How to Start Training with Power

Table of Contents
Introduction..................................................... 3 Chapter 3......................................................... 9 Training Stress Score® (TSS®)
Start Training With Power Kilojoules, or “Work” (kJ)
About TrainingPeaks...................................... 3 3 Key Power Workouts by Joe Friel Cadence
Hire a Coach Heart Rate
Chapter 1......................................................... 4 Get a Training Plan
Introduction to Power Zones 3 Myths about Hiring a Coach...Busted Chapter 6....................................................... 17
Threshold Power Analyze Power Trends Over Time
Power Training Levels Chapter 4....................................................... 12 Time in Zones
Track Your Power Data Performance Manager Chart (PMC)
Chapter 2......................................................... 6 Using Power Software or Solutions Peak Power
Determine Your Power Zones
Step 1: Determine FTP through a Field Test Chapter 5....................................................... 13 Chapter 7....................................................... 20
Hunter Allen’s FTP Test Analyze a Single Workout or Race Racing With Your Power Meter
Step 2: Calculate your Power Zones Why analyze a workout? Cycling
Calculate Your Zones in TrainingPeaks Why analyze a race? Triathlon (Ironman)
Step 3: Keep Threshold and Zones Up to Date w/kg
Normalized Power® (NP®) Next Steps..................................................... 22
Variability Index (VI) Keep Learning
Intensity Factor® (IF®) Start Training

2 | Chapter name here

Introduction
Congratulations on becoming a power meter The information in this e-book is based on
user, and more importantly, welcome to articles by Hunter Allen and Dr. Andrew
“the club”! You’re now part of the special Coggan, co-authors of Training and Racing
group of athletes who have decided to make with a Power Meter; and Joe Friel, author of
an investment in their potential on the bike The Power Meter Handbook, The Cyclist’s
by training and racing with the most accurate Training Bible, and The Triathlete’s
measure of their cycling output. Training Bible.

As you already know, a power meter can be one

of the most effective tools for improving your About TrainingPeaks
results as a cyclist or triathlete. And while there TrainingPeaks provides the complete web,
is a lot of science and research behind power mobile and desktop solution for enabling
analysis, you can start to reap the benefits smart and effective endurance training. Our
of your new tool by simply understanding a products include the web-based TrainingPeaks
handful of basic principles. Athlete Edition and Coach Edition; WKO+
desktop software for deep, offline power
This e-book will get you started training analysis; and mobile apps for iOS and Android.
and racing with a power meter. By pulling TrainingPeaks also offers a Coach Match
information from what we’ve deemed to be the Service to help athletes find certified coaches,
most important articles in power training, our and a regular TrainingPeaks University program
goal is to provide you with an introduction to
the basics of power training, in an hour or less
for Coach Edition users.
With this book
(depending on how fast you can read)! TrainingPeaks solutions are used by Tour de
France teams, Ironman World Champions, you’ll get an
Olympians, and age group athletes around the
world to track, analyze and plan their training.
introduction to the
basics of training
and racing with a
power meter, in an
3 | Introduction
hour or less.
Introduction to Power Zones
In order to train effectively, you need the right Threshold Power
amount of training load to induce aerobic
Your power zones are calculated relative
adaptations, and you need the right amount
to what’s known as your “threshold power”.
of recovery so that the body is able to adapt.
Threshold power is also referred to as
To quantify intensity, we use a system of power
“Functional Threshold Power (FTP)” or
120
training levels or “zones”.
“Lactate Threshold (LT)” power.

To train with a power meter, you need to know

Threshold power refers to the maximum output
your personal power zones. But first let’s
(in watts) that you’re able to maintain while your
introduce the concept of threshold power.
body can still remove the lactate acid being
produced by the muscles. For most trained WATTS
athletes, this is similar to the maximum effort
Threshold power refers you can maintain for a 1-hour time trial. It’s also
to the maximum output the point at which your body begins to recruit
Power Training Zones
more fast-twitch than slow-twitch muscle fiber.
(in watts) that you’re able Going above this threshold effort will result in Here are your personal power training zones,
to maintain while your body a “burn” in the muscles. After a few minutes based on the system established by Allen and
Coggan. Using these zones will allow you to
can still remove the lactate above threshold, stopping or slowing will be
required in order for the body to clear lactate precisely determine your effort level in the most
acid being used by the acid. accurate way possible. During your ride you will

muscles. For most trained know immediately whether or not you are in the
correct zone. Plus, you can review your data to
Lactate threshold can be improved consistently
athletes, this is similar to through training. Consistent and long-term see how well you performed the workout.
the maximum effort you endurance exercise training will reduce the
production of lactate by slowing the overall rate
can maintain for a 1-hour
time trial.
of carbohydrate utilization.
300w
(Athlete name) could have powere
Introduction to Power Zones
4 |
52" flat-screen plasma TV for 4.5 ho
Coggan Power Levels

