You have the "Power"

Happy Holidays to all my fellow teammates. I know everyone has thoughts of sugar plums and Santa and his reindeer dancing in their heads. Through the blurry vision and current sugar high we should all be kicking around some ideas of training and goals for the 2012 season.

Jon and I had a great conversation yesterday about some of the tools that are available to insure proper training and assist in achieving the level of performance you may be striving for this season.

There has been a lot of talk about "power". In the past everyone would use Heart Rate Monitors to evaluate where their fitness was on the chart. The issue with heart rate training is that when you are fatigued it can give you some numbers that are not accurate, causing your peaks and valleys to become larger than they should. The great thing about measuring your Power output is the numbers DON'T lie. By utilizing Power you can actually chart out your "A" races and really gage your success with fewer road blocks. As some of you pointed out in recent posts people don't stay on plan. A lot of athletes train by how they feel. Early season everyone is rested and feeling great. The workload over time is what causes early season burn out. It's fine to do a group ride in the winter for fun, just not all the time.

With power you can physically see that you are in zone 1 or 2 during those times of the year that you should be. So many people wonder why they can't get faster. The main reason is called "gray zone" training. In simple terms what that means is you are going to hard to be resting and not hard enough to be training. This is where the specific training should be your #1 goal. Power can be your guide and help you understand when you are riding too hard or not hard enough.

There are a few Power tools available on the market. I encourage each of you to check out the ones that are available. The main brands are:

Powertap- This system goes in the wheel so you can swap it from bike to bike. Add a bit of depth to your training and also get a wheelset that you can race as well. Part of the benefit of training with power is being able to analyze your race data. By going with a carbon clincher wheelset and powertap combination you can have a wheelset that you can train and race with. Choose from the new G3 hub or the classic Powertap Pro design. Add a Garmin or Powertap head unit for a complete solution.




SRM- The PowerMeter consists of the crank, chainrings and measuring unit. The measuring unit is located between the crank arm and the chainrings and is made of a high-strength, specially tempered aluminum alloy: a computer-designed torque transducer industrially manufactured to highly accurate standards of quality. The power measurement is reactionless so no energy is lost. The Powermeter is temperature compensated, 100% linear and waterproof.






Quarq- Measures Power at the Crankset

The Quarq CinQo is a bicycle powermeter that is integrated into the crankset of the bicycle. Specifically, the CinQo is a instrumented crank "spider" that mounts on specific production cranksets.

Hopefully, you all know that we have a team discount with Boyd Cycling. If you are interested in Powertap we can offer the powertap hubs and build into any of the wheelsets we offer at a 20% discount. If you are interested in the SRM I know Randy at Carolina Tri would be able to assist you. It's not too late to get your list to Santa. He is working overtime this year!

If I can help you can reach me anytime at 864-715-9877 or by email nicole@boydcycling.com.

Cheers,
Nicole