I get a lot of questions on the Performance Management Chart (PMC) from athletes. Its a popular topic that can get complicated quickly, so thought I would post a short primer that goes over the basics. The PMC and its related terminology was developed originally by Dr. Andy Coggan. TrainingPeaks licenses the concepts and an automated version is built into the TrainingPeaks tool.

When looking at the physical/fitness components of training, the most fundamental elements any coach or athlete need to consider in prescribing a training plan are: volume (how much) intensity (how hard) and frequency or recovery (how often) a training “load” is being applied to an athlete. The PMC provides coaches and athletes an objective way to monitor fitness, stress loads and fatigue levels to better manage these factors. Here is a sample chart for reference as we walk through the elements:

Fantastic to get the opportunity to guest blog for the TrainingPeaks blog!  Check out my post that outlines Normalized Power and how its used.

1. Gradually work power into the equation.  I highly encourage athletes to install their power meter and then just ride like they have been and do their scheduled workouts for a few days or even a couple of weeks without trying to control their effort based on the meter.  Initially just observing the variations and gaining a sense of what kind of numbers you are seeing for a particular feel and/or HR effort level will provide context as zone structures are included in a training program.
2.  Power readings are erratic, don’t stress!  One of the first things athletes notice when they start to use power is that the numbers jump all over the place and it’s nearly impossible to maintain a steady number.  This can be stressful at first making them think they are doing something wrong.  Don’t fret, it’s perfectly normal, your power IS constantly changing and the meter readout is reflecting reality.  The good news is you will never have to ride at one single power number.  When you or your coach begin to develop target “zones” for you to train with, you will always have a fairly wide targeted range to stay within.  Even then, a little time over or little time under your prescribed workout zone is not going to ruin your workout or training objectives.  I generally recommend to just get used to the nature of power and move past it, but if the erratic changes just drive you nuts, in most cases, you can change the view on your display unit to show 3 or 5 second average power vice a direct feed to smooth out what you are seeing during the ride.  This keeps the visible wattage more steady and prevents you from trying to “chase” the numbers.  If you go this route, I’d recommend maintaining 1 second capture for recording though.  For analysis purposes the extra sampling can be useful.
3.  Power doesn’t replace anything, it complements.  “Feel”, heart rate and even speed are still important tools that should continue to be used in concert with power.  As athletes incorporate power into their training, I generally recommend a routine of starting off a ride or effort by feel first, and then checking in with their power meter and heart rate “on occasion”.  How often you need to look and adjust depends on experience and how good you are at self-regulating at a particular level of effort without the numbers as a guide (back to that “feel” thing).  Monitoring different gauges also helps you hone in on if there is an issue or problem with devices or if you are having an “off” day.  A good analogy for this is driving.  When you first start off as a teenager, you are probably looking at the speedometer pretty frequently as you don’t have a well-honed sense for speed and you don’t want to get a ticket (or you want to brag to your friends about how fast you were going :-)).  But, as you gain experience you hardly need to look at the speedometer at all, and can probably guess your speed pretty accurately by sensations (sound of the car engine, wind and tire noise etc.)  This analogy correlates to power meter usage very well.
4. "Calibrate" or set the zero offset before every ride.  The purpose of these routines is to account for different temperature and environmental conditions that may impact the strain gauge in your power measuring device.  Each power meter has a different but similar approach for making these adjustments.  Some actually have routines to automatically do it during periods of coasting if they are switched on.  Check your user guides for the options for your meter and get in the habit of making these adjustments before every ride to ensure accurate data is being displayed and captured.
5. Power tests are tests of current status, not pass/fail.  Another point of stress I find with a lot of athlete is power testing.  There are few widely agreed upon approaches to “field” and lab testing that help athletes and coaches determine what an athlete’s power zones are for a given period in time.  They usually involve some level of warmup and then a steady intense effort of between 5 and 60 minutes depending on the protocol.  The results of these tests can be used to measure progress, but are primarily used to establish and adjust training zones with target power ranges to help the athlete optimize certain aspects of their training.  It’s common for athletes to want to improve their test results every time out, and in many cases they will improve.  However, sometimes they won’t for a number of good reasons.  This can lead to athletes often getting more nervous and stressed about the test then they might even for a race.  This in turn can cause performance anxiety and skew results for a test even more, causing undue stress on the athlete and capturing information that is of no use for refining zones.  It’s important to remember that testing is intended to be a snapshot of where an athlete is now, good, bad or indifferent.  There are alternative methods for determining zones that do not involve “formal” testing that can be used as well.  So if you find yourself having an adverse reaction to testing, it’s ok.  There are other ways to adjust training zones and other ways to gauge progress and fitness by monitoring day to day workout and race files.
6. Get out of your comfort zone.  I know athletes that steer away from training with power as they think it will take all of the fun out of riding their bike.  I also know others who hyper-focus on power going as far as to abandon group rides and avoiding certain routes in order to “stay in zone”.  Everyone is wired a bit different in this regard and that is ok.  There are times that training with power does constrain or radically shape an athlete’s training (generally in regards to recovery), but much of the time power monitoring and related training can be integrated fairly organically into an existing routine with minor tweaks.  Pretty much anything an athlete “likes” to do can be accounted for in a bigger picture training program, and the level of influence a power meter has on training can be adjusted based on the athlete’s naturally tendencies.   That said, the “free form” athlete could usually benefit from focusing a little more on the numbers on occasion and the strict numbers rider could stand throwing the Garmin in their back pocket and jumping in the local group ride every couple of weeks.  Getting out of your comfort zone and focusing on a different aspect of your cycling can be beneficial.  Ultimately, power monitoring can still be of use to all athletes especially in post workout analysis. 

