Training With Power-A Coach’s Perspective

Part 2- How to Use Power Measuring Devices
By
Jeb Stewart MS, CSCS, Expert Coach

Jeb Stewart is a USA Cycling Expert Level coach and has a Master’s degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion. He is certified by the ACSM, the NSCA, the NASM and is the head assistant coach and co-owner of The Peaks Coaching Group. He has a long history of competing in a variety of athletic endeavors at the national level and currently races on the road around the country annually. He specializes in coaching athletes of all walks of life using a holistic approach and is on the forefront of coaching cyclists with power. Jeb’s passion for helping people go to the next level in all of their endeavors has led him to become a presenter, writer, and consultant on anything related to training, performance, and wellness.

Last issue we established some coaching guidelines on the selection and use of power measuring devices. This issue we look at the practical application in everyday coaching use starting with testing.

Testing

One of the most important aspects of any training program is testing. Without it, we really have little to go on other than subjective feedback about progress. By testing at the beginning of any training program, we are able to establish a baseline to compare future tests to in order to show our athletes their progress or lack thereof. This is also crucial in determining their training zones, which the majority of their training will be based upon. The use of a power meter eliminates the necessity of a laboratory setting to accomplish this and serves as a mobile testing lab in which the athlete can test and retest with, or without the presence of their coach. It is an invaluable resource for coaches.

There are a many testing protocols as there are coaches out there. If you have one that works, then by all means stick with it. If not, then I will discuss several that you may find useful in working with your athletes. The main point is, that there are several energy systems and aspects of cycling performance, which are of particular importance when prescribing training and evaluating performance. Lactate threshold is the functional barometer of an athlete’s fitness for cycling performance, shows the greatest response to training, and can be used to set up very effective training zones. Vo2, anaerobic capacity and neuromuscular power can all also be tested along with helping an athlete to find their optimal cadence.

Mobile or laboratory based blood lactate testing is the gold standard for finding an athlete’s lactate threshold. However, power meters allow us to perform these tests in the field. The protocol we have found to be most useful is one that was developed by Hunter Allen and Andy Coggan. In an ideal world, we would have an athlete go out and give us an all out 40k time trial. The average power for this effort has been found to correspond very closely to that of the more classical measure done in the lab. As we all know, this is difficult to perform even once, never the less month in and month out. It is because of this fact that they developed a 20 min protocol that is easily repeated.

The athlete simply performs 20-40 min of endurance paced cycling followed by a 5 min max effort to really blow out the legs and start the clearance process followed by 10 min at active recovery pace. Then, they give an all out 20 min effort making sure to do it on a loop or out and back so that they get any wind in all directions thus making the test more valid. It should be performed on a flat to gently rolling terrain and be somewhere that they can do a continuous and uninterrupted effort somewhere that they can come back to and repeat the test periodically. The average power for the effort, minus 3% of this number, has been found to correspond very closely to the 40k TT effort and the blood draw LT test in the lab. This number can then be used to set up their training zones and to compare in future tests.

*Laboratory tests tend to produce a slightly lower number due to their increased perceived exertion and reduced rate of cooling commensurate with the nature of stationary cycling. We have found that the field test performed with a power meter yields a more functional and sport-specific number for lactate threshold.

As previously mentioned, an athlete’s neuromuscular, anaerobic capacity and Vo2 power can be tested, observed and trained using the power meter as well. Five minute, all out efforts tend to yield average power numbers that correspond with the Vo2 energy system. Similarly, 1-2 minute maximum efforts are indicative of anaerobic capacity power, and 5 sec maximum avg. power is a good indicator of an athlete’s neuromuscular power.

A protocol that we use to determine the numbers commensurate with these energy systems is as follows:

Each effort of the same duration should be performed in opposite directions to get any wind in both directions. The athlete simply performs 20-40 min of endurance paced cycling followed by a 5 min all out effort to really blow out the legs and start the clearance process followed by 10 min at active recovery pace. Then they will do another 5 min max effort in the opposite direction followed by 10 min AR paced spinning then:

2 x 2 min all out w/ 5 min recovery between efforts

2 x 1 min all out w/ 5 min recovery between efforts

2 x 30 sec all out w/ 4 min recovery between efforts

This protocol will yield average power for all of the remaining energy systems.

