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Power Based Training – Who Can Benefit

“Power doesn’t lie.”

An elite amateur cyclist made that comment when talking about recovering from illness and training for an upcoming race. He had a point. Heart rate can be affected by heat, hydration, caffeine, and other stresses. Speed can be affected by things like wind, elevation, and traffic. Perceived effort, well, that can be affected in all kinds of ways. With power the only thing that affects the true measure of it is the accuracy of your power meter.

You might say that power based training is not for everyone, but as prices of meters continues to drop and more options become available, the barrier is falling. Whether you are a WorldTour elite cyclist, or you are looking to ride your first gran fondo, you are setting goals and working to achieve them. Using power based training will help you monitor your training and succeed.

PioneerFor competitive cyclists, most have specific goals each time they go out for a ride. It might be recovery, it might be tempo, it might be endurance, or it could be all out efforts. Power meters can help you determine these levels and help you keep your effort at the level you are looking to train at.

For recreational cyclists, knowing the different levels of training is helpful. You might not be training every time you ride your bike, but when you are training for your next gran fondo, it helps. Even when you are just out for a fun ride, you can still quantify what type of an effort you put out.

Power2Max's Type S Power Meter
Power2Max’s Type S Power Meter

So, to determine these training zones, you need to determine your Functional Threshold Power, or FTP. This can be determined a few different ways, but most widely used are the 20-minute test, and the 60-minute test. Either test includes a warm up session before going hard. For the 20 minute test, your FTP is determined by taking 95% of your normalized power for the test. For the 60 minute test, your normalized power at the end of the test is your FTP.

To calculate your training zones, there are many websites out there that will help you with this. Some are more complicated, which means you will need heart rate info as well for determining your Lactate Threshold. This is the point that your body has to start using more than just oxygen to power your muscles. To keep things a simple though, here is a quick guide.

  • Zone 1 <55% (active recovery) – Active Recovery is going out for what most cyclists would describe as a very easy ride. Most riders will need to concentrate on keeping efforts low. For best results, plan your route ahead of time to minimize climbing. Also, be mindful when riding with others as you may have a tendency to ramp up the speed, therefore increasing the power you are putting out.
  • Zone 2 56-75% of FTP (endurance) – The Endurance Zone is where most of us ride at when not specifically training or racing. You are putting out an effort, but it is more cruising. You should be able to maintain this effort for several hours if you are eating and hydrating properly. Think Ironman or Race Across America.
  • Zone 3 76-90% of FTP (tempo) – Tempo is where you start to get into harder efforts, but still can go for a few hours with proper eating and hydrating. If you are out for a spirited group ride, or are shooting for a fast gran fondo, this is where you’ll be at. For crit racers or time trialists, you’ll probably look to train a little higher, depending on your training plan.
  • Zone 4 91-105% of FTP (lactate threshold) – Threshold Zone is getting into race pace. Theoretically, you should be able to hold this zone for about an hour. Training in this area will help you to increase your overall FTP.
  • Zone 5 106-120% of FTP (VO2max) – The VO2 Max Zone is where you start to get into high-intensity efforts. Not that Zone 4 isn’t intense, but Zone 5 and higher are going to be shorter efforts. Intervals of around 3 minutes at this level are typical as part of training plans targeting racing. This is about the highest level that recreational riders will typically train at, especially if you are shooting for a faster time.
  • Zone 6 121-150% of FTP (anaerobic capacity) – The Anaerobic Zone is the hardest efforts that target a specific power range. Efforts here typically last only a minute or two at the most. These efforts hurt, but will help on race day, especially during crits when you need a short, hard effort.
  • Zone 7 >150% of FTP (neuromuscular power) – This is where you go as hard as you can. Intervals will probably only last a few seconds and your watts will be high. Recreational riders probably will not be training at this level, but it’s always “fun” to see what kind of numbers you can put out.

Now that you know a little bit more about training with power, we’ll help you figure out which type of power meter works for you.

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