Meet Team TIBCO... check out their power on the bike!

When: Monday, February 22nd, 2010
Where: Santa Barbara, CA
Who: Team TIBCO /Director Linda Jackson & Staff, Pam Sayler -Kurt Kinetic, Coach Leah Prudhomme (me) & Photographer Larry Rosa with help Zach Heffner
What: Spring Training Camp - Power Watts Session/Ride & Photoshoot
Purpose: Kurt Kinetic trainers/computers & Coached Training session on training by power watts and use of Kinetic power meter data, comparison ride on road and Pro photoshoot.

The Scoop from my perspective: the power watts coach and athlete...
In terms of the weather, couldn't complain, rather shout with glee! It was a break from the cold winter Minnesota snow and ice for me. The setting was ideal. The sunshine was warm and the sea was glistening so were we after we finished the tough high cadence fast intervals, steady power output strengthening sets, a throwdown TT on the bike and single-legs... 2+hours on the bike, coaching power watts and some warm sun contributed to one of the best kick butt days of the year! Spring Training Camp with Team TIBCO is where it's at!

MEET TEAM TIBCO:
These gals have their website dedicated to their performances and FB page: www.teamtibco.com check it out! Director, Linda Jackson is helped by their team leader Emma Rickter and Team Captain Meredith Miller, National Champion and all the the Team members are outsanding in their professional cycling career and win races over and over!! When Team TIBCO comes to Minnesota in the summer for Nature's Valley Grand Prix or goes to Europe and abroad, watch out because what I saw is that there is outstanding power and ability and they will take the races in style!

WHOSE WHO...
Kurt Kinetic provided the trainers and power meters for Team TIBCO. Pam Sayler, National Sales Manager at Kurt Manufacturing, hosted the morning session presentation and discussion by the sea and gave an outstanding overview of why Kurt Kinetic trainers are worth every bit the investment of time, money and energy to train like a Pro.

Coach Leah Prudhomme (me), engaged the team in a coached power watts training session and first in the morning session prepped the team for what's behind training with power, why and the use for the training data. There was much to accomplish in getting it all set up and ready to ride by the sea for spring training camp day to begin with power watts training on the bike! Thanks to Pro Team TIBCO Mechanic Ryan Bontrager who handled everything with exceptional service and helped us make adjustments mid-training session to correct interference issues and Kinetic power meter troubleshooting (and Pam Sayler for this as well in terms of Kurt Kinetic directive). Emma -Team Leader made sure we stayed on schedule brilliantly and won me over by her Aussie accent. I was wow-ed by Brooke Miller and Meredith Miller and Amanda Miller from their first happy greetings and anyone on the team with the last name "Miller" ...just kidding, and all the Team girls who showed me such warmth, enthusiasm to train hard and expertise on the bike!

TIBCO POWER...
The Team TIBCO gals maxed out their power and laid it down on the bike like none other I've seen before. I was honored to be asked to coach their Spring Training Camp morning session and thought that being by the beach was the best location for our tough trainer workout, why not? Who wouldn't want to train by the beach in sunny southern California - Santa Barbara. You couldn't have picked a more beautiful location and the Santa Barbara Southern Californian sun welcomed us all day as we rode our bikes hard with a strengthening purpose at the beach and then took it to the streets in style... all the while watching our power computers to check for accuracy, compared data, interferences and practice power training techniques.

TEAMWORK...
Team TIBCO handled their bikes and their power with outstanding performance and worked great as a professional cycling team. Their high energy and warm personalities, were what struck me about their talents as individuals and a team, not to mention their power on the bike. You should have seen them! And you will, photographers extraordinaire Larry Rosa and Zack Heffner captured the moments on film like only pro action sports photographers can. (Pictures provided in this blog are from my cell phone).

PRODUCTS, PEOPLE & PERFORMANCE...
Thanks to Pam Sayler from Kurt Kinetic, National Sales Manager of Kurt Manufacturing we had top of the line Kurt Kinetic trainers and power computers. We also were treated to a wonderful presentation, discussion and question and answer time regarding power watts training, and the science behind the product with the Team in the beachfront location Meeting up with Director Linda Jackson and Team TIBCO leader Emma Rickter and Team Captain Meredith Miller was met professional women's cycling Team TIBCO gals and their Director planned on combining the trainer session with an added ride to check Kurt Kinetic power computer data on the road in comparison to that on the trainer. Leah's Power Training session combined anaerobic threshold/lactate threshold power watts in a high intensity workout with a strength workout (see below) that had the added bonus of practicing heat tolerance as it was dry, mid-70's and direct overhead sunshine at the beach... the wind of the beach was our classroom fan!! What a great place to get in a tough workout!