Another great function of testing using a power meter can be helping athletes to determine their optimal cadence. This is, of course, specific to terrain and will not be the same for flat courses, as it will for one that climbs. Whatever the terrain being tested on, the athlete is instructed to perform 3 TT style tests for whatever duration is being looked at (energy system dependent). One will be at a self-selected cadence, one at cadence 15 rpm’s higher than their self-selected cadence and one 15 rpm’s lower. They will need to choose a gear that allows them to pedal at these predetermined cadences when going all out for this effort. The average power for these efforts can be compared along with energy expenditure, heart rate and speed to determine at what cadence the athlete is most efficient and powerful within. This can be a very eye opening test protocol that can yield very beneficial results for your athlete, which may, in some cases, change the way you train them.

Once the lactate threshold power has been determined for an athlete, you can then set up their training zones using the method of your choosing. We use the zones that Andy Coggan developed but you can use whichever you prefer. These are preferred by the Peaks Coaching Group due to the fact that they are broader ranges than other systems, and take into account the blending of energy systems as the contributions from each shift as workload/effort increases or decreases.

Training

Once you have your training zones set up for your athletes based on their lactate threshold power determined in their test, you can then get to the fun stuff and train them. It is now imperative to base their interval training on the zones determined in testing. Now, since the power meter gives instantaneous feedback from their efforts, your athletes will not have to kill themselves pushing harder than necessary in an attempt to get their HR up to the intended zone. They will also have a means of actually training at Vo2 and AC power rather than just going as hard as they can, hoping that they are training this zone. This will maximize their time spent on the bike and you both will know that the goals are being met in training.

Additionally, you can set up their training programs to address their weaknesses found in their testing and fine tune their strengths. If you have a CAT 3 athlete with world class neuromuscular power and a CAT 3 LT, then you would know to have them spend less time doing sprint workouts and more time building their base, doing sub-LT and LT efforts in their training. If their LT power is lower on the flats than when climbing, then they will benefit more from doing LT work on the flats and pushing a big gear than from climbing all the time. Ultimately, knowing where your athlete struggles in producing power will allow you to prescribe specific training that will more effectively address the areas needing the most work.

Finally, the use of their power meter on hard training rides and races is invaluable. Being able to see were an athlete got dropped or succeeded will allow you to recreate these scenarios in their training to help them get over the hump or reproduce the effort that worked. Many will not want to train with it in these settings for various reasons. Next to formal testing, there is no better way to track progress than to race and train with a power meter. Just sharing the feedback you get from the data on files like these will make a believer out of even the biggest of doubters. There is no better way to tell what is going on with your athlete in a race, their training, or a group ride than to see their power meter file in combination with their objective feedback.

Racing

There is no better training or testing than racing. Athletes accomplish things in races that they would never be able to produce in training due to the increased stimulation, hormonal responses, and the physics involved. This is one of the best places to “test” and compare the numbers. The feedback you receive from a power meter file from a race provides invaluable data about what happened during the event. There are few better ways to do post-race analysis with the athlete than to review their file with them in person or on the phone. This can tell you what happened and what needs to be done next time and in training to improve.

There is also no better way to pace your self in a time trial than to use a power meter. It is much easier to avoid going out too hard, and allows you to nail it on your predetermined threshold or goal power specific to the event regardless of how you “feel”. If you feel like you are suffering, but your avg. power is well below your goal power for the event, you know you had better push though it or you will not accomplish your goal. Similarly, if you are just feeling amazing and are able to push at 350 watts in the first 5 minutes when it happens to be a 40k TT and your LT is 300 watts, you are quickly aware that you had better bring it down a notch or you are going to blow and have nothing left later on. With a power meter, you are as set up for success as possible when it comes to pacing yourself in a time trial.

Similarly, if your rider ends up in a break and they are sitting on at 320 watts and their LT wattage is 280 watts, then they will know right away that they had better not pull through or do so gingerly if they want to stay in the break. A power meter can be an extremely valuable tool in racing situations.

Lastly, when you view your athletes’ power meter files, you can get a good idea if their performance was due to a lack of fitness, effort, or if it was due to tactical error. If your athlete got dropped in the race and told you it was really hard, but their normalized power was far below their LT power and they were not having to produce huge efforts that constituted matches for them (efforts of various magnitude above threshold wattage for specified periods of time), then you know that their result was due to tactics, their mental state, improper nutrition or otherwise. This is key to coaching athletes through such experiences and you will be equipped with the ammunition you need if they start doubting themselves, their training, or you.

Analyzing The Data

If you are lucky enough to have your athletes using power meters, then it is imperative that you know what to do with the data that you receive from them. Analyzing power meter files is an art and a science in itself. We have been doing it for a while and for the purpose of this discussion, will point out and go over the critical elements to look out for.

