or pushing a big gear, Quadrant III is your endurance pace with low force and slow cadence and finally, Quadrant IV is low force and fast cadence which is more like a criterium.
Quadrant III is predominantly the Quadrant you want to be in during a long-distance triathlon.

Why does it matter in triathlon?

It matters because of the energy expenditure in both situations. When fast-twitch muscle fibres are recruited, more muscle glycogen is used in the contractions than when slow-twitch fibres are recruited.

One of the key things for a triathlete to do is to pedal as smoothly and steadily as possible. By keeping your Power output as smooth as you can, then you save valuable energy for the run.  By smoothing your effort on hills, and avoiding bursts of wattage, you can keep your pedalling variability low and therefore reduce the amount of muscle glycogen used on the bike leg.

Here, we see an excellent example of a well-paced Ironman distance race.
This athlete created his watts perfectly to have a PR on the run. Notice that quadrant III and quadrant IV contain 33% and 56% of his wattage respectively.
This means that he kept the force low and just varied his cadence from slower (less than 85rpm) or faster (more than 85rpm). This is a key component of the most successful triathletes.

Just as, when you are driving a car, your fuel consumption will be much higher if you are constantly “flooring” it and accelerating hard at every chance you get than if you just drive smoothly and consistently, your muscle glycogen expenditure will be greatest on the bike when you are fluctuating your power between low and high forces.
I am not necessarily advocating always using a high cadence in triathlon; I am, however, advising greater mindfulness about how you create your watts in a race.

Stay light on the pedals, use your gearing to keep your cadence consistent, and if you are a “gear masher,” spend plenty of time in training trying to achieve a more consistent, smoother pedalling stroke. Your pacing strategy should include being able to choose the correct gearing in such a way as to minimize excessive glycogen use.

Keep the right pace

The next most important use for your power meter is to know the pace that you should adhere to in order to give it your best on the bike, but still have a PR on the run. That first begins with knowing your functional threshold power or FTP.

Your FTP is the best average power that you can produce for one hour.
How do you find it?
Two ways:

• Go out and do your best 1-hour effort at the edge. As HARD as you can go
• If you don’t have a suitable location for an hour’s effort, then 20 minutes will do.  Do your best 20 minutes of effort and then subtract about 5% off that number.  That will be very close to the same power you would do in an hour or your FTP.

Once you know your FTP, then you can begin to make a pacing strategy based on the length of your race. In Dr. Coggan and my book, “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, our chapter on Triathlon goes more in-depth with pacing and also case studies by successful triathletes.

Will a power meter improve your cycling?

A power meter is more than just a training tool, it’s a tool to help you achieve the best performance you can on your day. All watts are not created equal in cycling and how you create the watts is a very important part of your bike leg.

Just pushing the biggest gear you can is a mistake, and you will likely pay for that mistake on the run. As we all know, the sport of triathlon is largely a sport of pacing, and pacing yourself in the bike leg is probably the most important place to be mindful, as going too fast can ruin your run time, or going too slow will give you a subpar overall performance.

Assioma tells you absolutely how hard you are going in a race, whereas pacing by heart rate can be very deceptive since heart rate is affected by heat, hydration, sleep the night before and a number of other things.
Use your Assioma power meter in both training and racing to help you be more successful in whatever distance triathlon you are competing in.

Hunter Allen has FTP online training programs available at FTP Archives – Shop Peaks Coaching Group.
He is the co-author of “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, “Cutting Edge Cycling” and “Triathlon Training with Power”.
They are available at www.shoppeaks.com.
You can contact Hunter directly at www.PeaksCoachingGroup.com for personal coaching and camps.

The post How to Use a Power Meter to Your Advantage in a Triathlon appeared first on Favero Cycling.

Intro

After reading “Why Train with a Pedal-based Power Meter?”, in this article we’ll see where to start for the preparation of a power training program. The first thing to do when using a power meter is to find out your Threshold Value, similarly to what you do also with a heart rate monitor: this is the key point for setting one’s own Power Training Zones. This starting value is called Functional Threshold Power (FTP).

What is the FTP in cycling?

The FTP (Functional Threshold Power) in cycling is defined as the highest power a rider can maintain in a quasi-steady state without fatiguing.  Or more simply, it’s an estimation of the workload a cyclist can sustain for an hour without a drastic increase in metabolite wastes (build-up of lactic acid).

Andrew Coggan, famous American exercise physiologist, was the first one to have the idea of combining the concept of lactate threshold with power data. He and his co-author Hunter Allen defined FTP in their first edition of “Training and Racing with a Power Meter” in 2006.

How to do an FTP test?

There are several methods to do an FTP value. We believe the easiest procedure is the one proposed by Hunter Allen himself, together with his colleague Andrew Coggan.
The Allen-Coggan test takes just 20 minutes, warm-up and cool-down excluded.
You’ll only need a bike, a stopwatch, and a power meter.

Even though the test can be performed accurately on a flat road or on the rollers or indoor smart trainer, we think that to better sustain the maximum effort required, the best is an outdoor uphill climb with moderate steepness (3-5%) and with no frequent stops (like traffic lights and crossroads).

The procedure is actually very easy: a starting warm-up followed by a 20-minute best effort, where you have to ride as hard as you can.
Finally, you’ll have to multiply the average power registered during these 20 minutes by 0,95: the result is your FTP, Functional Threshold Power.
It is very important that you always do the 5-minute all-out effort in your warm-up. This is done to reduce your freshness/anaerobic capacity so that that will not skew your 20-minute wattage numbers higher than what you could truly do for an hour.

FTP test procedure according to Allen and Coggan

1. 20-minute easy riding warm-up
2. 3 x 1 minute fast-pedaling interval up to max 120rpm, and rest at 80rpm for a minute between intervals
3. 5 minutes at a lower pace to recover
4. 5 minutes at your maximum pace. You should “explode” at the end of the 5-minute effort.  It’s very important you do this before your 20-minute test.
5. 5 minutes at a low pace to recover
6. The real FTP: 20 minutes at your highest average power.  Do not start too hard, but start strong and push yourself!
7. 10-minute recovery at a moderate pace

Once the test is completed, the power data recorded will have to be downloaded on a dedicated software. There are several valid software on the web (e.g. The Sufferfest, TrainingPeaks, TrainerRoad, Rouvy, etc.) and also free ones (e.g. GoldenCheetah or StriveMax). Many of them will automatically determine your FTP and the relative Power Zones.