Need a little more background on power meters and how power can be used in a training program?  Check out this two part series I did early this year that reviews some fundamentals on meters and approaches.  Have a question?  Feel free to post up in the comments.

Nutritionist Lori Nedescu, RD LD, contributes a guest blog examining the nutritional component of endurance sports competition. Similar to training plans, optimal nutrition strategies are specific to the individual athlete, the competition type, conditions, duration and intensity.  This article outlines general guidelines and sample fueling and hydrating strategies for reference as a good starting point. 

During athletic competition, the body is being asked to meet great demands. In order to achieve top performance, it is key to fuel your body properly.  Many athletes eat well and practice fueling in normal day-to-day training, yet when race day comes, fueling issues seem to be the cause of disaster.  Keep in mind that while training, a variety of exercise methods (long run/bike, tempo, sprints, strength, etc) in order to fine-tune your bodies ability to perform on race day.  Nutrition should be approached in that way as well; training the body under various fueling methods to determine a race day plan. Here we will discuss the body's energy needs, common fueling problems, ways to address such problems and common fueling strategies.  Finally, we will examine sample plans of adequate race fueling methods for various sports. After reading this document, the athlete should feel more prepared to meet their individual fueling needs during competition. 

• Carbohydrates: These should be your main source of energy during competition. Any competition longer than 60 minutes requires you to consume 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour (120 to 240 kcal per hour). Typical sport food (gels, drinks, bars) is made up largely, if not exclusively, of carbohydrates. Competition is not the time to get carbs from overly complex or fibrous sources. 
  
• Fat: For ultra endurance events, fat can be a useful source of fuel. The body is able to use fat to maintain a moderate effort for a sustained amount of time. Fats are also useful to promote satiety and pleasure. Add fats to your race fuel by spreading nut butter on a bagel or taking in a full fat dairy product. Avoid greasy and overly fatty foods.
  
• Protein: This macronutrient has little to contribute to competition eating. Lean proteins should be part of daily eating habits, but for actual energy use, it will be of no help. Avoid protein rich foods and beverages before and during competition.  Protein foods should be saved for after completion of the race, as it is a crucial part of healing and rebuilding the muscles you just tore to shreds. Like fats, in ultra–endurance events, protein may add satiety and comfort as well as reduce muscle breakdown. 
  
• Hydration: Drinking is just as important as eating. Using a carbohydrate beverage is a classic and efficient way to get both energy and hydration.  While this can help top off your energy stores, I recommend planning your hydration and fueling separately.  Do not rely on a beverage to take care of all your needs, especially if you are doing an endurance event. Use water plain, or enhanced with a low calorie, electrolyte mix.  Guidelines advise to drink 6-12oz every 15-20 minutes. This may be more than most athletes can handle. Start knowing your individual fluid needs during training by weighing yourself before and after sessions.  Replace lost weight post training at a rate of 16-24oz per pound lost.  

• 3+ Hours Pre-Race: Your biggest pre-race meal should be consumed at this time. The more time you have, the larger and more complex the meal can be. 
  
• 1-2 Hours Pre-Race: Aim for a small meal of mostly easy to digest carbohydrate. 
  
• 30 Minutes Pre-Race: This is the time to top off your energy stores.  There isn't time for full digestion at this point, so keep it small and simple.  Stick to simple sugars such as gels, chews, or beverage. 
  
