Why Cyclists Train with Power?

From ‘Power Training and Metabolic Intensity Zones’ by Jesús Álvarez Herms and Aritz Urdampilleta Otegui

 

It wasn’t that long ago that the only way to assess your power output was under ‘stable laboratory conditions’ using a Monark cycle ergometer or something similar. Now with the ready availability of powermeters from brands such as Polar, SRM, Powertec and PowerTap, this has all changed and more and more cyclists train with power. Having easy access to this sort of data allows cyclists to more accurately establish and control their training zones than ever before.

In this article, based on a paper by Spanish Sports Physiologists, Jesús Álvarez Herms and Aritz Urdampilleta Otegui, we outline the reasons that cyclists train with power and why it is so important as a means of accurately assessing your training zones in order to best improve your fitness… (continued on page 2)>