Photo by Bardiani Team – Athlete: Nicolas Dalla Valle

Why subtracting 5% to the average power?

Allen and Coggan observed that the average power sustained in a 20-minute FTP test is 5% higher than the one you can maintain in a one-hour test.  The 20-minute test is really a “shortcut” to doing the full one-hour test as it’s much easier to focus for 20 minutes and also find a location where you can do a 20-minute FTP test. Some riders will need to subtract more than 5% if they have a naturally high anaerobic capacity, and other riders might only need to subtract 3% if they have a low anaerobic capacity.

Again, it’s very important that you always do the 5-minute all-out test before the 20-minute test in order to reduce some of your freshness and make 95% of your 20-minute test number closer to what your wattage might be for the full 60-minute test.

It’s also important to remember that the FTP test procedure suggested by the two American physiologists aims at simulating the maximum effort a subject can sustain for an entire hour without an excessive lactic acid build-up, but drastically reduces the test time to a third.

When to repeat the FTP test?

The Allen-Coggan test should be repeated every 6-8 weeks as your fitness changes in 6-8 week cycles. It’s important to make sure you test during the preparatory phase, before the beginning of the racing season, during the racing season and in the period that follows the races. It is possible to check one’s own FTP value at any time, autonomously and without the need for other tools than one’s own power meter.

Both professional cyclists and amateurs aim at having their FTP value increase over time and after each test, you will need to redefine all your Power Zones with increasingly higher values.
To find out how to calculate all your Power Zones, check out our blog, in particular, “Power Training Zones for Cycling”.

Hunter Allen has FTP online training programs available at FTP Archives – Shop Peaks Coaching Group.
He is the co-author of “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, “Cutting Edge Cycling” and “Triathlon Training with Power”.
They are available at www.shoppeaks.com.
You can contact Hunter directly at www.PeaksCoachingGroup.com for personal coaching and camps.

The post The FTP Test: What is it and How to Do it appeared first on Favero Cycling.

Intro

Cycling is a sport where every pedal stroke counts. It’s a symphony of endurance, strength, and strategy performed on two wheels, often called a “chess game” on wheels. For riders seeking to elevate their performance, the integration of technology has become paramount. Among the various tools available to cyclists, none hold as much potential for refining training and enhancing performance as the power meter.

Your first step in your power meter journey

In the realm of cycling, the Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test stands as a pivotal metric, akin to a compass guiding riders towards optimal performance. Your FTP, a cornerstone of training with a power meter, offers a precise gauge of an athlete’s sustainable power output over approximately 60 minutes. FTP is the single most important physiological determinant of performance in events ranging from as short as a 3 km pursuit to as long as a 3-week stage race.

Functional Threshold Power is defined as the highest power a rider can maintain in a quasi-steady state without fatiguing for approximately 60 minutes. When power exceeds FTP, fatigue will occur much sooner, whereas power just below FTP can be maintained much longer.
This means that a rider doing roughly a 60-minute time trial, their average watts for this time trial will be their FTP. It’s a physiological marker, representing a delicate balance between aerobic and anaerobic energy systems.

FTP serves as a starting point for establishing training zones, shaping workouts, and measuring progress over time. You must complete this test first, so that you will know where your current fitness lies and then you will also be able to re-test every 8 weeks so that you can easily quantify your improvement and make changes to your training and training zones as needed.
If you’re curious to know how to run an FTP test, make sure you read our dedicated article.

Leveraging FTP data for training

FTP isn’t merely a number; it’s a compass guiding training, which allows you, among other things, to establish your training zones.

The Coggan Classic Power Zones were created by Dr. Andrew R. Coggan and are how you should begin to define your training zones. They encompass various intensity levels, from recovery rides to threshold efforts and beyond.

Each zone corresponds to a specific percentage range of an athlete’s FTP.
For instance, Zone 1 denotes easy spinning and active recovery, Zone 2 represents endurance efforts, while Zones 4 and 5 focus on pushing the limits of lactate threshold and Vo2 Max, respectively.
By precisely targeting these zones, riders can tailor workouts to address specific physiological adaptations, optimizing their training to achieve desired outcomes.

Re-testing and re-setting of Zones

The beauty of FTP lies in its malleability. As athletes progress or adapt and become stronger and stronger, their FTP improves. Regular reassessment (Every 8 weeks) through subsequent FTP tests ensures training remains aligned with current physiological capabilities.

By tracking changes in FTP over time, riders gauge progress, adapt training regimens, and set new performance targets.

Additional testing: The power profile test!

This is an additional test that allows the rider to test their strengths and weaknesses.

This test is a test of your 1 minute, 5 minute and 5 second power. These are maximal efforts and also should be done when you are fresh.
You should do them in the protocol below.

Once you have done these tests, then you should upload the data into a program like TrainingPeaks Software, it will display the Power Profile Chart, and the shape of the chart defines the type of rider you are: Sprinter, Time Trialist/Climber, All-Arounder or Pursuiter.

For more information on data analysis and all the ins and outs of what the metrics mean and how to use them, check out the book, “Training and Racing with a Power Meter” by Hunter Allen and Dr. Andrew R. Coggan.

Applying science to training

The marriage of science and sport is evident in the realm of power-based training.
Concepts like periodization, where training is divided into distinct phases to peak at specific times, are honed with precision through power meters. Using Training Stress Score (TSS), which is an important measure of the training stress of each workout, allows the rider to compile this information into the Performance Manager Chart inside TrainingPeaks Software and then predict peaks of fitness and the ideal times for their races. Using the Performance Manager and TSS allows riders to structure their training blocks, manipulating intensity and volume, while carefully monitoring fatigue and recovery.