• During Race: Your training should dictate roughly how much food you should take in during the event. Duration and intensity of the individual event, along with what your body can handle, come into play here.  Take in the foods and beverages you are accustomed to. If the aid stations have products you have not experimented with, pass them up and plan to bring your own food along. If the race does not allow you to carry your own nutrition, find out ahead of time what the race aid stations will have, and use that during your training. As a general rule, take in most of your calories during the first half of the event.  Start with your most hearty fuel and taper down to simpler sources towards the end of the race. This will keep you from hitting the wall and allow you to finish strong. 
  
• Post Race: You've crossed the finish and either go straight to the celebratory meet, great, cheer circuit or are so fatigued that you crumple to a pile on the ground. Either way, you are not finishing your event properly. Within thirty minutes of finishing is the ideal time to consume recovery fuel.  Aim for a 3:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein. Something small and immediate will suffice. Return to eating normal, complex meals within a couple hours of the event. 

Remember that every athlete's body and competition goals are different. This means your individual needs may differ from the common approach. If you are struggling with meeting nutrition needs, begin working one-on-one with a registered dietitian.

Last time, we went over the fundamentals of power and power meters.  If you missed it, you can check it out here.  To understand how power can be used in a training program, let’s first consider the most fundamental aspects of training itself.

An athlete improves or becomes more “fit” by applying stress to their body through a combination of exercise volume and intensity.  The body at first breaks down and then adapts to that stress via recovery.  In turn the athlete becomes stronger through that adaptation and can then handle additional stress via more volume and/or intensity and the cycle repeats.

Sounds simple enough, but every person and their situation is different.  So when developing a training protocol there are many fundamental questions: How much stress for how long is enough for a particular athlete?  How much is too much?  When does an athlete need to recover and for how long?  Is the athlete getting “fitter” or not?  Given this variability, determining the optimum duration and intensity of exercise for a particular ability level, physiology, goals and time is the big challenge for any athlete and for coaches working with them.  Having objective insight into what the body is doing on a given day, and what the physiological limits of the body are at any given period during a training cycle, is hugely beneficial and is what power capture and monitoring provide.

Prior to power, perceived effort or “feel” and heart rate were the primary methods available to manage an athlete’s training protocols.  Each of these methods still has value, and can be used alone or alongside power, but each have limitations and issues to consider.

Subjective “feel” is still a very important thing for athletes to develop.  But, interpretation of “sensations” as they relate to what is actually going on in the body can be right on or misleading depending on the individual when used alone.  Plus, if the athlete is using a coach, there is the additional challenge of communication and interpretation to ensure coach and athlete are on the same page.  It takes time to sort out the signals an athlete’s body is sending, and there is a lot more trial and error in the process and more room for misinterpretation of signals.

Heart rate (HR) was a step in the right direction of removing some subjectivity, but it’s a lagging indicator, meaning its giving you an indicator of what HAS happened where power is giving you an indicator of what is happening right at that instance in time.  Additionally, HR is impacted more by environmental conditions and hydration in its effectiveness.
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As of today, power is the most direct and “pure” objective measurement of effort we have.  Through the use of some fundamental exercise science principals, and a couple of decades worth of real world testing and analysis, an athlete or coach well versed in power training can more precisely adjust and monitor an athlete’s training protocols.  There are also methods to monitor stress levels, “fitness”, and recovery allowing for more accurate adjustments to duration and intensity both short and long term.

All that said, a power meter is not a prerequisite for riding a bike.  Even if you have competitive goals, there is nothing wrong with grabbing a bike and just riding.  Especially if you are new to the sport, the additional information can be overwhelming at the start and may stifle the development of good instincts and “feel”.  Also, some people have a fantastic intuitive sense of feel either naturally or developed over time, and can effectively self-monitor effort levels.  Other athletes may have a long history of using HR and can still very effectively train using either of those methods alone.  But in any case, if you have performance goals and have access to someone with knowledge in looking at the data and applying it (or spend the time to learn how to do it yourself), a power meter is only going to provide additional insight into your training effectiveness.  Ultimately this insight can help you get to your goals quicker and more precisely develop and monitor your training to do so.

I am going to break this question into two parts.  First let’s start off with what power is, and what a power meter is and does, then in the next entry, we will go into some more detail on the benefits of power in a training program and how a knowledgeable athlete or coach can use it to positive effect.

Without getting too science-y, power is the rate of work (or force times distance) a system is producing over time.  That rate of work is represented in Watts which is Joules/Second or more simply energy expended per second.