Zone Name % of FTP Description

1 Active Recovery <55% “Easy spinning” or “light pedal pressure”, i.e., very low level exercise, too low in and of itself to induce significant physiological adaptations.
Minimal sensation of leg effort/fatigue. Requires no concentration to maintain pace, and continuous conversation possible. Typically used for
active recovery after strenuous training days (or races), between interval efforts, or for socializing.

2 Endurance 56-75% “All day” pace, or classic long, slow distance (LSD) training. Sensation of leg effort/fatigue generally low, but may rise periodically to higher
levels (e.g., when climbing). Concentration generally required to maintain effort only at highest end of range and/or during longer training
sessions. Breathing is more regular than in level 1, but continuous conversation still possible. Frequent (daily) training sessions of moderate
duration (e.g., 2 hours) at level 2 is possible provided carbohydrate intake is adequate, but complete recovery from very long workouts may
take more than 24 hours.

3 Tempo 76-90% Typical intensity of fartlek workout, “spirited” group ride, or briskly moving paceline. More frequent/greater sensation of leg effort/fatigue
than in level 2. Requires concentration to maintain alone, especially at upper end of range, to prevent effort from falling back to zone 2.
Breathing deeper and more rhythmic than zone 2, such that any conversation must be somewhat halting, but not as difficult as at level
4. Recovery from level 3 training sessions more difficult than after level 2 workouts, but consecutive days of level 3 training still possible if
duration is not excessive and carbohydrate intake is adequate.

4 Lactate Threshold 91-105% Just below to just above TT effort, taking into account duration, current fitness, environmental conditions, etc. Essentially continuous
sensation of moderate or even greater leg effort/fatigue. Continuous conversation difficult at best, due to depth/frequency of breathing.
Effort sufficiently high that sustained exercise at this level is mentally very taxing - therefore typically performed in training as multiple repeats,
modules, or blocks of 10-30 min duration. Consecutive days of training at level 4 possible, but such workouts generally only performed when
sufficiently rested/recovered from prior training so as to be able to maintain intensity.

5 VO2 Max 106-120% Typical intensity of longer (3-8 min) intervals intended to increase VO2max. Strong to severe sensations of leg effort/fatigue, such that
completion of more than 30-40 min total training time is difficult at best. Conversation not possible due to often “ragged” breathing.
Should generally be attempted only when adequately recovered from prior training - consecutive days of level 5 work not necessarily
desirable even if possible.

6 Anaerobic Capacity >121% Short (30 sec to 3 min), high-intensity intervals designed to increase anaerobic capacity. Heart rate generally not useful as guide to intensity
due to non-steady-state nature of effort. Severe sensation of leg effort/fatigue, and conversation impossible. Consecutive days of extended
level 6 training usually not attempted.

7 Neuromuscular Power Maximal Very short, very high-intensity efforts (e.g., jumps, standing starts, short sprints) that generally place greater stress on musculoskeletal rather
than metabolic systems. Power useful as guide, but only in reference to prior similar efforts, not TT pace.

To see the full table, read “Power Training Levels” on TrainingPeaks by Andrew Coggan.

5 | Introduction to Power Zones

Determine Your Power Zones
Now that you understand the various power How to tell what your 20-minute power was? Pacing
zones, here’s how to determine your own, After your test, upload your workout from your A commonly asked question is whether or not
so that you can start performing structured bike computer into TrainingPeaks. Here’s how. you should go hard for the first 10 minutes.
workouts. You’ll want to download the desktop solution Allen advises, “Don’t start too hard. In the first
Device Agent, which will enable you to upload two to three minutes, start out at a hard pace
Step 1: Determine FTP through a your power data from over 90+ different devices but one you can sustain, and then gradually
or mobile apps. bring up the power.” The more you do this test,
Field Test the more accurate your threshold power will be
The first step is to do a field test (performed Download Device Agent. as you learn to pace yourself better at the start.
“in the field” on the bike as opposed to a
laboratory blood lactate level test). This field Get your free TrainingPeaks account. Safety
test, devised by Hunter Allen, can be done on As you perform your test, please do so safely.
an indoor trainer. However, for most accurate Keep your head up, don’t stare down at your
results, ride outside. bike computer (you should avoid doing this
anyway as it may cause you to subconsciously
“target” an expected power output), and pick an
area or road where you won’t have to contend
with traffic.