Moreover, the use of power meters like Assioma allows for targeted workouts aimed at improving specific physiological systems. Whether it’s enhancing aerobic capacity, bolstering muscular endurance, or refining sprinting prowess, workouts are tailored to elicit specific adaptations, amplifying overall performance.

Benefits beyond performance

Beyond the realms of competitive cycling, power meters offer benefits to riders of all levels. The common denominator is that you have to want to improve!
Power meters provide a tangible means of tracking progress, fostering motivation, and instilling a sense of accomplishment. Cyclists aiming to complete their first-century ride or conquer challenging terrains can leverage power meters to optimize their training and enhance their overall experience on the bike, even enhancing their nutrition while riding.

Furthermore, power meters facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of pacing strategies. Whether tackling a time trial, a mountain climb, or a criterium race, the ability to gauge effort output in real-time empowers cyclists to pace themselves efficiently, maximizing performance without succumbing to premature fatigue.

Embracing the power meter: A journey ahead

Training with a power meter isn’t merely about the device itself; it’s a journey towards self-discovery and athletic refinement. It requires commitment, consistency, and a willingness to embrace the nuances of data-driven training. The learning curve might seem steep initially, but the rewards in terms of performance gains and personal satisfaction are immeasurable.

In the realm of cycling, the power meter stands as a beacon of progress and innovation. Its integration into training methodologies has ushered in an era where cyclists can unlock their full potential through informed, targeted, and scientifically grounded approaches to training.

So, put your kit on, clip in, and let the power meter guide you towards new horizons of cycling prowess. With every pedal stroke measured and analyzed, you embark on a journey where the pursuit of excellence meets the precision of technology.

Hunter Allen has FTP online training programs available at FTP Archives – Shop Peaks Coaching Group.
He is the co-author of “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, “Cutting Edge Cycling” and “Triathlon Training with Power”.
They are available at www.shoppeaks.com.
You can contact Hunter directly at www.PeaksCoachingGroup.com for personal coaching and camps.

The post The Power of Training with a Power Meter appeared first on Favero Cycling.

Assioma works with built-in rechargeable batteries.

The Lithium-ion batteries have been designed to ensure a minimum of 50 operating hours and to grant excellent performance even with intensive, professional use.

On top of that, the batteries are maintenance-free for the sake of your wallet and the environment.

Do you want to learn more about why we opted for rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones? Read our article!

Fast and simultaneous charging

Thanks to the supplied charger with double USB cable, you can recharge your Assioma power meter pedals at the same time and effortlessly without uninstalling them from the crank arms.

Moreover, the exclusive magnetic power connectors prevent unpleasant damage – both to the sensor and to the bike – caused by accidental yanks.

Outdoor charging and smart energy management

Thanks to the Start&Stop technology, Assioma automatically sets to stand-by after a few minutes of inactivity and instantly switches back on with a simple pedal stroke.

When the battery of a pedal is low, a special signal appears on the bike computer meaning that you still have about 8 hours of autonomy.

If necessary, you can recharge your Assioma power meter pedals with a common smartphone charger and, if no power outlet is available nearby, you can even use a power bank.

The post Assioma Recharging System: Smart and Green appeared first on Favero Cycling.

Once you have connected your Assioma via Bluetooh to the app, just enter the “Firmware” tab to check if there are new firmware versions available and then proceed with the installation. If you have any doubts about how to correctly connect Assioma to the app, click here.

Before updating the firmware

Before searching for and installing a firmware update, make sure that:

• The Favero Assioma app is updated to the latest version available on the App Store / Play Store
• Your smartphone is charged, with active Bluetooth and internet connection
• Your Assioma’s battery is fully charged.

Downloading and installing the new firmware usually takes only a few minutes: the duration may vary depending on the characteristics of the mobile phone and the speed of the internet connection.

Procedures

If a new firmware version is available, you will see in red “Firmware update available” above the serial number of the pedal. Click on the “UPDATE” button.

If you have an Assioma DUO, remember to repeat the procedure on both pedals.

To make sure you have updated your power meter correctly: close and restart the app; connect the pedals again and go to the “Firmware” tab; under the firmware version you will see the words “Firmware Updated”.

For Assioma DUO, make sure the label “Firmware updated” appears for both pedals.

“Bootloader” safety mode

Assioma has a Bootloader mode that safeguards the good functioning of your power meter in case of unexpected events (e.g. sudden shutdown of the mobile phone). Assioma enters this safety mode by deactivating all non-essential functions, including LED lighting. Assioma might seem off but actually is waiting to be restored through the Favero Assioma App. (How to exit Bootloader mode)

We recommend that you restore as soon as possible your Assioma. In any case, if you want to postpone the operation, remember to leave it charging.

The post How to Update the Firmware of Assioma appeared first on Favero Cycling.

by Hunter Allen

We often get asked the age-old question: Why should I train with a power meter on my mountain bike?
While the answer is lengthy, the reasons are real!

13 responses highlighting the benefits of power training for MTB

1. Training with a power meter gives you a complete record of your effortWhen training or racing, it’s important to measure your effort from a cardiovascular viewpoint (heart rate), and from a muscular viewpoint (watts).

   With the Assioma PRO MX power pedals, you’ll be able to identify areas of interest, and intervals of data – hills, sprints, attacks for review by you, your coach or even your teammates! This is especially important in mountain biking as it’s often not easy to monitor every watt while blasting through a single-track, therefore a post-ride analysis can be very enlightening.

2. Add real meaning to your heart rate monitoringHeart monitoring alone does not tell you how your actual performance is improving, it just tells you how fast your heart is pumping.

   Heart rate is a “response” to the training dose (watts or power) and while understanding the response is important, using a power meter allows you to gain additional perspective on your intensity.

   Heart Rate monitoring is the “intensity of your intention”, it’s how hard you are trying, which is key when pushing for a peak performance.

   A power meter measures your rate of work (power) and analyzes your efficiency by allowing you to compare heart rate data to power output to your cadence and finally to your economy or speed.

