THE FUCKING POWER METER THREAD
- Thread starter jstuhlman
- Start date
did a low zone 2 workout to help with recovery. knees feel pretty good again so i guess i'm back to it. gonna start fasting again to shed some fat as i reduce my workload
This thread inspired me to rig up a bungee cord and lawn chair leg extension machine. Not great but should work well to proactively fend off any knee pain.
once you build some base strength lunges are another exercise that helps leg strength
I have found lunges are bad for my knee health which is my goal here. Building strength on the inner quad muscles to balance out forces from the outside quad muscles which get strong from pedaling.
Have read that inner quads can be worked with wide stance squats, could explore that but I don't have much weight to work with at home.
I used my rowing machine and body weight for extensions, seemed to do OK. Put the toes on the seat and extend my legs out with my fat ass in the air.
I've been trying to stick to an easy day - hard day - easy day - hard day alternating schedule. That might be too much for me. Today was a hard day and while I was able to hit my targets I just didn't feel great during the first half of the ride.
Work harder.
Nah. I think I'll work easier. 2 day easy - 1 day hard.
Never. All hard all the time.
As promised, I repeated my 15/30/60 second all-out anaerobic efforts on my new Bike+, the below data from the original Bike-. The astute reader will recall that the Bike+ has an actual power meter whereas Bike- estimates it a touch more crudely.
Bike+ sustained power data, eyeballing it from these curves:
15s 1100W (1200W for 10 seconds on my 1 minute post-seat and -pedals swap spin)
30s 750-900W
60s 500-650W
Bike+ sustained power data, eyeballing it from these curves:
15s 1100W (1200W for 10 seconds on my 1 minute post-seat and -pedals swap spin)
30s 750-900W
60s 500-650W
That's cool but have you tried a downhill bike?As promised, I repeated my 15/30/60 second all-out anaerobic efforts on my new Bike+, the below data from the original Bike-. The astute reader will recall that the Bike+ has an actual power meter whereas Bike- estimates it a touch more crudely.
Bike+ sustained power data, eyeballing it from these curves:
15s 1100W (1200W for 10 seconds on my 1 minute post-seat and -pedals swap spin)
30s 750-900W
60s 500-650W
When I can sustain that for a few minutes instead of 15 seconds
More intervals, less kare pan
Track Sprinting: a question of watts?
All the latest cycling news by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) including road cycling, bmx racing, bmx freestyle, mountain biking, track cycling, trials, cyclo-cross
www.uci.org
They measure peak power for 6 seconds and expect 25 W/kg peak power from elite male sprinters. So I'm still low by about a factor of 2!
Redid my ramp test tonight. 378W 1 minute power x 72% == 272W estimated FTP. Dropped a bit since over the winter, not surprising since my time on the bike has dropped a bit similarly.
I might redo it again in a week or two after an easy day the day before, a good night of sleep, and no alcohol.
have you only ever done your FTP via ramp test?
No, I’ve done 6 regular 20 min FTP tests. Last two FTP estimates via ramp test.
I’m a convert. No pacing mental energy wasted, just stick to the ramp until you don’t have it in you to complete another minute.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cyclecoach.com/blog/2020/2/2/is-the-map-ramp-test-a-valid-estimator-of-ftp?format=amp
do you think any of that could be due to switching from the bike to bike+ and gaining a real power meter?
Yeah, that's possible but I don't think all of it is explained by that. Heart rates at similar indicated power are similar. Even before the Bike+ switch I've been feeling a bit weak in general--can hit my numbers but am trying hard to maintain zone 4, 5, etc.
I'm going to do a 3 minute all out effort critical power test, because that sounds amusing. Maybe after an easy spin x 1 TV show episode tonight.
medium.com
Cliffs Notes: No pacing. No display of power or time remaining to participant, just all out for 3 minutes (so initial peak then natural decline) to find the steady state power from 150-180 seconds, more or less.
3 minute all out test for critical power (including video)
Critical power or CP is a mathematical concept that describes the limits of human performance. This concept constitutes of 2 parts, the…
medium.com
Cliffs Notes: No pacing. No display of power or time remaining to participant, just all out for 3 minutes (so initial peak then natural decline) to find the steady state power from 150-180 seconds, more or less.
I took the TrainerRoad ramp test this afternoon. It's been eight weeks since my last test, and I went from 207 to 212. I don't know how much improvement I should see over that amount of time, but it's nice to see that number go up. Still not a high FTP compared to some of you beasts, but I also weigh 150 pounds, so I don't need as much. 
Don't listen to him, IAB. FTP from ramp test could be anywhere in a range from 72% to 77%... so you're at 218 or more importantly 3.2w/kg in my book.
AND THAT'S NICE.
AND THAT'S NICE.
I have weighed 150 lbs as an adult, and could crank out more power than I do now.
(I also scored 3 touchdowns in a high school football game)
(I also scored 3 touchdowns in a high school football game)
So goals that'll likely never be achieved:
2500W x 6 seconds a la the true track sprinters
1500W x 11 seconds with a peak to 1700W
got to mash those pedals harder!
I'll have to find the source but Nathan Rennie holds the the max power output at a cycling club in australia (might have been a bmx training center) something like 22 or 24 hundred watts.
Chris Hoy used to be able to do 27W/KG.
www.uci.org
Track Sprinting: a question of watts?
All the latest cycling news by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) including road cycling, bmx racing, bmx freestyle, mountain biking, track cycling, trials, cyclo-cross
www.uci.org
<Rob warner> THAT IS INSANE</rob warner>Chris Hoy used to be able to do 27W/KG.
Track Sprinting: a question of watts?
All the latest cycling news by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) including road cycling, bmx racing, bmx freestyle, mountain biking, track cycling, trials, cyclo-cross
Did not make it 3 minutes on my planned all out critical power test. Made it more like 1.5 minutes.
Redid the ramp test yet again as I thought I was a bit off the other day. This test felt a bit better. A good effort, feeling outright hypoxic in that last 30 seconds.
284W at 72% factor. I’ll use this value for the upcoming 8 week Power Zone Pack challenge. The question is whether I continue to drop all the zone 3 call outs to zone 2 in the challenge. I’ve dropped my volume a lot...
Redid the ramp test yet again as I thought I was a bit off the other day. This test felt a bit better. A good effort, feeling outright hypoxic in that last 30 seconds.
284W at 72% factor. I’ll use this value for the upcoming 8 week Power Zone Pack challenge. The question is whether I continue to drop all the zone 3 call outs to zone 2 in the challenge. I’ve dropped my volume a lot...
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I've had a few easy workouts since my FTP bumped up, but today was my first hard one. 4 x 6:00 at 105%, in a 60 minute workout. Christ, it would have been nicer to ease into the new FTP with a gentler workout instead of jumping in with balls blazing. 
My legs are shot.
My legs are shot.
Here are the DFA alpha 1 versus HR data I logged the prior 8 weeks or so. (Didn't always throw on the chest strap so these are incomplete.) Very noisy fit for both 0.75 and 0.50 thresholds, which are correlated with the aerobic and anaerobic thresholds.
Wife and I spent the last year making most of our indoor rides be an alphabetical tour of each of the 50 states.
Wyoming finished our 50th state today.
Grand totals: 69h10m22s, 1004miles, 96353ft
Wyoming finished our 50th state today.
Grand totals: 69h10m22s, 1004miles, 96353ft