Effective Training without Power Measurement
Can you train for a peak cycling performance without the use of a power meter?
Yes – you CAN train for both cycling (and running) effectively without access to your power output data.
While it is best to measure both input (heart rate) and output (speed and power) data simultaneously – you CAN develop a very effective training regimen by just measuring heart rate and speed.
What Do you Need?
You need to have access to a heart rate monitor, and a GPS device or cycle computer.
You also need to know one of two key values – your Anaerobic Threshold heart rate (see topendsports.com/testing/tests/conconi.htm) or your Ideal Maximum Aerobic heart rate (see philmaffetone.com/180-formula).
Your anaerobic threshold is the effort you can sustain for about 50 to 60 minutes – so it’s a very hard effort! Your aerobic threshold is the effort you can maintain for 6, 7 or even 8 hours, depending on your fitness. It’s a hard but sustainable effort, and is much more comfortable and manageable than an anaerobic effort
What Threshold Pace do you use for YOUR Training
If you are training for events from 50 min up to 2 hours in duration then most of your quality training will be at an intensity level at or close to your anaerobic threshold heart rate.
If you are training for an ultra distance event of 4 + hours in duration then most of your quality workouts will be at an intensity level at or close to your ideal maximum aerobic heart rate.
The Process
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First – identify which metabolic pathway you will be using during your race – will you be anaerobic (starved of oxygen) or will you be aerobic (have enough oxygen)?
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Next – test your self, or apply a formula to your max heart rate to determine what your threshold heart rate is for the effort that you will be racing at will be.
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Next – start doing progressively longer efforts at that threshold pace in training to become more efficient – and faster – at that heart rate.
How Does the Training Work?
Your body can only function at certain intensities for predetermined lengths of time but, combined with physical conditioning and the right training you can reduce the work (heart rate) required to maintain the same output – making it easier to maintain that intensity level, while increasing your speed at that level – at the same time. And who does not want that!?.
For example – if you are training for a marathon and you consistently do sustained efforts in training at your maximum aerobic threshold heart rate, you will notice that even after 4 to 6 weeks, your pace at your threshold heart rate begins to increase.
Sample Workouts
A typical marathon runner workout would be a weekly or bi-weekly 90 to 120 min long run with 2 or 3 x 20 min harder efforts somewhere in the middle of the run at your aerobic threshold heart rate.
A typical Ironman bike workout would be a 5 hour ride including 1 x 60 min and 2 x 30 min efforts at your aerobic threshold heart rate.
For both workouts make sure you get ample recovery between efforts.
Here is a personal example: A few years ago I mapped out a 190km bike ride that included a 130km stretch of road with no traffic lights. After a warm up I did one 60 min effort, followed by 20 min easy, followed by two 30 min efforts with 20 min easy between them. The efforts were at my aerobic threshold heart rate which was 137 bpm at the time. I repeated this workout once a month for 4 months, The first month my 137 bpm resulted in 20.5 mph (33km/h) for the harder efforts. The next month I was holding 21.5 mph (34.5km/h). The 3rd month 22.5 mph (36km/h) and in the 4th month 23.5 mph (37.5km/h). What was happening was that along with increased strength (which I had to work on separately), I was becoming more efficient – my body could accomplish more at the same heart rate. The only data I was watching was my heart rate – holding it at or very close to my aerobic threshold value, and observing the speed that resulted
Note – while we can ride for “days” (not quite, but you get the idea!) at our aerobic threshold heart rate, or consistently strongly for up to an hour at our anerobic threshold – if we push even just 2 or 3 bpm harder than our threshold our performance will drop off way sooner. So, to be safe, especially when racing an Ironman distance race, set your target heart rate for the bike at 3 to 5 bpm lower than your aerobic threshold. This will give you a better chance of maintaining a strong output throughout the race…especially as we know that our heart rate always creeps higher towards the later part of the race.
Conclusion
The criticism for training by heart rate is that it lags behind our effort – when we push hard it takes a while to climb to match the effort, and when we go slower it takes awhile to come back down again. So, for training (and racing) by heart rate you have to train yourself to manage your efforts in such a way as to keep your heart rate as consistent as possible.