3. Track your fitness changesA power meter is a powerful tool to know with certainty if your fitness is improving and when you have reached a peak, not to mention that it helps you avoid overreaching and overtraining by tracking your TSS and IF levels.

   In mountain biking, your fitness can change from race to race, so understanding the micro-changes is critical to pacing during a long climb, a fast flat or chasing your buddies through single-track.

4. Analyze your raceWith Assioma PRO MX you can easily see when you burned a “match” and if you used too much energy in parts of the race that weren’t decisive. Did you make a tactical error in a race, but didn’t realize it?

   By looking back on the data, you can replay the race in your head and see exactly what it took to make it up the climb with the leaders or what it took to make the decisive split on the flats. If you got dropped, you can clearly learn how much effort and at what intensity it took to put you on the limit.

5. Pinpoint your strengths and weaknessesDo you struggle when your cadence drops below 50 rpm, and you have to put out high loads of force to get over a tough technical section?

   Are you an elite racer in your 5-minute power, but a sport racer in your 20-minute power? If you must do 105% of your Threshold Power for more than 3 minutes, will you get dropped by your buddies or in a race?

   With a power meter, you can analyze your performance and training to find out what your natural talents are.

   By taking the “Power Profile” test developed by Dr. Coggan and myself, you can quantitatively see those talents and then easily see where you need improvement.

6. Improve your interaction with your CoachIt brings you and your coach closer together!

   By using a power meter on your mountain bike, your coach can find out things about you that he or she would not otherwise be able to figure out. Your coach can then better use this data to improve your training plan. Your coach can instantly see what you are doing in races, training rides and make suggestions for further improvements. A power meter doesn’t lie!

7. Achieve your physical potentialWhen you train with Assioma PRO MX for MTB XC, gravel and CX, it allows you to concentrate on the workload and provides that extra motivation to improve in your efforts. For example, if you are making a 5-minute effort to improve your Vo2 Max, and you are watching your average watts drop near the end of the effort, you’ll pick it up just another notch in order to achieve your 5-minute wattage goal.

   You will also be able to pick out the best course to do the correct training, so that you will be in the correct training zone for the right amount of time.

8. Test your position and aerodynamics. Yes, even in mountain biking, aerodynamics matters!

   Your body position is the single greatest factor in determining your speed while riding at a specific power output. If you are sitting too high on the bike, riding through the trails, you will be slower than if you are more aero! Why risk the disadvantage of a poor position when you can measure your aerodynamics and discover your fastest position?

9. Pacing of effortsIt allows you to pace your effort better in all your interval workouts, hill climbs and races.When you know your threshold power, you can hold to it like glue in a race or hill climb, so you will know that you went as hard as you could possibly go. Use it in group rides, to know if you are going too hard, and risk getting dropped, or figure out what it will take to win the race.

   Pacing on long-distance events is even more important and if you are doing events over 6 hours, you will want to ensure you are pacing yourself well, so you will still be strong at the end of your ride.

10. Mobile Testing LabA power meter allows you to test on a monthly basis, so you can quantitatively see what areas you have improved on and what still needs work. Training is testing, testing is training. Make every training session a peak performance!
11. Enhance your indoor trainingUse your indoor trainer to the fullest extent! Highly focus your intervals in just the exact wattage zone for optimal improvement.

    Your indoor training gains new meaning when you can compare your intensity to on-road efforts.

12. Coordinate your sports nutrition for the best performanceKnowing how much work (in kJ) you do in training allows you to plan your post-exercise meals to the kcal. You will recover faster and be able to train harder sooner.

    You will also be able to plan to reach your ideal physique by eating enough to supplement or maintain your muscle mass.

13. Plan, control and execute your training like the prosTrain efficiently so that your best fitness peaks at your goal events. Every top cycling performance has been aided by the use of power meter training technology, Mountain bike world champions, Ultra Mountain bike records, Tour de France winners, Hour records, Track records, HPV records.

Hunter Allen has FTP online training programs available at FTP Archives – Shop Peaks Coaching Group.
He is the co-author of “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, “Cutting Edge Cycling” and “Triathlon Training with Power”.
They are available at www.shoppeaks.com.
You can contact Hunter directly at www.PeaksCoachingGroup.com for personal coaching and camps.

The post Why Train with a Power Meter for MTB? appeared first on Favero Cycling.

By Hunter Allen

Cycling with a power meter has become the gold standard for cyclists looking to improve their performance. While heart rate, speed, and perceived exertion are valuable metrics, power is the most accurate and objective way to measure your effort on the bike. As a coach and pioneer in the field of power-based training, I’ve worked with countless athletes to help them understand the basics of training with a power meter.

In this article, I’ll cover the fundamentals of power-based training, including the benefits of using a power meter, how to set your training zones, and how to use power data to plan and how to use power data to guide your training.

What is a power meter in cycling?

A power meter is a device that measures the power output of a cyclist in watts. Power meters can be built into the pedals, crankset, hub, or chainring, and they use strain gauges or accelerometers to measure the force applied to the pedals, cranks or wheel.

Power meter pedals are a more precise and objective measure of a cyclist’s effort than heart rate or perceived exertion. Heart rate can be affected by factors like stress, hydration, and temperature, while perceived exertion can be subjective and influenced by motivation and fatigue. Power, on the other hand, is a direct measure of the work a cyclist is doing and can be used to compare efforts across different rides and riders.

Using power data to guide your training

Once your power meter is connected to your bike computer and zeroed, you can start cycling with a power meter to guide your training.

Step 1: Finding your Functional Threshold Power (FTP)

FTP is the maximum power that a cyclist can sustain for one hour. It is a key metric for training because it represents the upper limit of a cyclist’s aerobic endurance. To determine your FTP, you should read the article here about finding your FTP.
After your FTP testing, you can set training zones and measure progress over time.

Step 2: Determine your Training Zones

Training zones are a range of power outputs that correspond to different levels of effort and physiological responses. There are several different systems for defining training zones, but one of the most common is the seven-zone system developed by Dr. Andy Coggan.