HIGH INTENSITY...
It was warm by the beach and the high intensity interval sets had us grinding it out and shedding layers... but all so much fun especially when it came to the mid-strength session Time Trial (see previous post). I wrote this training session (with the help of her Coach JonnyJ -Jonathan Jensen, TCMC) and '5 Training with Power Protocol' workouts to be featured in a different blog posting. We ended up doing a mix of both this session and the other.

Legs burnt from a few tough minute sets, but you would never know it on the faces of this team...because the Team TIBCO gals hang tough and smile and laugh while their working. They were bold, beautiful, tough as nails on the bike and brilliant! After being around them, I wondered who wouldn't want to ride for such a great team as Team TIBCO and credited Director Linda Jackson for her high calibre team with well-rounded, highly accomplished individuals that would give any cyclist a new meaning of MaxPOWER! Think you can default your power meter? Think again... these girls can!

TEAM TIBCO - TALK OF THE TOWN...
Beautiful women inside and beautiful bikes and setting outside... the scene was striking as 10 Team members, Pam and I rolled onto town cruising the streets... In prepping for this ride there were two purposes, 1. check power accuracy of the Kurt Kinetic Power Computer on the road vs. trainer 2. Get in a pro photo shoot! Added bonus, a few looks... at our LOOK bikes? Just the sight of a paceline formation of a great TEAM doing what they are supposed to be doing...TEAM FORMATION.

Taking it to the road to cruise Santa Barbara streets with photographer extraoridinaire Larry Rosa who just shot Trek/K-Swiss Triathlon Team the week before was a marvelous adventure. I found I highly enjoyed myself and had to hold it back as I wanted to kick it up an notch on my zippy ride - I loved riding with TEAM TIBCO. (I got that opportunity latter that afternoon to break away from the group and go ride Mt. Gibraltar solo in under 2hours to the summit before sunset while the team did some bonding. My Kinetic Power computer read 5408ft. of elevation climbed in aprox. 33mi. and 3800ft to Gibraltar summit.) There was still enough energy for some sprints and paceline formation in perfect uniformity after the coached training session, but I would have not doubted that in the least, these girls can ride hard all day long. Riding with Team TIBCO gets attention. Many cyclists and cafe bystanders gave out some calls, plenty of attention from passerby's whoopin' and hollerin' - GO TEAM TIBCO! I think we "whooped!" right back at'em. We create quite an attraction out on the road, Team TIBCO was a pretty site to see unveiling their classic white and navy blue jersey race kits... just don't forget: these ladies are ready to race and win! No joke!

BEYOND THE RIDE: DATA DATA DATA...
Outdoor Riding with Kurt Kinetic Power meters to compare to the trainer session was a great way to get a read out of data. It was also a good comparison to see about a +- 3% accuracy from trainer to road which is why Kurt Kinetic power trainers and power meters are the cutting edge.

After meeting the amazing pro Team TIBCO gals and their hosting Director & Olympian Linda Jackson who has the honor of coaching and leading such and incredible professional crew, I enjoyed hanging and watching in action team leaders Emma Rickter and Team Captain Meredith Miller and Sprinter Brooke Miller work together. The amazing pro Team TIBCO girls had me speechless when I left and for that matter not wanting to return home at all-but I did so with a huge grin. It was a highly sucessful day in all respects; from Santa Barbara sea to (Gibraltar) summit - Spring Training Camp Power Training Day - proved to be the best thing going on in cycling news. I wish more people trained with power as a whole and Team TIBCO charged up the wattage and the hills to: "train, smarter, not harder."

In sum, there was no question that training with power is the way to improve power on the bike, from hill climbing to sprint intervals, Kurt Kinetic Power Computers is the way forward to get results, check data, plan training session and get more out of your workouts because of the highly personalized data. Coach Leah Prudhomme wants you to have more power on the bike so that 'you train smarter, not harder' and as Pam Sayler would add, "now go ride your bike!"

Train like a PRO! TEAM TIBCO's Power Training Session...

Power training at the beach! Who doesn't want to train hard like this? Welcome to Spring Training Camp with Pro TEAM TIBCO - professional womens' cycling team!

It's time to prep those winter legs like a pro and take on some heavy hitting power and meter up and check data afterwards!