A power meter, is a strain gauge and some electronics packed either in a crank set, pedals or the rear hub of a wheel.  When you apply force to the pedals, the meter can sense disturbances in that force applied. (sorry, Obi Wan, couldn’t help myself)  The meter also has a way to transmit that force reading to a handlebar display and capture device.  The combination of these two devices measures the work being done and displays it in Watts instantaneously for the rider to see, in addition to capturing a data stream of power readings, usually in 1 second samples, of an entire workout for further analysis post exercise.

So in a simple but fuller picture, your body turns food into biochemical energy, and that biochemical energy is turned into mechanical energy when you turn the pedals.  You are literally “doing work” by applying force to the pedals, producing power which is measured in Watts and in turn making speed!  The meter is capturing a record of that output and displaying the immediate power output instantaneously.

None of this on its own makes a rider a faster. The meter and display unit are just giving you a number on your handlebar that changes every second depending on how “hard” or “soft” you are turning the pedals.  The value comes in the interpretation of that data by a knowledgeable individual and then applying it to an athlete’s training program.  The data captured by the meter provides insight into the athlete’s current ability and how hard or easy they are training at a given time, and enables the establishment of parameters to optimize how an athlete trains given their ability, goals, potential and individual situation.  The less time and more constraints they have, the more beneficial this becomes to whomever is designing the athlete's training approach.

Next time we will go into a bit more detail why using power in training can be beneficial relative to other methods of measuring effort.  If you have questions or comments, please feel free to post up.

Tolerance levels on when one needs to ride indoors vary, but with the exception of the warmest climates, even the hardiest of cyclists will likely have to succumb to the realities of weather, road conditions and darkness at some point during the winter.  When that point comes along, here are a few pointers that will hopefully make the experience more bearable if not somewhat enjoyable:

Pick a good environment:  Everyone’s domestic situation is different, but picking a comfortable room to setup your trainer or rollers in is a big first step.  I know a few athletes who say they can’t stand riding inside but then come to find out they have banished themselves to dark dank basements or garages with poor lighting, no climate control with their trainer squeezed in between unpacked boxes from their last move.  Regardless of the space you are in, making it comfortable, well lit, clean and as inviting as possible will do wonders for your attitude towards indoor riding.

Get a good fan.  It’s not wimpy, when you ride outside you have 15 to 25 mph of wind keeping you cool all the time, you should have it inside as well.  Sweating in puddles may feel all Rocky like but it does you no good unless you are a high school wrestler trying to make weight.  With a good fan (the spinning type, not the cheering type, although those are nice as well), you will be able to ride longer and your equipment, body and housemates/guests will thank you.  Floor fans that you can angle to direct the air work best.

Protect the “nether” regions.  Tough topic, but saddle sores seem to be more common in the winter for athletes who have to do a lot of indoor riding.  Being locked in place and not having the variety of motion to vary pressure points exacerbates the issue.  A few recommended approaches to handling this:

• Clean chamois, and a good chamois cream is a good start.  Reduce friction and keep that bacteria at bay.
  
• Have a few different types of bibs/shorts to use on different days.  Simply varying the types of chamois and pressure points seems to help from repeatedly putting pressure on the same spots.
  
• If you have more than one bike with different saddles, mix it up by riding a different bike on different days to again change up pressure points.
  
• If using a stationary trainer vice rollers, make sure you have a block for the front wheel to keep the bike level.  Old text books work in a pinch.
  
• Get in and out of the saddle on occasion to give yourself some relief.
  

Entertain yourself!  There is no reason to be miserable.  TVs, computers, tablets and audio devices are cheap these days.  Any of those can provide hours of audio and video entertainment.  If you have the disposable income, advanced indoor trainers such as Computrainer interact with your computer or tablet to provide a virtual course to ride and change resistance to simulate varying terrain.  There are also a number of companies that provide cycling specific videos that incorporate workouts into the video and you can use whatever trainer or rollers you have.  Pick your poison, expensive, cheap, cycling related, non-cycling related, whatever works and is within your budget, but just don’t stare at the wall hyper focusing on how awful it is to ride inside.  Review guru DC Rainmaker provides an excellent overview of trainers and training apps that you may want to consider:  
DC Rainmaker 2014 Trainer Recommendations  |  DC Rainmaker 2014 Trainer App Overview

Give yourself a break. If doing rides over an hour, take a 5 minute break every 45 minutes to an hour.  Re fill bottles, stretch a bit, take a natural break.  It does wonders for your mental state.  Also, due to the continuous nature of riding on a trainer or rollers (no coasting or drafting) you are really riding longer indoors for a given amount of time.  The general rule of thumb is 45 minutes inside is equivalent to 60 minutes outside in terms of stress on the legs.

