It is for all the cyclists and triathletes known for many years now (and used mainly in the last 3-4) the POWER TRAINING but perhaps there is still a general ignorance even among coaches about this tool that allows us to measure with greater precision and that stands out above others in the control of training.
In this first article I will try to offer an overview of what power is and what applications it gives us that do not have other systems to shed in successive articles why it is a good tool for daily use for athletes and coaches.
If we go to the RAE, we find Power as "Amount of energy produced or consumed per unit of time" with which we can deduce that the data that our cyclocomputer indicates to us as power is the "energy that our muscles are applying on the bicycle in a unit of time".
Once the power is defined, we must realize that power is a measure of external load of work, that is, what we measure is the force applied to the bicycle (either pedals, rods or hub) while heart rate, lactate, gas or oxygen saturation for example tell us what happens inside our body .
This does not mean that it is a better tool, we simply have to know what we are measuring and how to apply it in the control of training, planning and improving the performance of the athlete.
Arrived at this first part we must be clear that the power we are producing is nothing more than a simple fact and that the truly important thing is FOR HOW LONG WE ARE ABLE TO MAINTAIN A CERTAIN POWER.
Let's give an example that is easier for all of us, when a cyclist says: "I am able to move 450W".
This is a lot? Is it little? Would I be able to do it?
Well, the answer is IT DEPENDS since if we are able to move it in an 19 Tour 30 stage climb during '30' we will be talking about a superclass (almost regardless of the weight we have) but we have achieved it in a specific moment of a XNUMX start '' It is something really feasible for everyone.
I hope that we are able to put into context, now yes, what is the power, what it measures, what it is useful for and the importance of this data in relation to time.
We only need to indicate that the power is a REAL AND OBJECTIVE data that does NOT offer us a margin for the excuse and that will tell us the reality of what has been done. How many times have we not heard: "The average has fallen because it was winding against", "I have been pulling the group all the way", "I have been passing relays during 40kms", "The training of my life has come out because I have come almost with 40kmh of average "
Now we have the necessary tool to measure it !!
The power meters allow us to perform the following tasks that could not be carried out by means of other tools and that is why they are considered as the best measurement and control tool of the training to date.
We are going to list a few of them that we will later describe in several articles:
Undoubtedly for any person who is responsible and meticulous when it comes to follow a training, who is committed to their performance, who wants to maintain a good feedback coach / athlete graphically on a daily basis and that, why not say it , can afford an expense that goes from the 600-2000 €.
The potentiometer and the real data of our cyclocomputer do not lie so we must have the ability to analyze them, create a plan to improve them, be disciplined to train them and provide the necessary feedback to re-interpret them.
J. Luis Caballero
Triathlon Coach - FTCV
Email: contact@behealth.es