Hunter Allen’s FTP Test

Perform this field test on a flat course relatively free of stop signs or traffic, and if possible one that has
a steady, uphill grade of less than 5%. The uphill grade helps you to maintain a constant output, as
opposed to rolling terrain where it’s difficult to keep your power up on the downhills.

Do at least a 15-minute endurance paced warm-up, then do 3 x 1 minute fast pedaling drills of at least
100 rpm with 1-minute recoveries in between each. This is to warm up the muscles without taking away
energy for the 20-minute test itself. Then perform a 20-minute time trial all by yourself—no training
partners, and not in a race. Your effort should be done as if it was a race for the entire 20 minutes—all
out, but sustainable for the 20 minutes.

Your average power for that 20 minutes, less 5%, is an approximation of your FTP. For example, if your
average power for the 20-minute test was 250 watts, then your FTP is 250 watts x .95 = 238 watts.
Step 2: Calculate your Power Zones
Now that you know your threshold power, you can determine your power zones using Coggan’s Power
Levels table on page 5. If you use TrainingPeaks, you can enter your threshold power within your
Account Settings, select “Coggan Power Zones”, and we will automatically calculate your zones for you.

Calculate Your Zones

in TrainingPeaks
After you’ve uploaded your field test workout
into TrainingPeaks, use your Peak 20 Minute
Power less 5% as your FTP approximation.
You can also use your Normalized Power® for
the 20-minute test, less 5%. Then:

• Click your name in the upper right hand corner to

access your Settings.
• Click “Zones”, then “Power” from the left hand
navigation.
• Enter your threshold power, choose Threshold
Power as your type and select “ Andy Coggan”
as your auto-calculation method. This will open a
preview window of your zones.
• Click “Apply” to save those zones. If you want, you
can re-enter a different threshold value and click
“Calculate” to view what your zones would be with
a different threshold value.

7 | Determine Your Power Zones

Step 3: Keep Threshold There are other ways to estimate your threshold
throughout the season, not least of which
and Zones Up to Date include estimating from race data or performing
As you perform structured power training, you’ll a one-hour TT. You can read more about these
get stronger and fitter, and your threshold will methods in “What is Threshold Power?” on
increase. Great news, that’s why you bought TrainingPeaks.
your power meter in the first place! But that also
means you need to continually monitor your
threshold and zones as they increase over time,
so that you can keep training at a high enough
intensity to cause adaptations—or do your
“easy days” at a low enough intensity to allow
for recovery.

Perform your threshold test and recalculate

your zones every six weeks throughout your
training to keep your threshold and zones up
to date. If you use TrainingPeaks and turn on
our Threshold Improvement Notification feature,
we’ll let you know when you upload a race or
workout power file that indicates your threshold
has improved.

* PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN HAVE THRESHOLD AUTO-UPDATED

8 | Determine Your Power Zones

Start Training With Power
Now that you know your power zones, you can important that you follow a structured training
really start to reap the rewards of your power plan designed by an expert and tailored
meter. towards your goals. Getting faster doesn’t
simply mean riding hard all the time. It means
As you likely know, unlike heart rate, power riding hard enough on your hard days, and easy
reflects the intensity of your effort immediately, enough on your easy days.
regardless of external factors including fatigue,
weather, wind, course profile, etc. Because of Whatever method you choose, the most
that, you’re able to very precisely target your important thing is to have a plan; a roadmap to
effort into a specific zone. Also, your power get from where you are today to your ultimate
meter is able to measure the muscular demands goal—whether that’s an A race or a process
of your training and racing, whereas your heart goal like improving your FTP by a certain
rate only measures aerobic demand. percentage. A study by the British Journal of
These advantages enable you to execute Health Psychology found that you are more than
structured workouts like never before, and twice as likely to achieve your exercise goals
because of that it becomes even more when you plan how and when you will perform
your workout.

