- Power metres are becoming more and more affordable
and many of us are starting to understand the benefit
of having one, but knowing what to do with one
is a whole different matter.
In fact, without the knowledge of the numbers they generate,
it actually has little use at all.
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So first thing's first, a power metre
is simply your onboard energy display.
And it displays that energy in watts.
If you push harder, the watts go higher.
And the beauty of this number
is that it changes almost instantaneously.
So the biggest advantage is that it allows you
to train and race in the correct energy zone.
And if you're trying to pace yourself for an Ironman,
for example, it allows you to do just that.
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Once you have a power metre,
you should perform a fitness test
to calculate these energy or training zones.
And the most popular test is
the 20 minutes, Functional Threshold Power test,
or the FTP test as you may have heard it called.
And the figure calculated from this test
represents the best sustainable power
that you can hold for 60 minutes.
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Now many coaches and training systems
will use different training zones,
but I've always used the seven zone system
developed by Dr. Andy Coggan.
And actually, a lot of training software,
such as Training Peaks, will use the same training zones.
These zones work on a percentage of your FTP.
Make it easy for you to track your intensity in real time,
through your bike computer.
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So, zone one, also referred to as the Active Recovery zone.
And this lies at 55% of your FTP and below.
So using an example of a FTP of 300 watts,
this means you need to ride below 165 watts.
And, as the name suggests,
this is for a recovery ride intensity.
So an easy and conversational pace.
Perhaps the day after a race or a hard session.
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Now zone two is the Endurance zone,
and this is between 56 and 75% of your FTP.
Which works out to between 168 and 225 watts
of our 300 watt FTP example.
And again this should be a relatively comfortable pace.
This should allow you to maintain a conversation
with a training partner if you have one.
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Zone three is our Tempo zone,
and this is between 76 and 90% of our FTP.
This is starting to ramp up a little now
so you will need to concentrate
to make sure you stay within the zone.
And this works out at between 228 and 270 watts
of our 300 watt FTP.
Now this will require good fueling
to maintain this intensity for any duration.
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Zone four is the Lactate Threshold zone.
And as the name suggests, this isn't a very pleasant zone.
It's between 91 and 105% of your FTP.
So it's not the kind of effort you'll be able
to sustain for a long period of time.
This works out between 273 and 315 watts
of our 300 watt FTP.
So it's around our sprint to Olympic distance
triathlon intensity, depending
on the level of athlete you are.
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Zone five is pretty much your VO2Max.
It's between 106 and 120% of your FTP.
Which works out between 318 and 360 watts
of our FTP example.
Simply put, this is a tough intensity.
Your legs are gonna hurt, so any efforts
in this zone are gonna be relatively short.
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Zone six is the Anaerobic Capacity zone.
So efforts at this intensity
are gonna be even shorter again.
It's between 121 and 150% of your FTP.
That's between 363 and 450 watts of our example.
So any efforts or intervals in this zone
are gonna be between a few seconds
to a few minutes, at most.
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Finally, zone seven is the Neuromuscular zone.
And it's actually hard to define this zone
other than it being above 150% of your FTP.
It's basically maximal sprinting,
for no more than a few seconds.
So there we go, that is how to use a power metre.
And also the training zones,
for training and also for pacing for your races.
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And to see what an FTP test is and how to do one,
just click down here.
And to see a TT versus a road bike
on a climb video, just click down here.