Average Power for Efforts

When viewing a file, one of the key elements to look for is your athletes’ avg. power. This should be at or near their avg. power for the energy system being trained or relied most heavily upon during that workout. If an athlete tells you that the race or training ride was very hard, and their avg. power was far from their LT power, then you know that there may have been something else going on such as improper nutrition or hydration, poor tactics or a lack of recovery. The stochastic nature of efforts produced within a ride can also be a contributor to this effect.

Normalized Power

Similar to average power, normalized power is an even better indicator of the level of effort given during their event. Normalized power is the average power, eliminating any zero values reported, or times when they were not pedaling. This should be dead on their avg. power for the energy system being trained or called on in an effort. In hard race efforts such as time trials and criteriums, where the athlete reported it being a 9 or a 10 on the RPE for the effort, this will almost always correspond with their LT power. If it does not, then there was something else going on or they may have had a breakthrough ride. Always look for a confirmation ride before adjusting their LT power numbers based on what appears to be a break through in their fitness. It may have just been a good day.

20 minute, 5 minute, 1 minute, 5 second Power

As previously mentioned, there are certain durations of interest when reviewing these files that correspond with certain energy systems. These are really only valid if the effort was high and commensurate with that energy system for the duration. 20 minutes is a good indicator of lactate threshold, 5 min corresponds with Vo2 power, 1 and 2 minute tell about their anaerobic capacity and 5 second power is a good indicator of their neuromuscular power. These are good values to look at within races, in training, and to compare from month to month in testing to see if your athletes are progressing in the areas that you intend in their training.

Cadence, Speed, Altitude, Heart Rate

Once an athlete has a power meter, the primary information looked for in these files becomes power. However, these other data points for HR, speed, cadence and altitude can give you a lot of extra information that can helpful in filling in the gaps as well. These are often used as cross-references for their power numbers and can tell a lot about what was going on. When you see an increase in power commensurate with a decrease in speed and cadence, you know that is because they are climbing. Similarly, if you see an increase in speed butt a decrease in power, then they are likely descending or “sitting in” during their ride. Power meters do not make this additional information obsolete, they actually make this information more relevant, and help you as a coach to interpret it even better.

TSS/IF

Training stress score and intensity factor are two additional tools created by Andy Coggan to help track the effect training has on the body. Training stress score (TSS) was created in an attempt to quantitatively track the amount of stress that the body endures over a certain period of time. This can be helpful when monitoring when your athletes “get cooked” in the course of a training phase. This number can be watched for in future blocks and used as a mark to shoot for when trying to achieve an overload.

Intensity factor (IF) was developed to correspond with that golden number, lactate threshold power as determined by an all out 40k TT effort for that individual. A 100% effort for this duration equals a 1.0, with efforts of lesser intensity ranking below a 1.0 and those higher being above a 1.0. Andy has also developed a system for classifying efforts of different intensity and duration, giving them corresponding values for the purpose of classification.

Compare Tests from Month to Month to Monitor Progress

As mentioned earlier, one of the greatest benefits of having a power meter is being able to compare tests periodically to monitor progress. Each month race, training, or ideally test files can be compared and the pertinent numbers looked at to see if the athlete is progressing in the areas in which you are aiming.

Analyze Race Files

One of the most valuable uses of a power meter is to obtain files from your athlete’s races. Getting them to do this is another challenge entirely, but if they have a power meter that allows them to use any wheels they desire, it is much easier to do so. People can do things in races that they have a hard time, and often cannot reproduce in training. Whether it is from hormonal responses, or just from the psychological boost that competition gives, racers can accomplish some amazing things when racing. Conversely, if they have a bad race, having a power meter file can give you the insight to see what might have gone wrong. Whether you are seeing what went well or what did not, having this information can be invaluable in coaching your athletes to success in their next event and in designing the most accurate and effective training program possible.

Discussion 

When to Start?

A question that may arise is at what level should an athlete start using the device. We have seen that almost any athlete can benefit from the use of a power meter. Whether an elite athlete or exercise enthusiast, almost everyone stands to benefit from its use. The deciding factor is often the ability of the athlete to afford such a device, and this is something that should be left entirely up to them. Whether setting up very specific interval training programs to achieve an optimal level of performance or monitoring the caloric expenditure to achieve optimal body composition, the power meter gives us a tool to better manage either of these intended outcomes.

Who Responds Well to Power Meters?