ABOUT: The day was sunny and mid-70's and after discussion there was the setting up the Kurt Kinetic trainers and power computers provided by Pam Sayler, National Sales Director for Kurt Manufacturing, presentation, and then a coached power training session with Coach Leah Prudhomme by the beach in Santa Barbara--a marvelously scenic event for such a powerful Spring Training Camp. Linda Jackson, Team TIBCO Director was our host and the Team TIBCO gals along with Coach Leah started the morning with a killer workout and thanks to Pro Team Mechanic Ryan Bontrager who installed the Kurt Kinetic Power Computers and helped with mechanical questions and problems the session was a roaring success with waves crashing and plenty of pictures and fun in the sun but a lot of useful data and material to set up goals, training parameters and benchmark numbers in training by power watts.

PRO TEAM TIBCO - WOMEN'S CYCLING
SPRING TRAINING CAMP 2010
MONDAY, FEB 22, 2010

MORNING SESSION:
MEET TEAM AND LINDA JACKSON
INTRO/OVERVIEW OF KURT KINETIC
- PAM SAYLER

BEACHSIDE OUTDOOR POWER WATTS TRAINING
SANTA BARBARA - GROUP RIDE TO FOLLOW
-COACH LEAH PRUDHOMME

POWER WATT STRENGTH TRAINING

Duration: 2:00

Purpose:
We never want junk miles with no purpose, no form of measurement. We need to FOCUS on increasing your strength and power watts.

These are 5 ways to train using your Kurt Kinetic Power Meter (see curriculum.)

--I will assume you have had VO2Max tests and Lactate Threshold Testing done on a wattage trainer.

--We will be doing an individual custom workout for you that focuses on improving power and strength.

--Use these other power protocols to supplement your training and test monthly (when you are well rested) and base your periodization chart and race peak off of these numbers.

Warm Up:
KEY:
we are training with an increased focus on power, so think supply and demand. The more you demand it from your body the more it will supply an adequate increase. Think economic--Law of Diminishing Returns.

120rpm 15s sprint / 15Off FAST PULL!
(5 min)
• -Small Chain ring all the way up in the back up/down 1-2 gears
Repeat (3x about 15min very short high cadence intervals)

• GO ALL OUT MAX POWER 2min. trying to maintain 90 cadence in Big Chain Ring Read your power meter!
1 min (rest)

STRENGTH & POWER BUILDING MAIN SET
WORKING TOWARDS YOUR ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD...
Find 250 watts, Big Chain ring, down 2-6 in the back and hold.

250 WATTS @90rpm for 5 MIN (med-high threshold work intensity effort)
3min OFF
Small Chain Ring Spin EZ!

350WATTS @90rpm for 5MIN
3min OFF
Small Chain Ring – Spin EZ!

300 WATTS @90rpm for 10 MIN
(try to maintain it at 90 cadence or greater!)
3min OFF
Small Chain Ring – Spin EZ!

CLIMBING (25-30MIN)
10 min STEADY STANDING EFFORT!
Stand Big Ring - all the way down (9) in the back
>90 rpm
(HIGHEST CADENCE YOU CAN MAINTAIN!)
3 min Recovery Small Chain Ring – Spin EZ!

3 min STEADY SEATED EFFORT!
Seated Big Ring - all the way down (9) in the back
>90 rpm @HIGHEST CADENCE YOU CAN MAINTAIN!
>Every 2min = 10s HARD SUPER JUMPS! SPRINT HARD/STAND!
3 min Recovery Small Chain Ring – Spin EZ!

10 OR 20 min TT (Time depending)
check power & distance data!
4-5 min Recovery Small Chain Ring – Spin EZ!


My Coach JonnyJ’s SINGLE LEGS
(30MIN)
BIG LOWERS –
Big Chain Ring & all the way down in back
2min (20x) ON EA SIDE & Brake it!
Brake @bottom each rotation! Focus on pulling!
Switch Sides = 2min. S.L. with brake

SL SPIN UPS!
Big Chain Ring & all the way down in the back!
Both feet clipped in Spin up as fast as you can – unclip one leg and plant the other on the trainer.
20 revolutions with that one leg.
Switch, clip in, spin up as fast as you can, unclip other leg.
Do each side twice.

Done! Check data! Prep to go for ride to compare power data on the road!

I SAID it! You DO it!

written by Leah Prudhomme

The Kurt Kinetic Power Computer is there to help you make the most of your workouts! DATA DATA DATA! Remember to record your work efforts and all the power output that you are gaining in your training. What is happening to your body in the meantime when you train with INTENSITY during class? How is your body changing to put out all that power you want?

