Watt measurement is trendy. But using the complex technology for training control requires experience and sensitivity. Even the best system is useless without the correct evaluation and application of the data. Roy Hinnen has developed a guide to training control with a watt meter system and will present it to our panel of experts.
Watt-controlled cycling with the bike formula, 30 sets for faster bike splits
I estimate that by 2018 every third to fourth good bike sold will have a watt meter. The prices for wattmeters are falling, their measuring accuracy is increasing. So if you're thinking long-term, start thinking in watts from today.
Unfortunately, many athletes who use a wattmeter are not necessarily much faster than others after a season. Although they diligently measure their wattage while cycling, they do not know exactly how to use and assess these values in order to achieve an increase in performance. They often lack concrete watt specifications for training.
My wattage information always refers to the average values for the respective period of time, including "idle times". This is different from some manufacturers, who also specify the normalized power, in which any downtime is excluded from the calculation. In addition, this information only works on relatively flat routes with a maximum difference in altitude of 200 meters per hour.
I rode with an SRM power meter for the first time in the late 1980s, then as a triathlon professional I wrote down the sets over the many years and discussed their effect on body and mind with many experienced coaches and athletes. I then revised these training sets again and put them through their paces as an age group athlete from 2009 to 2013. This is how my bike formula came about over many years.
The graphic shows an SRM file of a bike ride over 5.54 hours. It is clear to see that after about 4.1 hours the red (pulse) and green (watt) curves move apart. After about 3200 kJ, this athlete breaks down considerably. That means its aerobic capacity is around 3200 KJ (Watt x time). Such data helps to understand how an athlete can better schedule a race.
How do you train with the bike formula?
Before you train with the bike formula, do a 60-minute all-out test. After that, ride each set twice for ten to twelve weeks. Then you will know which set works for you or not.
Then you choose one to four sets from the respective areas for your training sessions:
- basic training
- lactate training
- Coordination/technology/motor skills
- Oxygen uptake VO 2 max
- Intense strength endurance
- strength/motor skills
Enter the watt value of your all-out test into the formula on my website, which then calculates your individual training zones in watts for the individual sets with one click. If the 60 minutes are too long for you, then do a 20-minute all-out test, which then corresponds to 108% of the value you enter on my homepage. (60min = 260 watts are approx. 282 in 20min)
Recognize your weaknesses
The sets are ridden on the roller with one's own bike or on the road and last between one and five hours. Depending on your training history, your physique and your mental attitude towards cycling, you have developed strengths and weaknesses, even unconsciously. If you've been cycling for a long time, there's a good chance you've ridden yourself a little "veloblind". On the other hand, if you are a newcomer, you still lack the experience in training. In both cases, my bike formula allows you to focus on working on your weaknesses. I assigned the sets to the limiting factors. You will surely recognize immediately which “greatest weakness” you want to start with.
The training sets are divided into six areas:
Basic training (5 sets)
Limiting factor: You can't maintain the wattage long enough on longer rides and collapse towards the end of the ride. This means you simply don't have the energy to pedal vigorously. The limiting factor is your ability to use fatty acids as an energy source. Your aerobic capacity needs to be increased.
Lactate training (6 sets)
Limiting factor: You have trouble changing pace and need a relatively long time to recover after a longer interval (short sprints of up to about 10 seconds are "alactic", there is hardly any lactate because creatine phosphate is metabolized. It's the hard intervals - depending on the training condition, starts between 40 and 75 seconds - which cause the lactate to rise sharply). Your limiting factor is lactate degradation. The lactate is not returned to the energy cycle fast enough.
Coordination/technical training (6 sets)
Limiting factor: You lack technical skills. You don't ride a round step and you don't pedal cleanly out of the saddle, with which you pedal loosely over the bottom bracket. On the mountain you rock back and forth with your upper body. So you need more watts than a rider with exactly the same physical parameters and the same material. This affects your performance enormously (up to 10 percent drop in performance)!
VO 2 max workout (2 sets)
Limiting factor: You struggle to maintain a high heart rate for long periods of time (30-60 min). You break off, you catch your breath and you have to slow down. Your body is unable to provide enough oxygen for the aerobic metabolism of carbohydrates and lactate. you acidify Causes can be: Your heart is not efficient enough, the respiratory muscles are not adapted, the oxygen transport capacity in the blood is limited, your enzymatic system for binding and releasing oxygen is limited, the muscle cells cannot absorb or process oxygen sufficiently (e.g. limited mitochondrial function), etc .
Strength endurance training (4 sets)
Limiting factor: Your form is good, but you collapse on the second or third mountain because your memory is empty. With this training you increase your muscle glycogen stores so that you have more reserves.
Motor skills training (2 sets)
Limiting factor: Your form is good. At higher cadences, however, your kick is no longer rhythmic. Your sitting position is then also no longer stable and you lose energy through uncoordinated movements. With these exercises you can get the finishing touches and improve your movement economy.