For the most part, most athletes who are not completely intimidated or turned off by technology seem to respond well to the use of a power meter. However, those athletes who are serious about their training, who enjoy structure, numbers and concrete goals, as well as those who are analytical by nature tend to be the ones who respond best to the use of the device. As previously mentioned, it can be a complicated training tool, and those who are meek at heart when it comes to dealing with these issues are likely to give up if they run into too many problems.

Conversely, those individuals who are overly analytical, obsessive or anal retentive by nature can get overly obsessed with the numbers and the minutiae involved in this type of training. Fortunately for us, unfortunately for them, due to the newness and complexity of this training phenomenon, most athletes are going to need a coach to benefit from the use of this device, unless they are schooled on its use and application. It then becomes the coach’s job to help them to stay focused on the bigger picture whether or not they hit their goals on a daily basis 100% of the time. Too much focus on the minor details can detract from performance, from the coaching relationship and from the athlete having fun. All of these can lead to less than desirable results of all shapes and sizes. Keep it simple.

Getting Over the Heart Rate Monitor

Another question that may arise is how to help your athletes get over the use of their HR monitor. Once most athletes have the basic tenets of training with power explained to them in a way that they can easily understand, and once they get a chance to use this device, it is not long before they embrace it completely. Rather than, losing their HR monitors completely, we have found that the use of these devices in conjunction with one another just gives us that much more information and only adds to the experience. HR monitors are best used as a cross checking device to give the athlete a little extra assurance that they are at or near where they need to be. It is also a nice way for them to transition from HR to power training, giving them a rough guide for what these intervals based on power should feel like.

The HR monitor is also a nice way to see how the body is responding to the training. If an athlete’s HR is suppressed or elevated but their power is spot on, then you know that they are able to train and produce similar results to what they normally would. In this case, HR would not be relied on as a determiner of the athlete’s ability to train. However, if both the HR and power are off, then it becomes obvious that the athlete is experiencing fatigue or some other stimulus that is taking away form their energy level, their fitness and their ability to train. In this case, these devices are very complimentary.

Similarly, the HR monitor is a nice way to gauge very low intensity workouts such as active recovery rides. We often refer to HR during these rides rather than power to make sure that the athlete is not superceding a particular effort or putting any unnecessary strain on their cardiovascular system for the day. So, you can see that the HR monitor is not obsolete, but has become more of a compliment to a new and improved method of training.

Summary

In conclusion, it is obvious that a new era is upon us with the advent of improved technology for the monitoring and the prescription of training for the athletes we coach. This advent has not only changed the way we training for the better, but it has helped us improve upon the methods previously used, rather than making them a thing of the past. By incorporating power meters in training, we are ultimately changing the paradigm from which we operate as coaches for the better. We are gaining introspection into the physiological responses of our athletes to the training we prescribe, thus improving the effectiveness of the dose/response relationship. It has given us an improved means by which to prescribe, monitor, and track training.

In our quest to be the best coaches we can be, and in an attempt to constantly grow and improve in our approach to our jobs, we must remain open to new ideas being ever mindful to subject them to the same scientific scrutiny that we would apply to anything before recommending it to the athletes we coach. As Spencer Herbert so aptly put it, we must avoid having “contempt prior to investigation”, and be willing to adapt our approach to coaching, given better information, in order to be the best coaches we can be.

More Information Please!

For more and very complete information on training with power, please visit www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com and check out all of the information at the Power 411 links by Hunter Allen, USAC Elite Coach and Andy Cogan PhD.

You can contact Jeb directly via e-mail at jeb@peakscoachinggroup.com, by phone at (813) 230-2900, or visit their web site at www.peakscoachinggroup.com.

For more information on subjects related to endurance training or for any of your coaching and training needs check out Jeb and the rest of the coaches from the Peaks Coaching Group at www.peakscoachinggroup.com.

Jeb Stewart is a USA Cycling Expert Level coach and has a Master’s degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion. He is certified by the ACSM, the NSCA, the NASM and is the head assistant coach and co-owner of The Peaks Coaching Group. He has a long history of competing in a variety of athletic endeavors at the national level and currently races on the road around the country annually. He specializes in coaching athletes of all walks of life using a holistic approach and is on the forefront of coaching cyclists with power. Jeb’s passion for helping people go to the next level in all of their endeavors has led him to become a presenter, writer, and consultant on anything related to training, performance, and wellness. You can contact Jeb directly at jeb@peakscoachinggroup.com or at (813) 230-2900.