• Zone 1 – Active Recovery: Less than 55% of FTP
• Zone 2 – Endurance: 56-75% of FTP
• Zone 3 – Tempo: 76-90% of FTP
• Zone 4 – Threshold: 91-105% of FTP
• Zone 5 – VO2 Max: 106-120% of FTP
• Zone 6 – Anaerobic Capacity: More than 120% of FTP
• Zone 7 – Neuromuscular Power: More than 130% of FTP

Step 3: Structure Your Training

Structuring your training is critical for achieving your training goals. A well-structured training plan involves balancing different types of workouts and intensities to achieve the desired training adaptations.
Endurance workouts are long, steady rides that develop aerobic capacity and endurance. These workouts are typically done in Zone 2 and are the foundation of a cyclist’s training.
Tempo workouts are moderate-intensity rides that improve lactate threshold and the ability to sustain high-intensity efforts for longer periods. These workouts are typically done in Zone 3.
Interval workouts are short, high-intensity efforts that improve power output and anaerobic capacity. These workouts are typically done in Zones 4-6 and include workouts such as 30/30s, 2x20s, and Micro-bursts. These workouts are intense and should be done sparingly.

Step 4: Use Key Workouts

Key workouts are critical workouts that target specific training adaptations. These workouts are typically done once or twice a week and should be a focus of your training plan.
One key workout is the Sweet-spot workout.  The “Sweet-spot” is 88-93% of your FTP and is just below your FTP.  You receive a lot of “Training bang for your buck” so to speak.   You can maintain this intensity for a much longer time and it is “doable”.    Strive to do 3 x 20 minute efforts at Sweet-Spot.
Step 5:  Track Your Progress

Tracking your progress is essential for understanding the effectiveness of your training program. Power meters provide a wealth of data that can be used to track progress and make adjustments to your training.
One way to track progress is to analyze your power data after each ride. This allows you to see how your power output is changing over time and identify areas where you need to focus your training.  We use software like TrainingPeaks in order to analyze our downloaded power data and to ensure improvement over time, along with ensuring a proper peak.

Key terms of cycling with a power meter

1. Training Stress Score (TSS): TSS is a metric that takes into account both the duration and intensity of your workouts. It provides a numerical value that represents the amount of stress your body is experiencing during a workout or over a longer period of time. TSS can help you track your overall training load and avoid overtraining. If you ride as hard as you can (at your FTP) for 1 hour, you will accumulate 100TSS. This gives you a reference point to compare all workouts against.
2. Normalized Power (NP): NP is a metric that takes into account the variability of your power output during a workout. It provides an estimate of the power output you could have sustained if your effort had been constant, rather than variable. NP is a good metric to use when analyzing hard efforts, like intervals, because it provides a more accurate picture of what the body felt like it was doing or the metabolic cost of the workout.
3. Intensity Factor: Intensity Factor (IF) is a metric that compares the intensity of a workout to the cyclist’s FTP. It provides a measure of how hard the cyclist was working during the workout and can be used to plan and monitor training intensity.
4. Variability Index (VI): VI is a metric that compares the variability of power output during a ride to the rider’s NP. A high VI indicates that the rider is not pacing themselves effectively during the ride. A triathlete should strive to keep their VI below 1.06 during a long course race.
5. Power-to-Weight Ratio (watts per kilogram): Your watts per kilogram (w/kg) is a metric that compares the rider’s power output to their body weight. It is a key metric for assessing climbing ability and allows you to compare “apples to apples” with other riders that have a different weight than you.

Hunter Allen has FTP online training programs available at FTP Archives – Shop Peaks Coaching Group.
He is the co-author of “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, “Cutting Edge Cycling” and “Triathlon Training with Power”.
They are available at www.shoppeaks.com.
You can contact Hunter directly at www.PeaksCoachingGroup.com for personal coaching and camps.

The post Training with a Power Meter: How to Get Started appeared first on Favero Cycling.

by Hunter Allen

The goal of every cyclist is to improve their overall speed when riding so that we can ride with a faster group, achieve our racing goals, or meet our time goal for a Gran Fondo. Increasing your overall, average speed is the result of improved cardiovascular fitness.

We can improve this by training with a power meter like Assioma and working to improve our FTP (functional threshold power).

A higher FTP means greater cardiovascular fitness which results in a faster overall speed. For example, if your FTP is 200 watts, you might be able to average 32kph for an hour and if you improve to 230 watts, you might be able to average 38kph for an hour, a significant increase!

The importance of working your cardiovascular system

Increasing your FTP comes by doing specific workouts designed to stress your cardiovascular system and improve your lactate tolerance.
Workouts that focus on riding near and in FTP (zone 4) are key to improving your FTP.

When you first start training your FTP, you want to make sure that you do plenty of workouts just below your FTP. By doing intervals just below your FTP, you will create enough training stress to make FTP improve.

Intervals at 88-93% of your FTP

Target riding between 88-93% of your FTP and doing intervals at least 15 minutes long and even better if you can do 2 or 3 of these in a workout.  Riding between 88-93% of your FTP is called riding in your “sweet-spot” because its hard but do-able and you can do it for a relatively long time.

In figure 1, this graph developed by the Dr. Andrew R. Coggan and co-author of our book, “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, illustrates this sweet-spot.  The duration is high, the strain is relatively low and the improvement of your FTP is also high. This is why it’s called the “sweet-spot”.

Intervals at 100% of your FTP

I suggest that you do (2) workouts a week for at least 6 weeks before starting FTP intervals right at 100% of your FTP or above.
Our cardiovascular fitness changes in 6-8 week cycles, so it’s always important to train for at least 6 weeks before expecting any significant improvement.

After you have spent 6 weeks doing intervals in your sweet-spot, you are ready for training right at 100% of your FTP.
When doing intervals at 100% of your FTP, you need to be mentally prepared to suffer, and physically rested enough to push right at your limit. FTP intervals are not easy, but they make a huge difference in your fitness.