Shorten and intensify.  Some folks can slog out hours on the trainer, but if you don’t have the time or level of tolerance, inserting some higher intensity interval training, cadence or isolated leg drills to mix things up can help keep your fitness and technique going in the right direction without boring yourself to tears.  There are numerous articles out there on options.  A classic option is warm up and then 2 x 10-20 minutes at 85-95% of your Functional Threshold Power (FTP = Intensity you can hold for an hour all) with half the interval length as rest in between repeats.

Bring a friend.  My wife and I have trainers set up side by side and often ride on the weekends or early in the morning together.  Have someone to ride with can help pass the time as well.

Eat, drink and be merry!  Keep up with your nutrition and hydration.  Indoor winter environments are dry and fairly warm, closer to late spring and early summer conditions, and a great opportunity to practice your nutrition strategy and keep on top of it.

Your attitude and surroundings will determine how tolerable and beneficial your indoor training sessions can be.  Spend a little time prepping you environment to make the experience as enjoyable as possible. Work with your coach or if self-coached, do a little research on your own to set up workouts that will maximize the benefits of indoor riding and minimize the mental strain to help make next season your best yet.

While opinions and tolerance levels on when one needs to ride indoors vary, even the hardiest of cyclists will likely have to succumb to the realities of weather, road conditions and darkness at some point during the winter.  When that point comes along, here are a few basic tips I have assembled over the past several years that will hopefully make the experience more bearable if not somewhat enjoyable:

·         Pick and set up a good environment:  Everyone’s domestic situation is different, but picking (or negotiating) a comfortable riding room is a big first step.  I know a few athletes who say they can’t stand riding inside but then come to find out they are usually banished (or have banished themselves) to dark dank basements or garages with poor lighting, no climate control and their rollers are squeezed in between un packed boxes from their last move.  Regardless of the space you are in, making it comfortable, clean and as inviting as possible will do wonders for your attitude towards indoor riding.  Also, make sure you have a good fan to keep you cool.  It’s not wimpy, when you ride outside you have 15 to 25 mph of wind keeping you cool all the time, you should have it inside as well.  Sweating in puddles may feel all Rocky like but it does you no good unless you are a high school wrestler trying to make weight.  You will be able to ride longer and your equipment, body and housemates/guests will thank you.  One tip, if on carpet, highly recommend some type of rubber matting to protect the carpet from cycling shoes and if riding rollers the potential trip off the side.  (I lost a portion of a security deposit one time when I left a nice burn out in my rental’s carpet, oops).

·         Take precautions to protect the “nether” regions.  Tough topic, but riding inside causes a lot more stress on the, ahem, naughty bits and related areas.  Saddle sores seem to be more common in the winter with a lot of indoor riding.  I am sure science can explain it all but in short it’s related to being locked in place and not having the variety of motion and getting in and out of the saddle that you have outside.  A few recommended approaches to handling this:

o   Clean chamois, and a good chamois cream is a good start.

o   Have a few different types of bibs/shorts to vary the chamois and pressure points on different days.

o   If you have more than one bike with different saddles, another place to mix it up to change up pressure points by riding a different bike on different days.

o   If using a stationary trainer vice rollers, make sure you have a block for the front wheel to keep the bike level.  Many companies make ones specifically for this purpose, but an old text book works in a pinch.

o   Get in and out of the saddle on occasion to give yourself some relief.

o   If doing rides over an hour, take a 2 to 5 minute break every 45 minutes or so.  Re fill bottles, stretch a bit, take a natural break.  Not only will this give “things” a rest, it’s also good mentally.

·         Entertain yourself!  There is no reason to be miserable.  TVs, computers, tablets and audio devices are cheap these days.  Any of those can provide hours of audio and video entertainment.  If you have the disposable income, there are a number of trainers that vary terrain and provide different workouts and give you tons of information that you can use to monitor and improve your cycling.  They are great, but pricey.  There are also a number of companies that provide cycling specific videos that incorporate workouts into the video and you can use whatever trainer or rollers you have.  Pick your poison, expensive, cheap, cycling related, non-cycling related, whatever works and is within your budget, but just don’t stare at the wall hyper focusing on how awful riding inside is!

·         Eat, drink and be merry!  Keep up with your nutrition and hydration.  Indoor winter environments are dry and fairly warm, closer to late spring and early summer conditions, and a great opportunity to practice you nutrition strategy, keep on top of it.

To paraphrase Henry Ford, when it comes to indoor riding, whether you choose to hate it or like it, you are right…  Your attitude and surroundings will determine how tolerable and beneficial your indoor training sessions can be.  Spend a little time prepping your environment to maximize the benefits of indoor riding to help make your season your best yet.