3 Key Power Workouts

by Joe Friel With a power meter,
you’re now able to
1 To train muscular endurance: Do 5-12 minute intervals at Zone 4 power, with Zone 1 recoveries
that are ¼ as long. Repeat until you have completed 20-30 minutes total at Zone 4.
execute structured
2 workouts like never
To improve anaerobic endurance: Do 5 x 3 minute intervals at Zone 5, with 3-minute recoveries in
Zone 1. These may be done on flat terrain or a hill.

before.
3
To improve sprint power as you get closer to your race: Do 8-16 pedal revolutions (count one
leg only) at max power (high gear and cadence) on varying terrains. Recover for at least 3 minutes
after each. Stop doing them when power noticeably declines.

9 | Start Training With Power

Hire a Coach
Without a doubt, nothing can take your
performance on the bike to the next level
like working with a good professional coach.
Look for a coach with a solid understanding of
power-based training and analysis.

Not sure where to start? Use the free

TrainingPeaks Coach Match Service—you
can request power-based coaching within our
questionnaire. Get started.

Get a Training Plan

With a power-based training plan loaded on
TrainingPeaks, you’ll get a daily email of your
workout instructions, or take them with you on
your iPhone or Android using the free mobile
app. You’ll also see your daily workouts
scheduled on your web-based TrainingPeaks
calendar, and you can even sync with Google
Calendar, iCal, or Outlook if you have a
TrainingPeaks Premium account.

View all power-based cycling training plans.

You’re more than 2x
View all power-based triathlon training plans.
as likely to achieve
your fitness goals
with a plan.

10 | Start Training With Power

 3 Myths about Hiring a
Coach...Busted
Think you don’t need a coach? Think again.

1 “It’s too expensive.”

There’s a wide range in the level of coaching
that is available. When we match athletes
to coaches in our Coach Match Service,
we ask you for your monthly budget and
match you accordingly to a coach you can
afford. The range we can search for starts at
fees of less than $100/month and goes up to
over $400/month.

2 “I’m not a serious enough athlete.”

Coaching is not just for pros and elites.
Many coaches specialize in recreational
or amateur athletes. It’s a matter of finding
the right coach who will work with your
background, your ability, and your goals
for the future. 1 out of 4 athletes who use
TrainingPeaks are coached.

3
“I can self-coach or work off a plan
just fine.”
Many athletes attain their goals through
self-coaching or following a training plan.
But one of the greatest values of a coach is
the objectivity they bring to your program.
With a coach you won’t waste precious
time second-guessing your rest days, your
hard days, whether you’re working the right
systems, etc. A coach will give you peace of
mind and help you make the most of your
limited training time.
Track Your Power Data You have the option of starting a free Basic Athlete Edition account,
where you can upload your workouts and do some basic analysis,
or subscribe to the Premium Athlete Edition account to see your
power, heart rate, speed, cadence and other trends charted
or graphed over time. Here’s a comparison of the Basic vs.
One of the greatest advantages to having a power meter is the ability to analyze Premium Athlete Edition account.
your power and fitness trends over time. Analysis can inform your training and
racing to the point where in some instances, Friel has gone as far as to say having Basic vs Premium Benefits BASIC PREMIUM
a power meter is “almost cheating”.
Log your training on web, iOS or Android ● ●
To have data over time however, you have to start by tracking your power data from
all of your training and racing. And for that, you’ll need power software. Upload workouts from 90+ devices and mobile apps ● ●

Using Power Software or Solutions View workout and fitness summaries ● ●

Due to the nature of power data, the only truly feasible way to track and derive the
Use with a training plan or a coach ● ●
valuable knowledge from your power data is to use a web-based or desktop-based
solution that can visualize and interpret the data for you. In particular this is valuable
when you’re racing or doing a tough group workout with your power meter—these Track your equipment usage ● ●
are often the situations in which you’ll exert your peak wattage. You’ll need some
sort of analysis software to spot these peak efforts afterwards. Plan future workouts ●
TrainingPeaks Athlete Edition is a web-based solution where you can track, analyze
and plan your power training. Here’s how it works: after a ride plug in your device Build and use unlimited workout libraries ●
and use Device Agent to download the file into your account, then simply open the
workout and start your analysis.
Sync your calendar with Outlook, Google and iCal ●
[GRAPHIC: How TrainingPeaks Works. Some sort of cycle or flow chart.
Dig deep into your intervals and efforts within
STEPS: Plan → Ride → Upload → Analyze Workout → Analyze Over Time → Get Faster] individual workouts
●