Triathletes and Cyclists can gain from interpreting their HR data correctly and understanding what is happening when they train below at or 5 points above their AT (anaerobic threshold) doing threshold intensity work... Go Fast! to be FAST!

The need to have HR tied to the Power Watts Function is apparent as it should be FRONT and CENTER as co-efficient to power watts and eventually on the same page/screen view area. Use of a Polar HR monitor or the integrated WL wireless HR function on the Kurt Kinetic Power Computer also works, but if you have a Polar HR Monitor on use it in addition to your WL Bike Computer to see side-by-side comparison data.

The use of it side by side watching your power, then cadence and HR functions allow you to better track your AT and lactate Threshold and you start memorizing those numbers and how it feels too. In other words, if you have a Polar HR monitor handy they interface and use that along with your Kurt Kinetic bike computer to track results simultaneously even though your Kinetic Strap and Computer is there sometimes the watch function is more easily glanced at when in the hard moments of suffering… thereby you learn your body’s limits and get comfortable with RPE - how it feels being at AT… do your legs burn? Can you get through it with a focused effort? Are your legs having that knawing feeling and your body is looking for a way out? Make the mental preparedness to get through it and ‘bear down’ and apply mental toughness, but while you’re working that out, don’t forget to look over at your HR number and start mapping how long you think you can hold that number and is it static or dynamic? Holding it steady or is going up up up and then down and up up up more?

Just remember, your HR is like the ‘lagging tail of a comet’ and catches up to you about 15seconds after a hard burst of strength or power and if you let it, overtakes you. That’s where your endurance has to come in. So watch your HR rise and hold to a high steady state after your working out your 300 watts or 250 watts and notice that it comes back down a little once you’ve warmed up into that pace.

The SAID Principle working, Specific Adaptation for Increased/imposed Demand…in other words, I said do it and your body does it… that works in the short term, priming the pump with 120 cadence warm ups to get the muscles ready for fast twitch (Type 2A) work and then the Time Trial or high wattage output sets. Watch your HR go above your AT and then settle at or just below it if you keep your focus and breathing steady.

First is the ability of a cyclist/Triathlete to clobber themselves during climbing or the cycling leg is to end up with a power output that is noticeably less than the average for the entire ride. Example, if you hit it hard on your trainer pushing the biggest gear you got and you can only get out 250 watts and you were averaging a steady 220 there is a disparity in the increased demand. “If I’ve done the ride at an average of 270 watts but I’m cresting the summit at 220 watts, that’s an indicator of what kind of power I’ve got (or more precisely the power I haven't got) while entering the run. If I’m finishing up at 260 or 270 watts I know I’m a lot less likely to fold in the run, where big time can be lost.”

The second mishap concerns one’s overall peak power during a ride. This is different from peak power in the pedal rotation or pedal efficiency of power. I find how often I go out to attempt to ride a steady (see challenge post previous to this one) effort—averaging 250 watts for 90 minutes to 2hrs. at a moderate TT pace and never exceeding 300 watts—and find out after I’m done that I’ve put out 500 + watts somewhere during the duration of that specific ride. I am not sure when or where. Whether it was on the indoor trainer session or a power burst up a hill. It’s easy to do this and to not feel the effort coming on, because cycling has a latent rest factor when coasting or descending (cornering and so on also has it) that running and swimming do not contain. Indoor Trainers tend to have 50% more effort and are like the 2 for 1 special of 1 hour on a trainer is like 2 on the road, why? There is not latent rest, even when the small chain ring is engaged, unless you stop pedalling altogether, there is constant effort even at 100+ watt level. Back to 'where did that 500 watts kick in?"

It’s the hill that’s a bit too steep after a bit of a rest that’ll do me in. No, I won’t feel the negative effect of this effort while I’m doing it, but I’m sure to feel it later on in the ride, if not during the ride then during the run split. In this one narrow instance a heart rate monitor isn’t going to pick up this mistake, it is again like the lagging tail of a comet so if or when it does read the data, it’ll only chronicle the mistake you’ve already made and surge just after the effort not during. On a downhill coast this is fine for reasons of Active Recovery, on a trainer, the effort is still there cardiovascularly albeit not muscularly.

This is why power is a useful tool for the Triathlete or cyclist but probably even more so than to the bike racer. A competitive mass-start racer doesn’t have a lot of choice in the matter and when the wave goes, or when the age-group goes, you go to. In that matter, you cannot afford to say, “Let the newbies go.... I’ll be seeing them 'on your left' and wheel past them later in the ride.... by just my better techniques of energy conservation.” Triathletes can view distance for the sake of the run however. Cyclists need to conserve based on their perceived effort during the ride, not just one facet or leg of the race.