How to do the FTP intervals

Start out by doing a minimum of 10-minute intervals right at 100% of your FTP.
Ten minutes is the minimum time duration you need to do to create enough training stress, so that your FTP will improve, and that’s an important rule to remember.
If you only do 5 minutes at 100% of your FTP, you will not create enough stress on the body, so it’s important to always do at least 10-minute intervals.

I suggest that you start out with (4) intervals of 10 minutes each and rest 5 minutes between each one, which will give you a total of 40 minutes of work.

As you become more comfortable in doing intervals right at your FTP, you can extend them to 15 minutes, 20 minutes, and 30 minutes, so that you are doing between 40-60 minutes of total work at your FTP and leaning toward an increase of your FTP.

The importance of using a valid power meter

It goes without saying that data precision and consistency are key when it comes to determine your FTP and train accordingly. If you do not trust your power meter, then it’s impossible to train accurately or correctly.
The Assioma pedals are both highly accurate and give consistent results day in and day out. Rain, sun, winter, inside or outside, the Assioma pedals work.

One of the benefits of using the Assioma DUO pedals is that you will receive data on both legs, so that you can determine whether or not you have a pedaling discrepancy between your legs (More on this in a later article). Ease of use is also something that is a critical factor when choosing a power meter, and by simply tightening them onto your crank arms, you have installed them!

This also makes it easy to travel with, especially if you are going on a trip and renting a bike or with friends. Lastly, durability is important so that your power meter lasts as long as your bike, if not longer than your next three bikes!

FTP intervals site

The location where you do FTP intervals is also very important. You always want to do them in a place where you can do a continuous interval without stopping or having to ease the pressure off the pedals. A continuous hard force on the pedals is your goal during these efforts.

Many wonders if it’s better to ride an FTP test on flat or hill. The absolute best is to do these intervals on a hill so that you have the additional resistance of gravity to help you achieve the wattages you need and want. Resting for a maximum of 5 minutes between intervals is important as well, so that you recover but not so long that you lose the “rhythm” of the interval.

If you do not have a local hill long enough, then do them on a flat road so that you can keep the pressure on for the entire time and if you have neither of those things, then riding on an indoor trainer is also a good option.

FTP test indoor vs outdoor

Remember that your FTP could be different indoors than outdoors, so it’s important to adjust your wattage goals if there is a difference.

In general, FTP tends to be between 15-30 watts lower indoors than outdoors, but that can differ from person to person and even depends on the indoor trainer you are using. When you do the intervals, be sure to start out strong, but not much over your target wattage.

It’s easy to go too hard on the first interval since you are fresh and have plenty of energy, but it’s important that you stay disciplined and hold close to the wattage that is right on your FTP. Expect another solid increase in your FTP after 6-8 weeks of work right at your FTP, and like doing sweet-spot intervals, you will want to do (2) workouts per week right at your FTP in order to see significant improvements. and like doing sweet-spot intervals, you will want to do (2) workouts per week right at your FTP in order to see significant improvements.

Hunter Allen’s favourite workouts for FTP

Sweet-spot: 3 x 15 minute and 1 x 45 minute at tempo, 2:35 total time

This is a great workout that consists in doing intervals in your sweet spot followed by a lower-intensity interval to continue stressing the cardiovascular system and increasing your muscular fatigue resistance.

Terrain: Mixed. Cadence: 85-95rpm

• Warm-up: 10 minutes working into Endurance (Power Z2, HR Z2, RPE 2-3), with 3 x 1-minute fast pedals to wake up legs
• Main Set 1: Sweet-Spot Intervals. Complete 3 x 15-minute intervals at 88-93% of FTP (Power Z3.5, HR Z3.5, RPE 4), with 5 minutes of rest and easy spinning between intervals
• Main Set 2: Complete one 45-minute effort at Tempo (Power Z3, HR Z3, RPE 3-4)
• Cool Down: 10 minutes of easy spinning in Active Recovery (Power Z1, HR Z1, RPE <2)

Sweet-spot Criss-cross: 3 x 15 minute Criss-cross, 1:30 total time

Criss-cross intervals are intervals where you ride at your sweet-spot and then every 2 minutes, you push the pace up to 120% of your FTP, hold it there for 30 seconds and then return to your sweet-spot.
This really stresses your lactate resistance ability and is a great way to improve your FTP.

Cadence: 85-95 rpm. Terrain: Flat to low-grade climbing

• Warm-up: 15 minutes working into Endurance (Power Z2, HR Z2, RPE 2-3), with 3 x 1-minute fast pedals to wake up legs
• Main Set 1: Sweet-Spot Crisscross intervals. A crisscross interval is an interval in which you vary your efforts to really teach your body to clear lactate. Complete 3 x 15-minute intervals at 88-93% of FTP (Power Z3.5, HR Z3.5, RPE 3-5), then every 2 minutes pop it up to 120% of FTP (Power Z5, HR Z5, RPE 6-7) for 30 seconds and recover back to 88-93% (nothing below 85%). Rest 5 minutes between intervals
• Cool Down: 15 minutes of easy spinning in Active Recovery (Power Z1, HR Z1, RPE <2)

FTP: 4 x 10 minutes, 2:00 total time

Focusing right on the edge today, it’s important to push these and go for it.
Remember to start steady and strong at the beginning of each, but not too hard! Stay at your FTP. Riding right at 100% of your FTP, these 10-minute efforts will really challenge you.

• WU: 15 minutes working into Endurance (Power Z2, HR Z2, RPE 2-3)
• During this warm-up, complete 1 x 5 Minute Effort at (or just below) FTP zone (Power Z4, HR Z4, RPE 4-5, then spin for 5 minutes easy before starting MS1
• MS1: FTP Intervals. Complete 4 x 10-minute FTP Intervals at 100% of FTP zone (Power Z4, HR Z4, RPE 4-5), with 5-minutes of rest between each interval. Ride all other times at Endurance (Power Z2, HR Z2, RPE 2-3). Terrain: Flat to rolling (or steady, low-grade climb if available). Cadence: 85-105
• CD: 15 minutes of easy spinning in Active Recovery (Power Z1, HR Z1, RPE <2)

FTP Classic:  2 x 20, 1:30 total time

These are the classic 2 x 20-minute intervals at FTP.
Hard, focused and pushing yourself at the limit for 20 minutes will make a difference!

