SHOULD YOU TRAIN WITH POWER?
In the current age of sports science, we are in data overload. We can track movement with GPS, internal load with heart rate, training load, ‘stress level’ and sleep hours. On the bike we have an added metric of power; but is this technology all it’s cracked up to be? While data is plentiful right now, data for it’s own sake is relatively useless. For many people some of this technology isn’t necessarily useful, as even the best sports scientists on the world are still finding solid, reproducible ways to make meaningful performance increases with emerging wearable technology.
Enter the power meter (PM): technology that just fifteen years ago was reserved for sports institutes, now available for everyday use at home. Power can be used by all level of riders from the weekend warrior to the World Cup heroes we watch on Redbull TV, with measured, studied benefits.
In this article I’ll demystify and explore the power meter and the endless jargon surrounding power training, why it’s not just for road cyclists, and discuss with some high flyers exactly how they use power
