Why train with Power?

To establish an objective frame of reference that guides the intuitive child within. Think about it. Training is for the most part a self-regulating process. Train too hard and your performance declines...train too little and there is no performance. But what is too hard...and what is too little? At its core a power meter is simply a way to measure what hard is — a way to quantify your training and racing load. From there each individual needs to make their own associations between that training load and their desired performance, whether it be feeling better about life or winning a national championship. The interesting thing about a power meter is that I really do believe that it helps riders learn how to train more by feel — to understand what the demands of racing are and to learn if they are matching those demands in training. Power is a common language for riders, coaches, and scientists and the PowerTap should be thought of as a tool to help simplify the process not complicate it. Ultimately, you wouldn’t build a house without a tape measure or cook a turkey without a thermometer. The same goes with a power meter and training. That all said, keep the analysis and metrics simple — average power, total energy expended, duration, and a breakdown of time in three intensity zones (less than hard, hard to very hard, and very hard to max) should suffice. If you can consistently weight these metrics to your own story — where you rode, how you felt, and what you experienced — then you’re sure to grow and improve as a cyclist.

Why train with power in the off-season?

Same reasons as stated above. The off-season, however, depending on your own goals can be a crucial time. For a guy like Floyd, training in the off season with his power meter was critical to his 2006 success because he had specific power goals and weaknesses established from his 2005 Tour power data that drove much of his training. For the recreational rider, it may just be important to establish a frame of reference in the off-season — to train with power simply to create a baseline that can be used as a point of comparison throughout the year. The off season is a great time to learn, experiment, and gather information without a lot of stress or pressure.

How can a cyclist stay fresh in the off-season?

The best way is to not ride, eat lots, take long afternoon naps, and get daily professional massage as well as psychotherapy....all funded of course by your personal sugar daddy/mamma. But since that isn’t practical for 99.99% of the cycling population, the best thing to do is to focus on just having fun, not having any set expectations and riding when it feels good. Most of the riders I work with find other ways to enjoy the bike, switching between the fixed gear, cross bike, mountain bike, and beach cruiser to keep things different and fresh. In addition, it’s important to do other activities — long walks on the beach, digging holes for fence posts, and saving your marriage are a few things that come to mind. That all said, the off-season is probably the most important time of year for the professional cyclist. It’s the only time that he or she can work on their weaknesses. That often means that instead of the long easy base or cross training that makes up most cyclists’ off season, the pros are out doing intervals, threshold work, or fine tuning their form on their time trial bike. So freshness is always a concern as is keeping your job and paying your mortgage. I guess that means you better love what you do and if you don’t figure some way to cope with that not so fresh feeling.

Can a cyclist benefit from weight training? What should he/she concentrate on?

Yes, a cyclist can definitely benefit from weight training. Not only from a cycling performance standpoint but also from a general health perspective. The only problem is that if a weight training program isn’t maintained, any benefits are transient. Thus, I advise the cyclists I work with to adopt a weight training program that they can easily perform throughout the year. This often means that they are doing exercises that rely primarily on there own body weight — one legged squats, wall sits, lunges, duck walks, and jumping up and down in addition to an aggressive core stability program. The key is that they concentrate on the intensity and duration of the exercise not on the absolute weight or repetitions. That is, I prescribe the weight exercises like one would prescribe intervals on the bike, focusing on having the athlete achieve maximum ‘burn’ in about 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes. It’s likely that it’s the leg shaking, coming close to failure, highly anaerobic burn that translates best to improving cycling performance. And that’s something you can achieve without having to push a lot of load around in the gym.