• WU: 10 minutes working into your Endurance (Power Z2, HR Z2, RPE 2-3). Then complete 3 sets of 1-minute fast pedals with a 1-minute rest in between to open up legs
• MS1: We’re building FTP today! Once warmed up, ride in your Endurance (Power Z2, HR Z2, RPE 2-3) over flat to rolling terrain. Focus on staying relaxed on the bike and spinning circles while keeping your cadence between 90 and 100. During the ride, complete 2 x 20-minute FTP Intervals right at 100% of FTP (Power Z4, HR Z4, RPE 4-5), with 5 minutes of rest between each interval. Ride all other times at Endurance (Power Z2, HR Z2, RPE 2-3). Cadence: 85-105
• CD: 15 minutes of easy pedaling in Active Recovery (Power Z1, HR Z1, RPE <2).

About the author

Hunter Allen has FTP online training programs available at FTP Archives – Shop Peaks Coaching Group.
He is the co-author of “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, “Cutting Edge Cycling” and “Triathlon Training with Power”.
They are available at www.shoppeaks.com.
You can contact Hunter directly at www.PeaksCoachingGroup.com for personal coaching and camps.

The post How to Improve Your FTP appeared first on Favero Cycling.

In the article about the FTP test, we saw the first step to take for getting ready to train with power: how to find your Functional Threshold Power.
On the basis of this data, we can now define your Power Training Zones (or levels).
In this article we’ll, therefore, see how to calculate Andrew Coggan’s Power Zones and we’ll explain why these are essential for programming and periodizing your training with a power meter.

The 7 Power zones according to Coggan

The Power Zones defined by Andrew Coggan in “Training and racing with a power meter” are seven and represent seven ranges of medium-power values. According to the famous American physiologist, these seven levels correspond to the full range of a cyclist’s physiological responses during a race or a training session. Every level represents a specific training function: Active Recovery, Endurance, Tempo, Threshold, Vo2Max, Anaerobic Capacity and Neuromuscular Power.

Power Zones vs Heart Rate Zone

For those already used to train by monitoring their heart rate, training with power should be self-explanatory and easy to follow because of the several similarities between these two types of training. For example, both the Power Zones and the Heart rate zones are useful to set and periodize one’s own training according to the body response.

In the table below (Table 1) we’ll make some parallelisms for every different level between Power and Heart rate; please note that the correspondences between the two systems are merely indicative, as the heart’s response to an effort can be easily altered by external factors that have nothing to do with the athletic movement observed.

Table 1 – Training Zones based on Power

Zone 1:
It corresponds to a very light effort, so light that it doesn’t result in significant physiological adaptations. You don’t feel tired and you don’t need a particular concentration to maintain the pace. Breathing is easy and you can have a talk.

This level is a chance to recover, the so-called “unloading” that follows a particularly intense competition: it helps the muscles to dispose faster of acid lactic.

Zone 2:
The second zone corresponds to an effort that could be kept all day long: the typical effort of long-distance races at a low pace. The sensation of leg effort/fatigue is very moderate but may rise periodically to higher levels, e.g. small climbs or short climbing. The concentration required to keep this level is minimal, especially when training alone. Breathing has to be regular and you can have a little talk with your mates, too.
Daily trainings at this level are possible.

Zone 3:
Also known as “Medium” or “Tempo”, it corresponds to the typical effort required by a fast-paced pedaling. To stay in this zone you need higher concentration and more physical effort than the previous levels, but you’ll still be able to talk with your mates.
You can train for several consecutive days at zone 3, but you need to take the right amount of carbohydrates and follow a good recovery (sleep properly, massages, etc.) to ease the muscle regeneration.

Zone 4:
The fourth level requires an intense effort, with a moderate sensation of intense leg fatigue. You have to avoid starting your own training with the pace required at this level, and do an appropriate warm-up before starting.
This zone is mentally very taxing: talking is difficult because of the depth of respiration and its frequency. It is often used in a 10-30-minute interval training.
If you are a well-trained cyclist, it will be possible for you to train for several consecutive days at this level, with consequent appropriate recovery.

Zone 5:
The goal when training at this level is to increase the VO2max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen consumed per minute. It is possible to reach and maintain this level in interval trainings with blocks of 3-8 minutes. It’s not possible to train at this pace for more than a total of 30-40 minutes. The sensation of fatigue is very intense. Having a conversation is very hard due to the often ‘ragged’ breathing.
Training at this zone for several consecutive days, even if possible, is not advisable.

Zone 6:
It’s a level that can be maintained for short (30 seconds to 3 minutes), high-intensity intervals, and with a high cadence aimed at increasing the cyclist’s anaerobic capacity.
The sense of strain and fatigue in the legs is really high; speaking with your mates is almost impossible.

It’s not advisable to train for several consecutive days at this pace.

Zone 7:
The seventh and last zone is dedicated to very short and high-intensity efforts (e.g. jumps, standing starts, short sprints, etc.) that work and stimulate more the neuromuscular system than the metabolic one (aerobic).

How to calculate your Power Zones

There are different ways to determine your Power Zones. To do it, means to identify the range of values each Power Zone corresponds to.
To make it easier, we suggest starting from your FTP value and then finding the upper limit of every zone by applying the relative coefficients as in the table below (see the multiplications in red in Table 2).

Table 2 – The Power Zones’ ranges of values 

When do you need to recalculate your Power Zones?

A structured and periodized training based on power is very efficient, not only because it allows you to use the data in an objective and immediate way, but also because it is really easy to (re)adapt it to the physical advances you’ll have achieved over time.
You’ll just have to repeat the FTP test with a professional power meter like Favero Assioma.

The FTP test can be repeated anytime at almost no cost by any cyclist using a power meter. This will allow you to revise the ranges of values of your own Power Zones. We suggest measuring your FTP at least 4 times a year. An example could be the following: during the preparatory phase, before the beginning of the racing season, during the racing season and in the period that follows the races.

