Jake Latham
Tip of the week comes from Hamish Gorman and features in our January/February 2016 issue of Bicycling Australia Magazine.
“In this three part series Hamish Gorman will explain the basics of power training, which type of meter will suit your needs, and how to get the most out of it.
From a scientific standpoint power is the product of speed and force.
Power (Watts) = Speed (m/s) x Force (Newtons)
A Watt is a measure of energy, you may have heard the term used in relation to light globes, a tv or boiling the kettle this is the same as a watt that cyclist whilst pedaling on a bike. Scientifically it is the measure of the amount of energy required to move one newton one meter in one second.
1 watt = 1 Newton x meters/second
So when we measure power output for cycling what we are actually measuring is the combination of the force that is applied to each pedal stroke and the speed at which this force is applied.
I can distinctly think of six main ways in which a power meter can benefit you as a cyclist.
- Identifying Strengths and weaknesses
- Pacing efforts
- Identifying the demands of racing
- Evaluating the effects of equipment and positional changes
- Tracking training trends
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Analysing racing and training
In my opinion however the greatest benefits of a power meter are in prescribing, tracking and analysing a riders training from a coaching perspective the power meter has completely changed the way that we look at training and racing.”
Grab the latest issue of Bicycling Australia Magazine to read part two of training with power and find out what type of power meter will suit your needs.