Aerobic capacity (2 sets)
Limiting factor: Aerobic capacity training will polish your form and improve your stamina. The sets are designed to really deplete your muscle glycogen stores first, so your stores will then increase and you can ride longer and faster.
Specific training (3 sets)
Limiting Factor: With these three sets, I round out the formula. It is now (as of 2015) complete. But I'm still researching and I'm sure I'll have more good ideas where the formula can start so that you can cycle even faster in triathlon.
FatSpot efficiency training
I would like to present two more sets that some of my athletes ride in March to April. These are an upgrade to improve your fat burning, which in turn increases your top speed and thus your stamina. The sets are mentally very challenging: it gets down to business, the goal is complete exhaustion, as quickly as possible. This means that you should first really exhaust your muscle glycogen reserves so that they can then increase all the more.
StaminaRace
10 x 60 sec. all-out on the mountain with 437 watts, 75knz, then 90 min. with 233 watts, 95 cadence,
short description
Here the powder is deliberately fired at the beginning of the training. Find a mountain and sprint up flat out at max watts, flip at the top and roll back again in 60 seconds, then sprint back up a total of 10 times. We empty the glycogen stores as quickly as possible in order to then ride at the lactate threshold for 90 minutes in a slightly exhausted state. Your body is now looking for reserves in the body that it can use to generate energy.
Who is this set for?
This is a good kit for athletes who are too timid in their approach to competition and then finish saying "I could have been faster."
The second set is called: EnduranceRace
60 minutes with 225 watts, 120 cadence, then 6x 8 minutes with a 45 cadence on the flat with a 2-minute break
short description
The same principle applies here as with the Stamina Race, but your coordination skills also come into play. First you ride for 60 minutes with a high cadence of 120 in the area and pay attention to a round step. Then, on the flat in an aero position, do six 8-minute intervals at a 45 cadence, resting for two minutes each time. Push as hard as you can, work your legs clean, breathe deeply into your stomach.
Who is this set for?
Time trialists and triathletes can benefit a lot from this set. Changing the cadence and the use of force trains the body and promotes the development of strength and coordination. This will make the muscle more "flexible" and help you find the right cadence in competition.
Conclusion
The bike formula gives you a clear structure for your training and you can find out for yourself which set does what for you. Athletes learn how to organize their training sessions independently, and they have clear guidelines without having to constantly do performance tests in the laboratory. The body does not only function with two thresholds, an aerobic (lactate threshold) and anaerobic (lactate steady state)! This is just a model that can be discussed. There are no generally applicable values, but individual transition areas that can be modeled using a wide variety of measurement methods such as lactate, spiroergometry and motor skills tests.
In addition, there are different states of deficiency depending on the load. Most common is glycogen depletion during long sessions. At some point the sugar will be used up and then it will become hard. That's why it's so important to train in the right stress zones. I also use the bike formula to train for lack of oxygen if the demand is higher than the supply due to the intensity of the exercise.
Roy Hinnen practices ZEN Buddhism. At the end of each expert series there is a ZEN story
Instructions for reading the ZEN stories
Concentrate on the story and try not to interpret or understand anything until the end. When you have read the story, stop for a moment without thinking. But at the same time recapitulate the story again in front of your inner eye. Don't interpret anything, you don't need to understand or be taught anything. If you are lucky, and after practicing, suddenly there comes a situation in your daily life where you can relate the Zen story, and from this arises an important question. Try to stick with the question for days without answering.
ZEN history of the bike formula according to Roy Hinnen
I once heard of an old Zen monk who was on his deathbed. His last day had come and he explained to his students that he would die that evening. All his followers, students and friends gathered. He was loved by many and they all came. People gathered from far and near. When one of his old students heard that his master was dying, he ran to the market. Someone asked him, "Why are you going to the marketplace when your master is in his hut and dying?" The old disciple replied, "I know that my master likes a special cake, and I want to go and buy him this cake. "
It wasn't easy to find the cake because it was long out of fashion, but towards evening he finally managed to find it. He ran to the hut with the cake. Everyone was already worried. The Master seemed to be waiting for someone. He kept opening his eyes, looking around and closing them again. And then the student came. The Master said, "Ah, there you are! Where is the cake?” The student took out the cake. He was so happy that Master asked for it. Dying, the master took the cake in his hand. She wasn't shaking. He was very old, but his hand didn't tremble. Someone asked: “You are so old and you are on the verge of death. Soon the last breath will be taken, but your hand does not tremble at all..." The master said: "I never tremble because I am not afraid. My body has grown old, but I am still young and will remain young even after the body has died.”
Then he bit into the cake and began to eat it. Finally someone asked, “Master, what is your final message? you will leave us soon What should we not forget?” Master smiled and said, “Ah, this cake is delicious!”
