HR v Powertraining

faarn

I have read and read and read but remain just as confused as ever. I have done a lot of HR training in the past but never power output training. A lot of people advocate the big benefit of power output training is it is a constant so you are always training to a set threshold where as HR drifts for a number of reasons and is not as reliable. While I fully get this point we are actually training our bodies not the bike's output. If we are slightly under the weather or stressed then our output will not be the same for effort put in, or will it?

What am I missing here? Why would training in the correct power zone not lead to over training whereas training in the correct HR zone could lead to under training and not the other way around?

jgsi

Sorry , but this is a vain attempt at not having to put your hand in your pocket to stump up for a PM. ;-)
HR training is fine if you are not riding competitively, but if you are, then to give yourself a fighting chance in today's cut throat business of winning some money during a race season get a PM.. and cannot you fancy some Rotor cranks LT at 990 euro?

on my wish list fer sure

faarn

JGSI wrote:

Sorry , but this is a vain attempt at not having to put your hand in your pocket to stump up for a PM. ;-)

You are certainly right there ! But in all honesty if you are about to come down with something surely you could over exert yourself just using the PM. I've yet to properly look into a PM training routine so presume you train under the top of the training zone to take this into account?

I am but a simple leisure (at present) rider but have competed at a high level in rowing and only ever used HR or full out interval training, how times move on!

jgsi

Dont overthink it is key.. Power training can fine tune things so that currently I want a large % of my rides in Zone 2... it's offseason, I want to enjoy riding, the top end stuff can wait until after Xmas.
HR is just to varying...as an example my normal race/threshold HR should be in the 170s... but my last 25 after a week off the the bike and a head cold, an hours full on TT with an ave of 181.. and I can gurantee the power was waaaay down.... one expects a fantastically high HR equals best performance - sadly not true.

faarn

So does that mean on any given day my HR to get into anaerobic threshold training is different and changes with Cario Drift whereas power output for the same threshold is a constant? I do find it fascinating so any pointers to written articles would be great, have googled but nothing clear cut has shown up, I could be (and probably am) using the wrong search terms though.

shockedsoshocked

Sent you a PM faarn, which is an excerpt from my dissertation. There's a few references in there you can try!

mrwibble

I recently bought a power meter and I totally get it. You can hide behind your heart rate for a couple of minutes and back off your pedalling then you beats will decrease, with power the force applied to the pedals is constant and if you back off the power decreases. I do time trials and I know my FTP so I use it not to 'blow' in a race. Also very useful knowing if your FTP is increasing.

Alex_Simmons/RST

If all you want is a general indicator of intensity of effort while riding then using HR is fine (as is perceived exertion), provided you understand and work within its limitations.

Training with power however involves much more than this basic paradigm of being a guide to intensity of effort.

They are not really comparable.

bahzob

The cost of power meters new or used is going down and will continue to do so. Or you can rent one http://www.cyclepowermeters.com/powerme ... l-24-c.asp Or, you may be able to borrow one from a mate.

Given this really the best advice to OP is to try to get hold of a powermeter and just try it. For me at least the advantages were pretty obvious after only a couple of weeks.

Other factor is why are training? If it's just for fun and to stay reasonably fit you can get away with just HR. If on the other hand have aspirations to go as fast/far as you body is capable and win things then a power meter is simply the second best cost/benefit you can make (good bike fit is first).

Over a season training on a cheap alu bike + power meter will end up with you performing better than top of the range carbon + training on HR.

BeaconRuth

faarn wrote:

What am I missing here? Why would training in the correct power zone not lead to over training whereas training in the correct HR zone could lead to under training and not the other way around?

Basically because the human body's power output from day to day is far far more predictable and reliable than the human body's HR. Illness and acute tiredness aside, some people perform consistently to the same power outputs within a range as small as +/-5W. (I say SOME people because some individuals perform very consistently while others perform very erratically for no obvious reason.) However it is very common for people's HRs to behave extremely inconsistently from day to day and of course within each session too when you do constant-power efforts.

Don't let people make you think a powermeter is essential though. People achieve extremely high levels of fitness and top racing performances without having to measure their training with a powermeter.

Ruth