The post Power Training Zones for Cycling appeared first on Favero Cycling.

Intro

Mountain biking has very specific demands that are not seen in road races, track races or even cyclo-cross.
One of the first things that I do as a coach when I have an athlete training for a specific event or discipline in cycling is to look at their event goals and then define the demands of those events.
For each event, there are general and specific demands.

A general demand might be that your MTB event is 40 miles long and it will take about 5 hours to complete. Specific demands could be that you need to go over (2) 30-minute climbs with single-track descents on the other side, there is 1 river crossing with 1 mile to the finish line, the event will be done in the middle of July and the temperature will be between 85-95F.
Once we define the demands of the event, then we can take the abilities of you, the rider, and decide how to correctly train you for that event.

Let’s talk about muscles

However, before we go too far down the rabbit hole, let’s talk about how we actually create power or watts. Let’s think about those leg muscles and all that they do, especially the quadriceps muscles (the big ones on top of your upper leg). The ‘quads’ tend to be the leg muscles that get the most work, and the sorest and the quads contribute a significant amount of work toward propelling you forward on a bicycle as they are the muscles that help to push the pedal downward on each stroke.

The quadriceps, along with the rest of the lower body muscles, need to be able to contract forcefully and slowly and contract lightly and quickly for you to become a successful mountain biker.
To me, it’s another one of the great things that makes cycling so challenging: You need to have the ability to pedal both hard and slow, along with easy and fast.

You see, the rider that feels more comfortable mashing a bigger gear most likely has more ‘fast’ twitch muscle fibers (type II), whereas the rider that likes to ‘spin’ typically uses more slow twitch fibers (type I) and this is important because if your event is going to require you to pedal hard and slow, but in training you always pedal easy and quick, then you might not be ready for your event.

This is where the ‘other’ quad comes into play.
That other quad is called Quadrant Analysis. Quadrant Analysis is a tool that allows you to understand whether you are indeed pedaling correctly for your given event.

The importance of the neuromuscular function

Riding at a cadence of 100 rpm for 3 hours is not going to prepare you well for a race that is going demand that you ride at 80 rpm for 2 hours and then 100 rpm for the last hour.
You just simply are not training specifically for the demands of the event. This is where quadrant analysis comes into play.

Scientific studies using a variety of techniques have found that threshold power (FTP) represents not only a threshold in terms of the power that an athlete can sustain, but also somewhat of a threshold in terms of fast-twitch fiber recruitment. To state it another way: When pedaling at a typical self-selected cadence, functional threshold power appears to occur at the power (and thus force) at which significant fast-twitch fiber recruitment first begins. Thus, not only does cardiovascular fitness play a role in your success, but so does your neuromuscular function.

Neuromuscular function sounds complicated, but it simply means how fast you can contract a muscle, how strongly you can contract it, and how long you can keep it contracted before relaxing it again.

Quadrant analysis plots

With a power meter like Assioma PRO MX and quadrant analysis, you can make sure that you are indeed training properly for the cardiovascular AND neuromuscular demands of your event. Enough of this physiology speak; let’s examine some different quadrant analysis plots so you can understand how to apply this in your own training.

1. The first plot is a plot showing you what a typical mountain bike race would look like.
Figure 1 shows how most of this race was spent in Quadrant II (high force, low cadence) and this is characteristic of a mountain bike race in which the rider has to keep a lower cadence to produce higher forces to maintain traction, pop over obstacles and power through sketch sections.

What about your training?
Does your Quadrant Analysis plot look the same from your training data as it does in your events?
This is where you really apply the concept of making appropriate changes to your training, so that you “train to the demands of the event”. Quadrant analysis is useful to first gain an understanding of just what the plots represent and then compare them to each other and to training.

2. Let’s examine another training session by a mountain biker who did a typical workout for him before coming to me for coaching.

We see in Figure 2, that he spent a lot of his time riding near his threshold power (all the points above the curved line in the middle of the chart, which is similar to racing in an MTB race), but he also spent the majority of time in Quadrant 1, which is faster than 90rpm and lower forces.
This is directly opposing Figure 1 where the typical MTB race power is created with slower than 90rpm and higher forces.

So, while this athlete was producing the correct wattage to stress his cardiovascular system, he was not “creating” power correctly to put the proper stress on his muscular system. This was something that we had to correct immediately in his training. He did most of his training on his road bike and after seeing the data, we decided to limit his cadence to 80 rpm during his FTP intervals on the flats and then at 60 rpm on the climbs.

This was a simple and easy fix that he could do on his road bike. We also increased by 1 day per week his training on his MTB and specifically made that a day when picked a harder more technical trail to not only hone his technical skills but also to pedal a slower cadence with higher force to ensure the creation of power in Quadrant 2.

Conclusions

In conclusion, it’s not just your cardiovascular output (FTP) that determines your success as a mountain biker but also your neuromuscular output or how you create the watts.
Each of us has strengths and weaknesses related to how we prefer to create the watts. Some like to pedal at a faster cadence and some of us prefer to use a slower cadence but push harder on the pedals and while neither is necessarily better or worse than the other, certain races and terrain demand more of one than another.

The key for you to understand is that when you train, you must train specifically for that event which has unique demands so that you will be ready for those demands.
If you need to be able to go up a 15% hill and do it in your 34-tooth cog, then you had better make sure you train in QII enough to be ready for that much muscular strength.
If you are going to do a flatter MTB race, then it’s important that you are ready for a sustained hard effort in QII and QIV, without any ‘recovery breaks’ in QIII.

Hunter Allen has FTP online training programs available at FTP Archives – Shop Peaks Coaching Group.
He is the co-author of “Training and Racing with a Power Meter”, “Cutting Edge Cycling” and “Triathlon Training with Power”.
They are available at www.shoppeaks.com.
You can contact Hunter directly at www.PeaksCoachingGroup.com for personal coaching and camps.

The post The “Demands” of MTB: Should I Pedal Harder or Pedal Faster? appeared first on Favero Cycling.