In sum, the average power and ballistic power (initial max rep) and peak power are all ways to rev up power systems and determine protocols for testing power through data collection from your Power meter or Kurt kinetic power Computer. This is the best way to calculate your peak power during a ride and demand more from the body. THE SAID principal, or the initial loading up of the body of applied demand allows your body to do it, the "what I say or said" (with the SAID principl) and this instinctive ability for your body to do it allows for muscle memory and increased intensity work. Your body naturally adapts over time and repetition. Keep the power coming!

Written by, Power Coach Leah Prudhomme

DARE!!! Challenge yourself with this workout:

To the Trailhead Power Watts Class & Kurt Kinetic Community: I DARE!!!!

Hey those of you with Kurt Kinetic Power Computers! TRY THIS WORKOUT!!!

250 watts Steady Power Output for 2hr.
Workout on Kinetic Trainer:
Warm up. Start clock.
Push even 250watts for 30min steady.
rest 2min.
Repeat 3x's
if that's easy for you, then insert 300+ watts).

Train like a Pro!

Track your Data... Did your Avg. Watts read 200+? Or not?
What was your total distance? Speed? HR? MaxWatts? What did it feel like? Record Your thoughts! Did you make it each 30 min interval at a steady 250watts constantly or did you fade or give up?

Are you a hill climber? Power Building to get there...

I read online that there's a formula to if you are genetically predispositioned to be a good hill climbing cyclists. It is as follows: ratio of 2lbs to 1" of height... Take your height and convert to inches... divide by 2. So, are you gonna be a good hill climber? Body Mass got you down? Need to loose a few pounds? Not possible for your frame size..? Don't quit cycling altogether... just consider perhaps hill climbing has more to IT than just frame size...yes smaller frames, WIN in the hills, but now always...so maybe you can lay it down in a flat... There's room for improvement and strength.. .that's why we are here dedicated to help you at IrideInside and Trailhead. strength output is another way to power into the hills...we've got the Kurt Kinetic Power Computer... so let's use it and train by it!

So, here's a link to a few tips:

Cycling Performance Tips (http://www.cptips.com/climb.htm cut&paste into your browser)

"The rule for climbing prowess: You should weigh (in pounds) no more than twice your height in inches. So at 6 feet (72 inches) you'd need to weigh 144 pounds rather than 190. Pro cycling tends to select lean, light-bodied athletes in the same way that the profile of a mastodon is required for football linemen. Climbing ability is crucial in racing, and it depends on the power-to-weight ratio. A light rider doesn't need to generate as much power as his heavier competitor because he has less weight to propel up hills. In the 2005 Tour de France with 189 starters, here's the profile of the average rider:

* Height -- 1.79 meters (5 feet, 10.4 inches)
* Weight -- 71 kilograms (156.2 pounds)
* Resting heart rate -- 50 bpm
* Lung capacity -- 5.69 liters (1.48 gallons)

Of course, there are exceptions. Five-time Tour winner Miguel Indurain is 6-foot-2 and weighed 190 pounds when he began racing. Lots of miles reduced him to 175. At that weight, his huge power output enabled him to ride with the specialist climbers in the mountains even though he outweighed most of them by 30-40 pounds. And of course he was nearly unbeatable in flat time trials where weight doesn't matter much but power output does. Think of Big Mig and don't give up hope for climbing well. Continue riding, train on hills and you'll improve to the limits of your physique.

Now on to the tips.

STAY SEATED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
WHEN YOU STAND, CHECK YOUR TECHNIQUE
BREATHE ....for more cut&paste this link (http://www.cptips.com/climb.htm) "

SO GET YOUR CLIMBING SHOES ON.... for CYCLING THAT IS, NOT CRAMPONS, NOT HIKING BOOTS...NOT ROCK CLIMBING SHOES... AND SEE YOU TOMORROW NIGHT AT 5PM!


Thursday 01/21/10
Session #9 Power Lifting on the bike & HILL CLIMBING!

Duration: 90min planned

PURPOSE: The focus of this workout gives you both speed and endurance and challenges you to maintain higher speeds in your biggest gear because let’s face it, ultimately you want to push the biggest you gear you can the longest. It is going to focus on your weak spots, single leg differentiation and power with in the pedal stroke efficiency differences.

