Watts it to you? A humble discussion about power meters and fitness. arrgh

  • Thread starter Thread starter dustyyoungblood
  • Start date Start date
So I have not tried in a month, and with vacation break my riding schedule did slip some. However, I lost 7 pounds in the last 3 weeks.
Tried the 20 min challenge today, I did 222 average watts.

First 10 min I was really grinding with low RPM's and held it over 240, after 10 min things started to catch up with me and I reduced resistance and increased cadence.

Below is my HR. Test ended at 12:40. highest HR marks are 97% max HR, middle Yellows are 82-87% which seems to be where I can make the most power.
Lesson: I went a little to hard at 10min trying to maintain an over 240 watt average. I would have done better dropping the resistance a little.
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dustyyoungblood said:
So I have not tried in a month, and with vacation break my riding schedule did slip some. However, I lost 7 pounds in the last 3 weeks.
Tried the 20 min challenge today, I did 222 average watts.

First 10 min I was really grinding with low RPM's and held it over 240, after 10 min things started to catch up with me and I reduced resistance and increased cadence.

Below is my HR. Test ended at 12:40. highest HR marks are 97% max HR, middle Yellows are 82-87% which seems to be where I can make the most power.
Lesson: I went a little to hard at 10min trying to maintain an over 240 watt average. I would have done better dropping the resistance a little.
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What program are you using? I've only played with Zwift so far (has a very handy built in FTP test). But I'm looking to look into some coaching and might see about Training Peaks.
 
Sidewalk said:
What program are you using? I've only played with Zwift so far (has a very handy built in FTP test). But I'm looking to look into some coaching and might see about Training Peaks.
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No Zwift here.
we have MYZONE for HR and a couple different studio bikes with power meters here at our office gym. I work for Startrac/Schwinn/stair master/Nautilus fitness so we are always testing new systems.
 
Little late to the party, but I notice large gains in my climbing speed/fatigue when I work out regularly. Mainly squats/deadlifts/cleans, etc. I'm roughly the same size as you. I'm a pretty slow climber for the most part, although really trying to work on it lately and noticing improvements. I've been able to do noticeably longer rides lately without feeling as exhausted.

BTW, was me that hit you up on Strava. Also down to ride if you ever want to go out.
 
kazlx said:
Little late to the party, but I notice large gains in my climbing speed/fatigue when I work out regularly. Mainly squats/deadlifts/cleans, etc. I'm roughly the same size as you. I'm a pretty slow climber for the most part, although really trying to work on it lately and noticing improvements. I've been able to do noticeably longer rides lately without feeling as exhausted.

BTW, was me that hit you up on Strava. Also down to ride if you ever want to go out.
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Hey Joe,
weekday lunch time rides at whiting ranch are fairly regular, and some Wed or Friday mornings early, ending at 8:30am At Aliso/STTLUGE/or WR
714-***PM ME Dustan
 
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kazlx said:
Little late to the party, but I notice large gains in my climbing speed/fatigue when I work out regularly. Mainly squats/deadlifts/cleans, etc. I'm roughly the same size as you. I'm a pretty slow climber for the most part, although really trying to work on it lately and noticing improvements. I've been able to do noticeably longer rides lately without feeling as exhausted.

BTW, was me that hit you up on Strava. Also down to ride if you ever want to go out.
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Yes, I am due to cycle back in some strength training.
 
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TwoWheel Eric said:
I'm no expert, but I was curious and took a peak at your Strava. Your average ride is only 1000 ft of climbing this year. That's not much. You need to climb more. Get out on the weekend for some 3000+ ft climbs and push your weekday rides up to 1500 ft.
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Thanks Eric. Oh yeah for sure. 1,000 - 1,500 are my most common loops. I do a ride over 2,000 monthly. Nothing over 3k yet. Soon though.

My strava, I've had a ton of problems with my phone dropping out on long rides. So it's not telling the whole story, most of it but not all. My biggest problem is making the time to crush out 3-4K but I will soon.

I just got back some blood work to, and I might have some issues that are contributing to what I think is slower progress than should be. Maybe not.
 
