This feature will spotlight different athletes throughout the off-season and their training experiences on their Path to Power. It will offer insight into many aspects of becoming a successful athlete that go well beyond the raw numbers of PowerCycling.
I invite you to follow Jeremy Zeigler's journey this off-season as he follows the Performance Series, engages in off the bike strength training and his nutritional strategies as he prepares for what he hopes to be his most successful Tri season this coming Summer.
For those of you that were involved in the PowerCycling Summer Club this last year,where Jeremy was out on the road coaching, or have met Jeremy through the studio this Fall while he has been assisting me with Power Hours, you know of Jeremy and his many athletic talents. Although he had a limited racing season this past year, a highlight was when he ripped off the best bike split for the very challenging Breakwater Half-Ironman in Petoskey, Mi.
If you haven't met Jeremy yet I would like to share a story with you that may help you understand those exceptional talents that he possesses. Our club was finishing up a training session this Summer and as we often would we decided to ride the final stretch back into Chelsea with some enthusiasm. On this particular day we started riders off in time trial fashion at 90 second intervals for the final 7 miles back home.
Jeremy would start last as he was the strongest, I started two spots ahead of him. I remember thinking that if I could just hold him off and limit my losses to around 3 minutes I would be pretty happy. I was having a reasonably strong ride for myself that night, probably averaging around 22 mph. As I entered the final mile I starting looking over my shoulder periodically, fully expecting the Jeremy freight train to be on my tail. Sure enough with a half mile to go there he was and each time I looked back he was closer and closer. Somehow I had just enough to nudge him out at the make believe finish line,
I was feeling pretty good about my effort, until Jeremy and I starting telling war stories as we cooled down riding back into town. It was then that I realized how strong he really is. He shared with me that in the first 5 minutes of the time trial his pedal loosened up on his bike and he had to stop, get off his bike and tighten it up-surely adding an extra couple of minutes to my head start of 3 minutes. Jeremy demonstrated to me on this occasion an intangible that separates the average athlete from the extraordinary one-the ability to stay composed under pressure.
Come back this week and check out how Jeremy does on his first Performance Series ride. http://powercyclingusa.com
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, November 1, 2009
A Powerful Measuring Tool
If you are curious about your current fitness level, there is no better way to evaluate your performance than accumulating data using a Power meter. A Power meter will give you definitive answers as to your actual effort measured in watts and the related response that the body has towards that effort by means of your heart rate. In addition to those two variables (watts & heart rate) you can also get valuable information as to what type of riding style delivers the most Power by taking note of the cadences used for different levels of effort.
The true beauty of evaluating your performance based on Power numbers is that it removes any environmental influences (temperature, wind, terrain) from your effort and gives you a clearer picture of how well you actually performed. Below I will give you an example of the two different testing approaches, one using the typical cycling computer and the other using a Power meter.
Let's say you periodically tested your conditioning levels by going out to a familar 3 mile stretch of road and perform a personal time trial. You then evaluated your performance by recording your average mph, riding time, average heart rate and then compared it to a earlier effort on the same 3 mile course. When you compared the two samples you noticed that the most recent 3 mile time trial was 20 seconds slower and an average heart rate 3 beats higher than the previous effort from a month ago. You might conclude from this comparison that you didn't have as strong of a ride and maybe you should intensify your training to gain back the fitness that you believe to have lost.
Now lets look at the scenario above except that you have a Power meter on your bike which gives you average watts produced and wind speed in addition to the variables that the typical cycling computer gives you. You again rode the same 3 mile course with a 20 second slower result as in the above example, but when evaluating the data you notice that you produced an average of 250 watts compared to just 240 watts from the previous month. The reason for the slower time in this most recent time trial effort was due to a little stronger headwind that was present on that particular day, but by having the Power data available, you are able to conclude that you actually rode stronger, and everything is right on schedule with your training.
You can see from these two examples that you can walk away from a fitness evaluation with two totally different perceptions. In one, you are discouraged about your effort and in the process create self-doubt about your abilities and your training program. In another, just by gathering more information, you are pumped about your effort and walk away with a load of confidence in your abilities and your training program.
To fine tune the testing process even more, I recommend creating your very own testing laboratory by utilizing an indoor setting where you can eliminate all the environmental variables from your comparison of similar efforts.
The true beauty of evaluating your performance based on Power numbers is that it removes any environmental influences (temperature, wind, terrain) from your effort and gives you a clearer picture of how well you actually performed. Below I will give you an example of the two different testing approaches, one using the typical cycling computer and the other using a Power meter.
Let's say you periodically tested your conditioning levels by going out to a familar 3 mile stretch of road and perform a personal time trial. You then evaluated your performance by recording your average mph, riding time, average heart rate and then compared it to a earlier effort on the same 3 mile course. When you compared the two samples you noticed that the most recent 3 mile time trial was 20 seconds slower and an average heart rate 3 beats higher than the previous effort from a month ago. You might conclude from this comparison that you didn't have as strong of a ride and maybe you should intensify your training to gain back the fitness that you believe to have lost.
Now lets look at the scenario above except that you have a Power meter on your bike which gives you average watts produced and wind speed in addition to the variables that the typical cycling computer gives you. You again rode the same 3 mile course with a 20 second slower result as in the above example, but when evaluating the data you notice that you produced an average of 250 watts compared to just 240 watts from the previous month. The reason for the slower time in this most recent time trial effort was due to a little stronger headwind that was present on that particular day, but by having the Power data available, you are able to conclude that you actually rode stronger, and everything is right on schedule with your training.
You can see from these two examples that you can walk away from a fitness evaluation with two totally different perceptions. In one, you are discouraged about your effort and in the process create self-doubt about your abilities and your training program. In another, just by gathering more information, you are pumped about your effort and walk away with a load of confidence in your abilities and your training program.
To fine tune the testing process even more, I recommend creating your very own testing laboratory by utilizing an indoor setting where you can eliminate all the environmental variables from your comparison of similar efforts.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Welcome To PowerCycling
This blog is going to offer valuable information and ideas on achieving your athletic potential through the use of Power training. Certainly it has direct applications to becoming a stronger cyclist, but it can also help those involved in any other sport where you are looking to increase your level of fitness and gain that competitive advantage.
Thoughts will be shared about specific PowerCycling training, the Performance Series, general health & nutritional strategies, weight training, the bigger picture and gaining a perspective on how all of this impacts our lives for the better.
Thoughts will be shared about specific PowerCycling training, the Performance Series, general health & nutritional strategies, weight training, the bigger picture and gaining a perspective on how all of this impacts our lives for the better.
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