The most important aspect of this workout is that you maintain calmness of mind, coordination and balance the rest is up to you and your fitness level on the bike. Think of this as one way to ‘strength train’ on the bike without lifting weights – an anaerobic capacity workout that gives you capillary density and overall power gains. You'll be drained after so remember to "Optimize in 45" as we say at Lifetime Fitness - Get protein in ya within 45min after the training session ends. Better yet, bring some Muscle Milk or your own Recovery Drink!


What to Bring: besides you and your bike, shoes, apparel, etc. bring extra fluids (2 water bottles – race hydration e.g. Heed, Perpetuum, Cytomax, Recoverite, Infinit etc.) Bring plenty of GU/Cliff Blocks, or gels. You’ll need them.


KEY: We are training with increased focus on power, so think supply and demand. The more you demand it from your body the more it will supply adequate increase. The SAID Principle: Specific Adaptation to Increase/Imposed Demand. Extra caution if you have an injury or are not rested. But, if you demand power from your body, the SAID principle will work. WIth your HR, think economics law of Diminishing returns if you go out too hard in this effort, you'll be fading at the end... Your HR starts to skyrocket as you fatigue (see Jan 14, 2010 post "Training with Power...") so make sure you don't go into it too hard at first but maintain your power or you'll burst. We'll qualify your AT and remember it's a dynamic number that can change based on fatigue, fitness level and Vo2Max (see Nov. Nov. 23 "Coach Talk..." ).

Power Building workout at class!

20 min Throwdown TT at Trailhead Power Watts Class Agenda!

Class we are over half way through our Power Watts Class!

On Thursday 01/28/10 Next week!

Session #10 Order of that day: Double Peak Burner!
Duration: 1:45 planned time
Come 4:30pm ready to warm up good!

Be prepared for a Throwdown TT of 20min. after we do another AT test re-check and warm up! This is a Lactate Threshold Double Peak Workout, so get sleep, don’t workout that day previous to class, be hydrated, come prepared to work hard if you are eager to give your best. That class may run a little long so plan to come earlier to warm up 4:30pm - 6:40 ETD – class starts with drilling sets at 5pm sharp!



Anaerobic Capacity Time Trail Ability

Higher Z4 Warm up HIIT IT! Intervals on the bike
AT 25 min test with drills and ladder sets

Peak 1 – the 20min TT Endurance Race
Post a ‘good long warm up’ into anaerobic capacity and pre Power training the Lactate Threshold Power. Purpose: You’ve trained hard so lets get psyched to see some midpoint check-in results!

TT for 20 min. - will have prizes to our top 3 Podium Finishers! Short Active Recovery!

Peak 2 - Improving Your Climbing Power
This Post TT Power Training helps improve lactate threshold power (before doing the first workout you need to do a 15 - 20 minute Ton the trainer – which we will do!). Note your average heart rate during the time trial (TTHR – which I will be doing periodically as I walk around to record numbers and encourage your focused effort) and with access to power data, note your average time trial power output (TTP – I will have a little chart and jot it down).

Workout #2 - Lactate Threshold
Lactate Threshold work has to be down after a “warm up of 20min TT pace” on the trainer at an aerobic intensity. Details provided in class.

Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise. ~Author Unknown

TRAINING WITH POWER... power plays & pays!

After riding with the Kurt Kinetic Power Computer for awhile one starts to gain a new appreciation for the mistakes that can doom a cyclists century or a triathlete’s race that play out on a trainer. Recipes for disaster would be 120 cadence for a hilly course of 112 miles, no way! But, 100+ cadence and 90+ cadences are always the key to faster hills and overall times. One mistake I've seen is the proneness to grind out the gears in favor of higher gearing and lower rpm but a lower power readout too... bad teaching might be a by product or just not shifting enough back and forth to find the sweet spot on the saddle and in the gearing-ratio...which will overcook the bike effort and leave you burnt for a long course race...neither will it get results without proper HR monitoring.