TwoWheel Eric said:
I'm no expert, but I was curious and took a peak at your Strava. Your average ride is only 1000 ft of climbing this year. That's not much. You need to climb more. Get out on the weekend for some 3000+ ft climbs and push your weekday rides up to 1500 ft.
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Last 6 rides in a row all over 1500' :)
thanks for the push. Making a goal to bag Santiago peak before year end
 
dustyyoungblood said:
Hey Joe,
weekday lunch time rides at whiting ranch are fairly regular, and some Wed or Friday mornings early, ending at 8:30am At Aliso/STTLUGE/or WR
xxx-xxx-xxxx Dustan
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Just a quick note - never put your phone number (or address) in a public forum. It will get picked up by search engines and enshrined on the Internet for all time. If you want to share personal info like that - send someone a private message. Nothing on the Internet is ever 100% secure, but never make identity theft as easy as doing a Google search :)
 
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dustyyoungblood said:
Big gain today.
250 watts avg/20min.
Held 268 avg for first 10 min at 82 rpm.
Goal is 300 by end of 2017
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I have not cycled back to the gym bike to do a power test since September. So today, on little breakfast and a crappy nights sleep and a weekend of not riding I drug my butt onto the bike.
I did a 5 min FTP today.
333 watts average over 5 min. that's 3.1w/kg. Which is weak I know, but its an upgrade since 6 months ago. a substantial upgrade. I am so happy.
I did not have many attempts at 5min in the past because I was more focused on 20 min. But I'll tell you I never broke 300watts avg for 5 min.
 
dustyyoungblood said:
I have not cycled back to the gym bike to do a power test since September. So today, on little breakfast and a crappy nights sleep and a weekend of not riding I drug my butt onto the bike.
I did a 5 min FTP today.
333 watts average over 5 min. that's 3.1w/kg. Which is weak I know, but its an upgrade since 6 months ago. a substantial upgrade. I am so happy.
I did not have many attempts at 5min in the past because I was more focused on 20 min. But I'll tell you I never broke 300watts avg for 5 min.
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That's pretty cool and reflects the improvements you've seen in your Mustard climb time trials.:thumbsup:
 
Sidewalk said:
Watts/Kg compared to others really only matters if you are trying to really beat others. If your goal isn't to win races in the upper categories, then the only thing that matters is how your power numbers compare to yourself.

As long as you are improving, it doesn't matter.
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The numbers don’t really matter to me. I don’t race and don’t plan to unless i could be competitive in an upper category, which i can’t. I peaked in 2006 with a 2nd in beginner DH USA national championships and a season title at beginner DH southridge. It just a fun metric to watch and learn from and answers many nagging questions about life and riding
 
herzalot said:
Algorithms are very thin and often very fit...
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They can be fat and slow too.

This thread died years ago and the OP is gone, but I've been riding and "training" with power meters since last summer and feel compelled to share what I've learned and experienced.

Firstly, garbage in = garbage out. FTP tests are something you have to learn to do well so the data is good. You won't nail it on the first try. A lot of OP's data is unreliable due to inconsistent pacing and also doing FTP tests too frequently and/or when not fresh. The results fluctuating a lot up and down over multiple tests is a clue. Your power zones are based on your FTP, so zone-based training relies on your FTP being fairly accurate. The shorter the test, the less representative it is of what you can do for longer efforts. Shorter tests exist because lots of people hate doing them, let alone for an hour. The problem is that shorter ones, especially like the ramp test, bring anaerobic and neuromuscular power into into the equation and both of those vary from person-to-person. If you read the studies behind some of the popular sub-hour tests, a common thread is that the multipliers used to get a 1hr power equivalent from 10 or 20min is not a single number, but a range of percentages. The range on one them ended up being something like 38-40w for me IIRC. Most riders can go for a very long time at 20W below threshold. 20W above it drains the tank quickly. That's what the W'bal models attempt to quantify, but they too need an accurate measure to go by.

Second, if you're not doing training specifically for increasing your FTP, then it's not going to increase quickly. If you reach a level of fitness that allows you to do what you want to do, then the power doesn't matter.
 
Danimal said:
^^^what's FTP? Fast training pedaling? Full time poser?

Based on context it's probably a baseline you set for pedaling and cardio.
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"Functional Threshold Power."

A measure of the power you can put out over a one-hour workout, but it can be extrapolated from a 20 or 40 minute session. Doesn't mean much to the average rider, and is nothing more than a "hey, look at ME" for many. For instance, I just recently increased my FTP from 197W to 200W. Yay me. No one else cares. :Roflmao:Roflmao

But it's kinda interesting to follow my own ups and downs. Having a trainer and a platform (Zwift) that measures it is kinda fun. Irrelevant to anyone but me.
 
Runs with Scissors said:
"Functional Threshold Power."

A measure of the power you can put out over a one-hour workout, but it can be extrapolated from a 20 or 40 minute session. Doesn't mean much to the average rider, and is nothing more than a "hey, look at ME" for many. For instance, I just recently increased my FTP from 197W to 200W. Yay me. No one else cares. :Roflmao:Roflmao

But it's kinda interesting to follow my own ups and downs. Having a trainer and a platform (Zwift) that measures it is kinda fun. Irrelevant to anyone but me.
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Well that's a fun but irrelevant fact!
Haha.... Thanks, I had the idea correct at least. Now go hit 203W!
 
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