Quantcast

THE FUCKING POWER METER THREAD

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,522
5,244
I see we're allowed to swear on RM now. How many people got banned for this previously?
 

I Are Baboon

Vagina man
Aug 6, 2001
32,781
10,833
MTB New England
Hello my TrainerRoad friend. They have you doing a lot of “sweet spot” sub-threshold work. In my current religion that is verboten: zone 1/2 or high 4-7, no 3.
I just do what I am told, yo. I don't spend a ton of time bike training (4-6 hours a week), so the workouts all tend to be on the harder end of things. I've been killing the workouts the past few months and feel strong. I can't wait to get back outside.
 

I Are Baboon

Vagina man
Aug 6, 2001
32,781
10,833
MTB New England
Also just to answer the OP's questions:

I have a KICKR for the indoor power meter.
I have a Power2Max power meter on my tri bike, but none on my road bike.
FTP is 207.
As I sit here, my heart rate is chugging along at 65.
 

JohnE

filthy rascist
May 13, 2005
13,562
2,208
Front Range, dude...
Combine Rating of Perceived Exertion, a HR monitor and the Karvonen HR formula if you need that sort of ego stroking and save yourself some $$...

GrumblegrumblegrumbleErebuddywannabeLanceArmstronggrumblegrumblegrumble...
 

JohnE

filthy rascist
May 13, 2005
13,562
2,208
Front Range, dude...
Combine Rating of Perceived Exertion, a HR monitor and the Karvonen HR formula if you need that sort of ego stroking and save yourself some $$...

GrumblegrumblegrumbleErebuddywannabeLanceArmstronggrumblegrumblegrumble...
...and my HR is chugging along at 57. True resting is about 42...
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
89,243
27,439
media blackout
Also just to answer the OP's questions:

I have a KICKR for the indoor power meter.
I have a Power2Max power meter on my tri bike, but none on my road bike.
FTP is 207.
As I sit here, my heart rate is chugging along at 65.
i have a kinetic road machine, i got the power meter add on maybe 2 years ago, despite my trainer being almost 10 years old (kudos to kinetic for making things backwards compatible), and it was only a $50 add on.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,035
8,949
1FAE6DE6-5CE9-4063-818A-83C6504255DF.jpeg


tonight’s planned ride for the Power Zone Pack winter challenge unless I feel terrible.
 
Last edited:

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,035
8,949
that's...that last 15m yo....good luck
I took it in December as part of the last challenge. Old zones of about 12% lower. I will try not to be overly exuberant and die on the last zone 7 intervals.

Screen Shot 2021-02-26 at 12.51.29 PM.png
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
22,011
7,245
borcester rhymes
FWIW, this dude who seems like he knows his shit says you should:

a) use a factor of 72% of max aerobic power, not 75%
b) use a ramp factor of 25W/min for non-elite male athletes


When I did my ramp test I hit 168 bpm by the end, iirc. Max I ever see is about 172 bpm so was a full effort indeed.
toshi, I could use your thoughts on HR measuring. I bought a strap as I was tired of struggling with wrist based HRMs, so I believe it's accurate. Based on my age, my max HR should be ~184 (based on whatever math or calculators are available). On my FTP test, I hit 188bpm, which I've never hit before (not since having a measuring device). Is my max HR 188, and should I set my target zones by that, or did I just die and come back to life or something?
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
89,243
27,439
media blackout
toshi, I could use your thoughts on HR measuring. I bought a strap as I was tired of struggling with wrist based HRMs, so I believe it's accurate. Based on my age, my max HR should be ~184 (based on whatever math or calculators are available). On my FTP test, I hit 188bpm, which I've never hit before (not since having a measuring device). Is my max HR 188, and should I set my target zones by that, or did I just die and come back to life or something?
what chest strap do you have?
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
22,011
7,245
borcester rhymes
and just because y'all think the only reason I'm doing this is dick measuring, I'm actually having a shitload of fun testing myself and training during this stupid pandemic. I might be in my basement, but I'm riding more than I ever have. I'm healthier than I've ever been. I'm stronger than I have been since high school. When riding season rolls around, I'll be faster and stronger and less prone to injuries as well. If I can keep this up without burning out or getting hurt, I intend on competing in some races for the first time since 1996.

So yeah, measure away but this is really only to see if I can beat myself.

@StiHacka there's one for the no context thread.
 

JohnE

filthy rascist
May 13, 2005
13,562
2,208
Front Range, dude...
Are you using the Karvonen formula to calculate you exercise heart rate ranges? A conditioned athlete will have higher ranges of exercise heart rate...you just might be falling into that zone.

Target Heart Rate (Intensity Zone) = ((max HR − resting HR) × %Intensity) + resting HR.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,035
8,949
I’d assume observed max trumps any formula. I put my max in as 172 as I’ve perhaps seen higher than that once ever, and I can’t remember when that was exactly.
 

I Are Baboon

Vagina man
Aug 6, 2001
32,781
10,833
MTB New England
what chest strap do you have?
I stopped tracking my heart rate on indoor rides because the friggin Wahoo chest strap is a piece of shit. I mean it works well...for the three months before it dies. I went through two of them and said fuck it. I can see my HR on my Garmin Fenix, but it is not captured using the TrainerRoad app with the KICKR. The wrist HRM works great though for outside rides and all of my runs.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,726
6,163
in a single wide, cooking meth...
I need to get a legit waterproof HR monitor, as I took up swimming originally to help my knee rehab, but kept it up to maintain some modicum of fitness. As someone who swims even worse than I ride (no small feat), it certainly gets the ticker moving.
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
17,424
14,918
toshi, I could use your thoughts on HR measuring. I bought a strap as I was tired of struggling with wrist based HRMs, so I believe it's accurate. Based on my age, my max HR should be ~184 (based on whatever math or calculators are available). On my FTP test, I hit 188bpm, which I've never hit before (not since having a measuring device). Is my max HR 188, and should I set my target zones by that, or did I just die and come back to life or something?
Random calculations aren't necessarily accurate, my max is 15 less than the 220-age calc. You're better off using what you've observed as your max when you've gone balls to the wall.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,035
8,949
Update: won’t be doing anything tonight post tooth pulling.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,035
8,949
The Polar H7 strap I ordered comes recommended and validated by the HRV app developer.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,035
8,949
Try it nao.
B2130A89-35C5-479D-BAF5-687DF958988C.jpeg


My heart rate variability is very low today, lower even than last night a few hours after the tooth extraction. 7.5 or so is more normal. I will take today as a true rest day in response and reassess tomorrow.