Analyze your fitness trends with 30+ power, HR,

pace, distance and other charts
●

Target your perfect build and taper with the

Performance Management Chart
●

Make your numbers more accurate with data editing

and elevation correction
●

12 | Track Your Power Data

Analyze a Single Workout or Race
Got your first power file uploaded into Power Metrics Explained
TrainingPeaks? Great! Let’s dive into it. But first, There are many different ways to analyze a
what are we looking for? power file from a workout or a race. Here’s a
quick introduction to some key metrics to look at
Why analyze a workout? within a power file.
Analyze your workouts afterwards to get
immediate feedback on how well you performed Average Power
the workout relative to the instruction. With Your average power is simply that, the
TrainingPeaks Premium you can zero in on numerical average of your power for the entire
specific segments or efforts. Make note of your ride. Many devices have non-zero averaging
pacing, whether you dropped off over a long or smart recording enabled. Make sure to turn
effort, how “smooth” your power output was those features off to get the true accounting of
using Variability Index (more on that below), your effort. Not recording zeros will make your
and how your heart rate and power related. numbers look better, but also less accurate.

Why analyze a race? w/kg

Analyze your races to get a true sense for your Your watts per kilogram (w/kg) is more
peak efforts and where your fitness is at (how meaningful than absolute watts. Two riders of
hard you can go). Also, analyze race data to different sizes (weight) can produce the same
gain an understanding of the specific demands absolute wattage, but go different speeds
of your goal events, so that you can structure because one rider is lighter than the other.
your training specifically. All else equal, the more power (watts) and/or
the less weight (kg), the faster you go. When
analyzing an effort or a ride, make note of your
All else equal, the more w/kg in addition to your absolute wattage.
power (watts) and/or the
To make sure your w/kg is accurate, enter your
less weight (kg), the faster weight within TrainingPeaks and track it over
you go. time. It will automatically be used to calculate
your w/kg for any segment or ride with power.

13 | Analyze a Single Workout or Race

Normalized Power® (NP®) NP is a better indicator than average power of Which leads us to...
One of the first things that catches the attention how metabolically challenging the workout was.
of any beginning power meter user is how It emphasizes power surges which require a lot
variable, or “jumpy”, their power output tends of glycogen (carbs) and therefore contribute to Variability Index (VI)
to be. This is largely due to the constantly an increase in fatigue. The more surges you have in a ride, the higher
changing resistance from small changes in your NP will be (and the harder and more
elevation, gusts of wind, etc. that must be fatiguing the ride will “feel”). Thus it stands
overcome when cycling outdoors. It is very
Normalized Power is an to reason that the closer your NP and your
difficult (as well as counterproductive) to try estimate of the power you average power are for a given segment, the
smoother your power output was.
to keep power constantly within a certain
range, or zone, at all times during a ride. Just
could’ve maintained for the
as importantly, this variability means that the same physiological ‘cost’ We measure how steady your power output
was using a metric called Variability Index (VI),
overall average power for a ride or part of a ride for a given effort or ride if which is simply NP divided by average power.
is often a poor indicator of the actual intensity of
the effort. This is especially true for races, since your power output had been If NP and average power are the same, your
power can vary dramatically from one moment perfectly constant rather VI will be 1.0. The closer to 1.0, the “smoother”
to the next as, e.g., a rider first tries to conserve your power output.
energy and then attacks.
than variable.
VI is particularly important for time trials and
Here’s where Normalized Power (NP) comes triathlon, where smooth pacing is key to
in. It’s an estimate of the power you could’ve success. Friel likes to see a VI of less than
maintained for the same physiological “cost” (in 1.06 for an Ironman bike. It is less important or
terms of glycogen utilization, lactate production, irrelevant in road racing and criterium, where
stress hormone levels, and neuromuscular constant surging for position and attacking can
fatigue) for a given effort or ride if your power lead to a VI of upwards of 1.2 or higher.
output had been perfectly constant (e.g., as on
a trainer) rather than variable. As such, NP is
always higher than average power.

