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
