The Wattage Thread
Discussion
My local gym has recently bought a trio of Watt bikes - it's fascinating! The geekery side has helped me understand my riding a bit better.
Current 6 sec sprint is a shade over 1400W - I took a second to get going which didn't help.
My ten minute is pretty miserable at the moment though - I'm struggling to make 300w, yet my average speed was 40.4km/h.
I ride the same route as Welwyn Wheelers use for their Tuesday eve time trial and I got talking to them last year (I'm very much one of the "I really should join a club" people) - "as long as you can do the 10 miles in under 25 mins, you'll be fine" - well I can't. So I haven't joined lol (28 mins on my Bianchi C2C - not a TT bike by any stretch).
Current 6 sec sprint is a shade over 1400W - I took a second to get going which didn't help.
My ten minute is pretty miserable at the moment though - I'm struggling to make 300w, yet my average speed was 40.4km/h.
I ride the same route as Welwyn Wheelers use for their Tuesday eve time trial and I got talking to them last year (I'm very much one of the "I really should join a club" people) - "as long as you can do the 10 miles in under 25 mins, you'll be fine" - well I can't. So I haven't joined lol (28 mins on my Bianchi C2C - not a TT bike by any stretch).
Rolls said:
Slowly getting better : FTP test last night saw it increase to 290 watts..
Need to start adding more structure though, and I should then be able to get through the magic 300 mark - fingers crossed!
Any ideas for threshold boosting? Been injured and out for a bit myself, did a STP test last Thursday (to restart training) and have lost 34watts... grrr. Now trying to rebuild with 8-10min sets @ 105%. I'm also jacking in the commuting for structured sessions at Athlete Lab. Commuter racing good fun, but thats about it. If you have any ideas how to build power, all ears....Need to start adding more structure though, and I should then be able to get through the magic 300 mark - fingers crossed!
Loosing that much was pretty much a kick in the wotsits, but I'm trying to be a bit philospohical about it and use this an opportunity to up cadence at the same time (so expect to take a bit longer to rebuild). I suppose I'm learning the downside of chasing numbers!
I have decided to get alot more serious re my cycling and will shortly buy a powermeter. I run Campag and Speedplays so that limits my choices a bit but will probably go with Powertap as this seems to be liked by most.
Anyway my question was whether as someone with a desire to start racing I should buy both Friels "Training and Racing with a Power-meter" and "The Cyclists Training Bible" or whether the Power-meter book does it all. What does anyone with both books think?
Thanks very much
Anyway my question was whether as someone with a desire to start racing I should buy both Friels "Training and Racing with a Power-meter" and "The Cyclists Training Bible" or whether the Power-meter book does it all. What does anyone with both books think?
Thanks very much
So, 10 days to my trip in the alps. Using the books mentioned and applying myself to a structured plan that I made up myself, I have achieved the following since jan 1st.
Weight down from 104 to 85kgs
FTP up from 302W to 364w
5 min power up from 325w to 414w
I'm pretty happy with that.
They'll be plenty of people who'll spank me no doubt, but I'm off to my main event of the year feeling in tip top shape.
Weight down from 104 to 85kgs
FTP up from 302W to 364w
5 min power up from 325w to 414w
I'm pretty happy with that.
They'll be plenty of people who'll spank me no doubt, but I'm off to my main event of the year feeling in tip top shape.
Barbarossa said:
You need to try a but harder on your 5 min test. With that FTP, you should be over 500W for 5 mins.
I too think its a bit low, but I seriously doubt over 500 is going to be the level you 'should' be at, my FTP is higher and I've not really got near to 500w. I think I'd probably manage it totally as a one off attempt, but its not a given. I'm using stages. They are plenty good enough for what I'm doing.
My 6-8 hours consists of 3x 1hour turbo sessions , usually tues, wed, thurs. Then depends on weekend, but could be 3 hour ride sat. Or 2 hour ride sat and 2 hour sun. During winter I ride MTb a lot more . I rather get wet and muddy on the MTb than plod round on salty, greasy roads.
My 6-8 hours consists of 3x 1hour turbo sessions , usually tues, wed, thurs. Then depends on weekend, but could be 3 hour ride sat. Or 2 hour ride sat and 2 hour sun. During winter I ride MTb a lot more . I rather get wet and muddy on the MTb than plod round on salty, greasy roads.
I'll be going back to power-based training over the winter but stopped this spring as I felt like I was losing my way a bit and just needed to get back to basics.
It's become really clear to me this season that my general aerobic fitness/threshold level is fine, but my anaerobic strength is very poor. I really need to work on that if I'm going to start collecting better finishes. So it's back to power training and I'll buy myself the bible.
In the meantime, I've been using my HRM and my turbo a lot more for the last month. Once or twice a week (depending on races) I'm doing a session consisting of warm up well, settle at a heart rate of 130 then sprint up to at least 175 (my theoretical max is around 182), hold at that level for a few seconds, then back off the cadence and resistance and let my heart rate fall to 130. As soon as it gets down to 130 I repeat the sprint, then let it back to 130 again. This 130/175 cycle repeats until I cave in and then I cool down for 10/15 mins. I can't measure any of the outputs at the moment, but it feels like it's working.
Why mention this on here? I stalked okgo the other evening and noticed that you don't seem to use an HRM. I've found the HRM really useful, so I was interested to hear why you don't?
It's become really clear to me this season that my general aerobic fitness/threshold level is fine, but my anaerobic strength is very poor. I really need to work on that if I'm going to start collecting better finishes. So it's back to power training and I'll buy myself the bible.
In the meantime, I've been using my HRM and my turbo a lot more for the last month. Once or twice a week (depending on races) I'm doing a session consisting of warm up well, settle at a heart rate of 130 then sprint up to at least 175 (my theoretical max is around 182), hold at that level for a few seconds, then back off the cadence and resistance and let my heart rate fall to 130. As soon as it gets down to 130 I repeat the sprint, then let it back to 130 again. This 130/175 cycle repeats until I cave in and then I cool down for 10/15 mins. I can't measure any of the outputs at the moment, but it feels like it's working.
Why mention this on here? I stalked okgo the other evening and noticed that you don't seem to use an HRM. I've found the HRM really useful, so I was interested to hear why you don't?
Just never found it useful since I used power.
I try as hard as I can in every situation where I should be trying as hard as I can. All my zones are attached to watts, so I'd rather keep it simple. Besides I hate the feel of a HRM.
Worth recording the power data even if you're not looking at it. Knowledge of how and why are built on having as much data as possible I think. I often go back and check to see why I felt good or bad for an event. Patterns only emerge if you have enough data to call on I think.
Also of course HR is slow to respond, and tracking progress is difficult.
I try as hard as I can in every situation where I should be trying as hard as I can. All my zones are attached to watts, so I'd rather keep it simple. Besides I hate the feel of a HRM.
Worth recording the power data even if you're not looking at it. Knowledge of how and why are built on having as much data as possible I think. I often go back and check to see why I felt good or bad for an event. Patterns only emerge if you have enough data to call on I think.
Also of course HR is slow to respond, and tracking progress is difficult.
Edited by okgo on Tuesday 26th August 23:43
Ponk said:
Anyone using a stages powermeter? I'm beginning to think I 'need' one to get properly race fit over the winter.
Well, that's my excuse anyway.
Take a look at Power2Max - they're on sale at the moment, which brings the price close to a Stages. They also measure both legs, instead of measuring one and guessing the otherWell, that's my excuse anyway.
£600 is a lot to pay for something that gives you a rough idea of how hard you're pedalling when you can buy something that measures it properly for £50 more
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