14 | Analyze a Single Workout or Race

Intensity Factor® (IF®) Training Stress Score® (TSS®)
Still with me? Good, because now that you understand NP we can really Training Stress Score (TSS) measures the total workload of a ride, as a
get into the good stuff. Intensity Factor (IF) is simply the ratio of the NP as function of duration and intensity (as measured by IF). As a rule of thumb you
described above to your threshold power. For example, if your NP for a long can’t accumulate more than 100 TSS points an hour, as 100 TSS denotes an
training ride is 210 watts and your threshold power at the time is 280 watts, all-out effort for 60 minutes at a 1.0 IF. A 1-hour effort at an IF of .75 will result
then the IF for that workout would be 0.75. in 75 TSS, an IF of .60 for 30 minutes will be 30 TSS, and so on.

TSS tells you how much training stress you put on your body, and conversely
Typical IF values for various training sessions or races: IF how much rest you need after a ride.

Recovery rides Less than 0.75

What your TSS means (for a well-trained athlete): TSS

Endurance-paced training rides 0.75 - 0.85

Equivalent to a 1-hour, all-out TT effort 100

Tempo rides, aerobic and anaerobic interval workouts (work and rest 0.85 - 0.95
periods combined), longer (>2.5 h) road races
Low (recovery generally complete by following day) Less than 150

Lactate threshold intervals (work period only), shorter (<2.5 hr) road 0.95 - 1.05
Medium (some residual fatigue may be present the next day, but gone 150 - 300
races, criteriums, circuit races, longer (e.g., 40 km) TTs
by second day)

Shorter (e.g., 15 km) TTs, track points race 1.05 - 1.15

High (some residual fatigue may be present even after 2 days) 300 - 450

Prologue TT, track pursuit Greater than 1.15

Very high (residual fatigue lasting several days likely) Greater than 450

TSS is really important because when you measure your accumulated TSS
over time, you can quantify your fitness as well as your fatigue. More on that
later.

15 | Analyze a Single Workout or Race

Kilojoules, or “Work” (kJ) You can automatically detect matches in Peak Power
One of the other advantages of having a power TrainingPeaks WKO+ desktop software, or Take a look at your Peak 5-second, 1-minute,
meter is the ability to dial in your nutrition needs spot them yourself in your power graph in 5-minute and 20-minute power output for a
on the bike. Unlike heart rate or duration, your TrainingPeaks. race or a tough workout. Did you hit any new
power meter can very accurately measure your personal bests? Another quick way to check this
calories burned within 5% accuracy. A power As a starting point, Hunter Allen proposes after your upload is to look at your Peak Power
meter directly measures the energy transferred that for most riders and racers, a match can Chart on your Dashboard in TrainingPeaks.
to the pedals in the form of kilojoules, and it is be defined as an effort in which you go over
threshold power by at least 20% and hold it
generally accepted in cycling that kilojoules and
there for at least one minute. Burning a match
Cadence
calories conveniently convert in a 1:1 ratio.
could involve an effort longer than 1 minute, but Some power meters also measure your
as the time period gets longer, the percentage pedaling cadence. Coupled with knowledge of
Here’s why: 1 kCal = 4.18 kJ, but your body is
above your threshold power would be lower. your power zones, you can work on finding the
only about 25% efficient. Meaning, to generate
Table 2 shows how Allen proposes defining a most efficient cadence for you. Certain workouts
1 kCal of work at the pedals, it takes 4 kCals,
match by various durations. will include cadence instruction designed to
3 of which are lost as heat leaving the body.
increase or maintain leg speed, or increase
In this way, kJ’s recorded are an accurate 1:1
Table 2: Allen’s Definitions of a Match your strength.
approximation of calories burned.

Time % over FTP Heart Rate

Matches When paired with your power data, heart rate
The key to success in road races and criteriums 1 minute 20+% data can be extremely valuable. For the sake
is the capacity for producing very brief but of simplicity, we’ve excluded discussion of HR
5 minutes 15 - 20%
highly intense surges. This is called “burning training from this e-book. But you can read
matches.” You must be careful with how many more about the relationship between power and
10 minutes 8 - 12%
matches you burn in a race in order not to HR in Joe Friel’s article, “Are you Fit? Aerobic
“blow up.” Endurance and Decoupling”, or see how HR
20 minutes 0 - 8%
zones and power zones correspond in Andrew
Coggan’s article on Power Training Levels.