HEAVY HILLS!
How does that look? Simply put, 60+ cadence in favor of grinding it out for hard "hill" efforts and grinding it out leaves you drained, swaying all over in the bike seated uncomfortably and knees going like V-8 pistons in an engine diagonally falling out of line with staying true over your angle...ankling and pushing down with the legs and maxing your power about 220-250 tops and you can average 200 in the flats. This is more stressing your joints not your muscles and a waste of a lot of good power in the legs. Or, you haven't yet figured out to "tap into that power"... try this:

POWER PLAY: The 104 Cadence Magic Number!
Secret... you will have higher power output overall and in the hills if you simply have a higher cadence, it's science. If you are of the first kind of pedal pushers that push hard but slow way down... Play around with teaching your legs to go at 90-104 cadence ALWAYS flats or hills, start your hill...'spinning into the hills' at 110-104 (my favorite, 104 and holding) range shifting into necessary gear, good clean form forward on the saddle, efficiency of pedal rotation, efficiency of power, keeping the upper body relaxed, using those pulling hip flexor muscles which translates to excellent production of more power for same hill/high gear hard effort with a much higher power output readout like 600-800 (or even 999 default top end when cadence is up to 110 range which is the 30.5mph range on a flat) and your average about 95-100rpm at the end of the set/hill/effort, but the HR is right there holding high AT too! (Or not, if you've got a deep endurance base).

QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT ASK YOURSELF:
Do you go into the "hills" or interval power sets with a relatively low power output in comparison to your average? I.e. 270 hills and 220 average on flats. If you can't push it into High gear and push the power out 600-900+ watts in the hills and 190-200 average on the down times... there might be a reflection of your training log, or HR Training, or metal focus.

What do I mean, well, let me ask you? Do you always ride at AT? Do you have Z2 workouts? Do you skip past them? Make the Hard days HARD and Easy Days = EZ! No middle blah… skipping over Z2 and under-delivering Zone4-5 is middle blah. Many Coaches ascribe to this theory of training by key sessions. Hard = really hard. Easy = EZ/boring and filler inbetween with technique... Training with power watts is learning a new technique and training with power watts and cadence and HR is a multi-tasking adventure!

RESULTS, RESULTS, RESULTS...WHEN?
That is entirely relative and dependent on you. You want it, you get it. What you put into it is what you'll get out of it. "Your entrance determines your exit" approach. If you hold that pace longer and longer eventually you will be able to hold it that desired 40k TT pace/duration or so on with training smarter by training with power. I give it about 2 months if results showing in the 50-100+ watt range if you cycle 3-5 times a week.

I wanted to know at what point does Power Watts start to increase in strength and increase over time? Since time is relative and so is power…we are going 15 weeks with Training with Power to see results right? The hungry get it… I am seeing more results with this rule of thumb: Training frequency is more tied to muscle memory than duration and short High Intensity Interval Training does the trick - shorter 1 hour classes and higher intensity, but not all out save that for once a week. Have 1 key session all out. 1 key session LSD (Long slow distance or like my Coach refers to, LSB Long Slow BORING). Rest is filler. 1 hr 4x’s a week might be better than a one-time 4 hour ride only once a week. Do that on the weekend and keep your spin classes or short trainer sessions to a brief minimum but high frequency rate and the results start showing up. Intensity in those sessions needs to be moderated, 1 time all out with Zone 5 material – “I’m gonna puke phase” to get your power up, and other times, Z3 and Z2 endurance development at race tempo paces. 1 day should be given to a longer endurance rides.

TRAILHEAD's POWER WATTS CLASS!
PURPOSE: YOUR HARD DAY. PAY THE DUES, reap the DIVIDEND. Training with Power will get results if you pay your time and your HARD efforts!
Since we only have 1.5hrs at Trailhead to workout in 1 power watts class/week we relish the Threshold of Pain tolerance @AT or above ...relatively speaking for most and keep the suffering to Zone 4 High Intensity and Muscular Strength workouts, i.e. hills, single-legs, Heavy gear TT’s and some 120 fast twitch rpm spurts – teaching those legs to go faster… GO FAST TO BE FAST. As for me, I’m seeing the results in about 3 months and there’s still room for increased demand as long as I train smart, keeping easy on easy days to build base. The rest of the training is up to you and on your time!

Qualify the AT!
First of all, qualifying the AT (anaerobic threshold) is basic and important, it is a dynamic number that can change based on fitness, age, VO2 Max Capacity, endurance base and yes…Fatigue. A rough guide I was told was take “180 - subtract your age and add 10 if you are fit.” Or get it tested professionally. Mine is 173 and I can stay there for a long time… but should I? There is a reason why Zone 4 and 5 workouts are 1x/week at most twice… After you know your AT. Train by it, above at and below Threshold with periodic Zone 5 “all outs” like Tabata Protocol once a week for 6-weeks and re-test this is for power and strength to be built in the legs which translates to speed.

FEEL DRAINED? WHY? --NOT SUCH A GREAT DAY FOR YOUR LEGS TO HIT IT AGAIN?

