April 8, 2008
Here is an interview with Dirk Friel who is a co-founder of TrainingPeaks.com. One of his jobs is to help professional riders and coaches to analyze data from power meters. Since one of the biggest topics here on Training4cyclists.com is power meter training, it is a pleasure to get some additional info from one of the experts into analyzing of power meter files. This interview is quite long, but I hope you enjoy it, there are several good points waiting for you!
Read the full interview with Dirk Friel here!
July 18, 2007
I made a short interview with Gonzalo about his impressive results in the Power Meter Project:
Your 5min maximum power went from 357Watts in week 1 to 416Watts in week 12. What impact has this increment had on your performance?
Gonzalo: “No, because I haven’t done any short races since then. My wife had a baby and I couldn’t race for some weeks, since then there have been no more races, I hope the second part of the racing season starts soon.”
How will you describe your progress through the project?
Gonzalo: “My short time power increased dramatically, my recovery from short efforts also improved, which was what I was looking after: changing from endurance races to ‘criterium’ style races.”
What is your opinion on power meter training now?
Gonzalo: “More or less the same as before, but some things have changed: I don’t focus that much on the powermeter when riding endurance sessions, and I listen more to my body, if I feel Im reaching a physicall and mental limit I rest for a week. But all in all I believe power traing is THE method to use.”
Have you adapted some of the ideas from the power meter project into your daily training?
Gonzalo: “Not now, but I will. Now Im riding endurance races, but in two weeks I switch again to short races and I will follow some ideas of workouts I did during the project.”
July 5, 2007
I had a short interview with Marc Moeller about his participation in the Power Meter Project. If you haven’t looked at his results yet, read the full results here.
Your maximum power tests indicate that you are significantly stronger, but what impact has these increments had on your performance in races?
Marc: “This has been my best racing year yet in Category 3 and I plan on moving to category 2 in August! I’ve race quite a bit and always felt I had a chance to win, not just finish as middle of the pack. My lowest place in Cat 3 has been 12th and I almost always can finish in the top 5.”
How will you describe your progress through the project?
Marc: “Well to tell the truth I do feel quite a bit stronger this year than last, which is due to the program structure and my sticking to it. Being motivated and focused has helped tremendously. I have a suspicion though that I may have reached a peak a bit early this year and I don’t know if I can get my power levels up quite as high as I had them in early April. I have even resisted doing the tests because I don’t want to know my current max power outputs as they might be discouraging to my present training.”
What is your opinion on power meter training now?
Marc: “There is nothing better than power training. How else could you ever incrementally increase your work load on a bicycle? I think the ability to do repeatable efforts at different percentages of power is critical to progress on the bike. It also is great for letting you know how your legs are “feeling” as you warm up or towards the end of a long ride you know where your relative fitness is.”
Have you adapted some of the ideas from the power meter project into
your daily training?
Marc: “Undoubtedly, the thing I have used most is a range of power intervals from short burst to longer sessions that work different energy systems. For me what I have used the most is the four minute interval, the one minute, and the shorter recoveries at 40 seconds on, and 20 seconds off. Those have helped me the most.”
February 7, 2007
While I am waiting to receive the results from the critical power tests, I have done some interviews with the participants in the Power Meter Project. Gonzalo Vilaseca did the 5seconds and 1minute critical power test yesterday. Here is my interview with Gonzalo after four full weeks of wattage controlled training.
Yesterday you have completed your critical power test for sprint power and anaerobic endurance after 4 weeks of training in the Power Meter Project. What is your reaction to your performance in these tests?
Gonzalo: “Overall, I expected some improvement in every critical power duration because I had been a few months without training before the power meter project. My guess was that the largest improvement would be seen in 1 and 5 min test, moderate improvement in 20 min test, and little improvement in 5 sec sprint.
As I said, after looking at what I have exercised in my training I expected little improvement in the 5 sec power but a good improvement in 1 min power, and it has been as expected, I’ve improved my 5 sec sprint by 3,8%, but my 1 min power has increased an 8,4%, which is more than I expected. I didn’t expect an increase of 47 w in such a short period of time.”
In what way have your training been different during the Power Meter Project?
Gonzalo: “Compared to this period in past years, during the project I have performed short intervals and LSD days (long steady distance) have been longer. On previous years I did endurance rides with some moderate intensity (Zone 3) work, but no intervals of any sort. During the project I have performed short intervals twice weekly, and that is far more stimulating than just endurance riding.”
Before we know the results from your vo2max and threshold tests: What are your conclusions so far?
Gonzalo: “My conclusions so far are that I have regained fitness faster than expected, but this should be confirmed with the 5 and 20 min test. Im not surprised about my test results as I know Im not at my peak (and I don’t want to be now) and I need more training, but Im really surprised at how good I have assimilated the training load and how that has translated in fast improvement.”
December 31, 2006
The last rider in this project is Thomas Davis who trains 12 to 20 hours per week when he is very motivated. Thomas will start on the training program a little later than the rest of this project because he is on vacation.
Name: Thomas Davis
Power meter: Power Tap Pro
How would you describe yourself as a cyclist?
I’m a 3 year veteran who’s raced at Category 5 during those 3 years. I do not want to get promoted until I know I can stay in the top 10 in most races I do so that’s why I stayed there for that long. I know I have incredible acceleration which is how I usually make my name on the track where I’ve had the most success because when I make my jumps, I can put in gaps very quickly. I’m also a decent climber by default because of my weight. However, I’ve always had trouble with consistency in steady state type training for TTs and climbs which are why I bought the Powertap as a way to gauge my efforts and improve my training specificity for those types of efforts. I’m also a rather hyperaggressive attacker and I would prefer to try to get my wins on wild but smart attacks and breakaways rather than waiting for the sprints which I know I do have some natural capacity for.
What are your previous experiences with power meter training?
Frankly, the only time I’ve ever had a chance to use a power meter of any sort was when my club’s informal coach offered everyone a chance to test out their abilities on a Computrainer.
What is your main goal with the Power Meter Project 2007?
To acquire a better understanding of how to use and train with a power meter effectively. I want to get the maximum out of the power meter. I also aim to use it as an opportunity to try to improve my skills on the bike enough to move up to Cat. 4 and be competitive at Cat. 4. Ultimately, I want to maximize my potential as a climber and sprinter with the project.
December 30, 2006
Spencer Kenner is a very experienced rider, but a true beginner into power meter training. He wants to improve his time trialing and climbing with a wattage controlled training program.
Name: Spencer Kenner
Power meter: Power Tap SL
How would you describe yourself as a cyclist?
I’ve ridden for over 20 years, 10 of which I’ve raced. Recently a Cat 3 and struggle to be competitive with the Master 1-3’s when it gets hilly and real fast. I’m not great at any one discipline but would like to climb and TT better. I’m 6′2″ and fluctuate between 170-175 pounds. I do some cycle cross and mountain bike for training. Right now I’m in the gym 2-3 times per week trying to build power and strength.
What are your previous experiences with power meter training?
None, except for the occasional test where I’ve tested at around 275 watts at threshold, and 375 max.
What is your main goal with the Power Meter Project 2007?
My goal is to train more efficiently and understand my weaknesses and how to make them strengths, i.e. climbing and TT. I’ve used a heart rate monitor for years but I’m not able to develop a consistent plan based on it alone. And it’s always a struggle to know when I’m just tired or overtrained with the HR monitor. I think the power meter should help with that. Also, I’m just getting a Power Tap this next week or so and want a good baseline to begin with. Of course any real and effective training tips to meet my goals would be greatly appreciated as well.