16 | Analyze a Single Workout or Race

Analyze Power Trends Over Time
Analyzing a workout can be very informative for assessing your compliance to the planned workout,
but it’s when you can observe trends over time that your power data becomes truly...well, powerful.

Here are some analyses you can perform once you have a few weeks’ worth of good, regular power data
including some peak (hard) efforts of varying durations. All of these charts and graphs are available with
a TrainingPeaks Premium account.

Time in Zones
The Time in Zones chart can show you how you have been allocating your time between the various
zones. Depending upon your goal event, you’ll want to allocate your efforts accordingly to match the
demands of your “A” race.

One thing to consider, however, is that the Time in Zones Chart does not accurately reflect consecutive
time in zones, so be careful in interpreting this chart. For example, if you live in a hilly area, the chart will
say you spend a tremendous amount of time in anaerobic capacity, even if you haven’t spent a lot of
time specifically training anaerobic capacity.

17 | Analyze Power Trends over Time

Performance Manager Chart You can also measure fatigue, the short-term How it all fits together:
effect of training, using Acute Training Load If your ATL is greater than your CTL, your TSB
(PMC) (ATL). ATL is your exponentially-weighted will be negative. You’ll be well-trained and very
As mentioned above, each workout you moving 7-day average TSS. Similar to the way “fit”, but because you are fatigued you will not
complete can be assigned a TSS value. CTL is calculated, your most recent workouts be on peak form or performance. If your ATL
Your cumulative TSS is tracked over time in are more heavily weighted. This accurately is less than CTL, your TSB will be positive. At a
the Performance Manager Chart (PMC) within reflects your current fatigue. For example, if you certain TSB, your fitness and your fatigue will
TrainingPeaks. The PMC helps you do two key did some big rides last weekend, then you may be in balance so that you are in peak “form” for
things: still be sore from those workouts, and have a your event. You’re well-trained, fit, and rested—
high ATL as a result. the recipe for a killer performance!
1) Target the perfect training build and taper
to peak for your key events; and We know we cannot solely focus on raising
training stress (ATL and CTL) since we also On your Performance
2) Avoid injury that could happen from over-
training.
need to rest. We use a statistic called Training
Stress Balance (TSB) to measure your “form”:
Management Chart, aim for
the combination of how “fit” and how “fresh” a neutral or positive Training
Here’s how the PMC works: As you accumulate
TSS each day, your fitness improves. You can
(well-rested) you are.
Stress Balance (“form”) on
measure your overall long-term effect of • Long term effects of workouts = race day.
training, which is fitness, using Chronic Training Fitness, measured by Chronic Training Load (CTL)
Load (CTL). CTL is the exponentially-weighted
• Short term effects of workouts = Over time, you can observe the positive TSB
moving average of the previous 42 days of
Fatigue, measured by Acute Training Load
TSS accumulation. This means that it takes that generates a peak performance for you in
(ATL)
into account all of your workouts in the last six training or racing. Then, you or your coach can
weeks, weighting the impact of the most recent • Fitness (CTL) – Fatigue (ATL) = plan a build and taper that replicates a TSB for
Form, measured by Training Stress Balance (TSB) your A races.
ones more heavily. The CTL is an approximation
of your current fitness: the higher your CTL,
in general, the higher your FTP. Note: At some point, an overly positive TSB
does indicate too much rest—detraining.
This may be observed during the off-season
or injuries.

18 | Analyze Power Trends over Time

Peak Power
Looking at a chart of your Peak (maximal) Power for varying durations can help you to spot strengths
and weaknesses on the bike. A Peak Power graph that is high in short durations (5-second to 1-minute)
but drops off dramatically in the longer durations (20 minutes to 60 minutes) may indicate a need for You are ready to race
more endurance.
when you have several
Conversely, a Peak Power chart that is relatively flat may indicate solid endurance but some need for recent seasonal best power
high-end power work (depending upon your goal event). outputs and your TSB is
One of the best indicators of race readiness can be derived from your Peak Power Chart. As fitness neutral or positive.
improves and approaches a peak you should find you are frequently producing personal best power
outputs for given durations such as 5 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and FTP.

1400 1400

1200 1200

1000 1000

800 800

600 600

400 400

200 200

5sec. 10sec. 20sec. 1min. 2min. 5min. 10min. 20min. 60min. 5sec. 10sec. 20sec. 1min. 2min. 5min. 10min. 20min. 60min.