Speaking of fatigue, on a off day or after the week’s volume is high for a heavy week training (times 2 or 3) or after one long hard day, you might notice next training session in the first 15 minutes…the signs of fatigue and junk legs or skyrocketed HR. (See post from Nov. 23, 2009) REMEMBER, YOUR AT IS A DYNAMIC NUMBER AND CAN BE BASED ON FATIGUE on a given day too! If you don't got it in the legs in the first 15 minutes it'll show up. There's that drained or better yet, numb feeling that is described as 'flat', 'cardboard', 'lead', and most often the lack of the 'punch it' feeling that reflects all the carbon dioxide built up as lactic acid and soreness in those recovering muscles, either you didn't properly cool down last time, or your volume is too high (sometimes on purpose) and you are in recovery... detox zone, repair zone HR junk zone. (If it's because you can't breathe and are coughing a lot, lungs give before legs approach then go get tested for Asthma or EIA!)

So, re-test your AT periodically every 2 months perhaps if you are training consistently and rest up a day beforehand. Otherwise, watch out for too many Zone 5 High Zone 4–AT buster workouts that can leave your body in constant state of repair not gaining ground but keeping your legs in the mechanic shop so to speak. If they are the kind that leave you drained and depleted and not enough gas in the glycogen tank to keep up the endurance… back it off, way off, then come back next week or in 2 weeks…but still ride if you have to and practice your mental cues on keeping your mind busy if you’re bored like most elite level athletes in Zone 2… don’t just blow past it…it’s a harvest to be reaped of endurance gains, and I’m speaking to myself as much you. So train 20-30 beats below your AT for Zone 2 and RPE is conversational, ‘I could do this all day’ pace.


HARD DAYS.... HARDER?
However, do not pass by the opportunities to make those Hard days HARD because you will not increase your imposed demand on the muscles and thereby never deplete your glycogen storehouse to get more endurance and glycogen… and your desired power watts output average increased; in basic terms…you won’t get any faster by avoiding the long sure way to success, the hard way is the easiest way. HIIT IT HARD with it’s supposed to be HARD at least once a week.

The need to have HR tied to the Power Watts Function is apparent as it should be FRONT and CENTER as co-efficient to power watts and eventually on the same page/screen view area. Use of a Polar HR monitor or the integrated WL wireless HR function on the Kurt Kinetic Power Computer also works, but if you have a Polar HR Monitor on use it in addition to your WL Bike Computer to see side-by-side comparison data. The use of it side by side watching your power, then cadence and HR functions allow you to better track your AT and lactate Threshold and you start memorizing those numbers and how it feels too. In other words, if you have a Polar HR monitor handy they interface and use that along with your Kurt Kinetic bike computer to track results simultaneously even though your Kinetic Strap and Computer is there sometimes the watch function is more easily glanced at when in the hard moments of suffering… thereby you learn your body’s limits and get comfortable with RPE - how it feels being at AT… do your legs burn? Can you get through it with a focused effort? Are your legs having that knawing feeling and your body is looking for a way out? Make the mental preparedness to get through it and ‘bear down’ and apply mental toughness, but while you’re working that out, don’t forget to look over at your HR number and start mapping how long you think you can hold that number and is it static or dynamic? Holding it steady or is going up up up and then down and up up up more?

YOUR HR CATCHING UP TO YOU!
Just remember, your HR is like the ‘lagging tail of a comet’ and catches up to you about 15seconds after a hard burst of strength or power and if you let it, overtakes you. That’s where your endurance has to come in. So watch your HR rise and hold to a high steady state after your working out your 300 watts or 250 watts and notice that it comes back down a little once you’ve warmed up into that pace. The SAID Principle working, Specific Adaptation for Increased/imposed Demand…in other words, I said do it and your body does it… that works in the short term, priming the pump with 120 cadence warm ups to get the muscles ready for fast twitch (Type 2A) work and then the Time Trial or high wattage output sets. Watch your HR go above your AT and then settle at or just below it if you keep your focus and breathing steady.

POWER PAYS...
In sum, ride hard, ride long, ride fast, and do it a lot. But don't sacrifice the rest days either. Then make the Hard days hard and the Easy Days EZ and don't quit. Teach your legs to go faster, go fast to be fast, and just hang on with your HR and achieve those personal mental limits by looking at how you feel, looking down at your HR and power watts computer and when it is that you're fading or holding on and with it what the power output is at the same time...keep those numbers close. Memorize them until they improve. You will get results this way.

Leah Prudhomme