Dramatic Drop Relatively Flat

19 | Analyze Power Trends over Time

Racing With Your Power Meter
Equipped with knowledge about your power The other key application of racing with a power
zones as well as historical power data, you’re meter is the valuable data gained during a race.
now ready to race with your power meter. As these are your peak efforts, having race day
power data can be crucial to understanding
your progress over time, as well as your
Cycling strengths and limiters. As an example, as you
Use your power meter to pace longer climbs become fatigued in a race your cadence will
or efforts. If you’ve only ever sustained 300 begin to decrease. After the race look to see if
watts for up to 45 minutes during training, for this happened. It’s common and to be expected
example, you probably won’t want to hold that (although not too much) if you pushed your
effort for much longer than 45 minutes during a power output to your limits for the entire race.
race.
Race data is also key to understanding the
However, that being said, it’s often difficult to specific demands of your goal event. If you
pace a road race, criterium, or even mountain have a past file from an “A” race, you can target
bike race using power. Not only can it be workouts that simulate the power demands.
difficult or unsafe to constantly watch your
wattage, but your effort is often dictated by This is why it’s so important to consistently track
terrain or the dynamics of the race. However, and analyze your power data. The insights
you can still use a power meter to objectively gained from reviewing your power files after
guide when you may be able to go or when you races and workouts can help to guide pacing
need to back off. and racing strategy. Also, over time you’ll learn
what certain power zones “feel” like, and be
able to gauge your effort in a race if for some
reason you don’t have a power reading that
day.

20 | Racing with Your Power Meter

Triathlon (Ironman)
During triathlon, where proper pacing on the
bike is essential to a successful run, having
a power meter can be so effective for pacing
that Joe Friel has called it “almost cheating”. In
particular, he has laid out specific guidelines for
Ironman triathletes.

The two statistics that are most interesting to an

Ironman triathlete are TSS and IF. To the right
is a table created by Rick Ashburn that Friel
uses to determine what an athlete’s IF and TSS
should be for an Ironman race.

Your bike-finish TSS should fall into either

the light gray, dark gray, or yellow sections
depending on how you categorize yourself
(see the color-code legend to find your race
category). Then on the left side of the table find
your goal bike time. By looking to the right of
the goal time and in your color-coded category
you’ll see a range of one to four TSS numbers.
Then by glancing up to the top row for both
ends of this colored range you’ll see what your
IF should be throughout the race. Then you
simply ride in that IF range on race day and—
voila!—you have your optimal bike time and are
ready to actually run the marathon.

Read the full article, “How to Cheat by Using a

Power Meter in an Ironman” here.

21 | Racing with Your Power Meter

Next Steps Start Training
Everything you need to train and race with
power can be found at TrainingPeaks.com.

Track your Training

Keep Learning Get a free TrainingPeaks Account
Don’t stop here—there’s still plenty more you can learn about
how to use your new power meter to achieve your on-the-
bike goals. Here are a few great resources for furthering your
Analyze your Power Data
knowledge and using power to get faster: Upgrade to TrainingPeaks Premium

Hire a Coach
Use the Coach Match Service
The Power Meter Handbook
by Joe Friel Plan Your Season
Find a Training Plan
The Power Meter Handbook demystifies your power numbers,
clarifies your setup and will show you how to train with power
in simple terms. In clear language, the most trusted coach in
endurance sports makes understanding a power meter easy—
no advanced degrees or tech savvy required.

Training & Racing with a Power Meter

by Hunter Allen and Dr. Andrew Coggan
The TrainingPeaks Blog
The comprehensive and definitive guide to training Scientific knowledge meets practical advice.
and racing with a power meter. Learn the scientific and Subscribe and get the latest training, racing,
mathematical foundation of NP, TSS, power profiling, the nutrition, and coaching insight from the leading
Performance Manager, and other deep power analysis tools. experts in endurance sports. Also stay up to
date on what’s coming out of TrainingPeaks,
including new features and learning
opportunities.

22 | Next Steps
Now You’re Ready
You are now equipped with the right tools and knowledge to make the most of your training. Using this
book and your new power meter you can execute your workouts with a level of precision that the
professionals rely on. Congratulations, you’re about to reach your true potential.

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