# Training with power meter or heart rate? Training programs or books?



## 7hi7a (Mar 18, 2015)

Hi, I am new to cycling. Did my first Century mile ride Hotter-n-Hell 100 this past summer in 8 hours and 3 min after riding my friend's triathlon bike for 3 weeks. One of the toughest physical endurance things I've done besides running cross country in my high school years. I am 27 years old and ride my bike 3 times a week due to Graduate school and working part time so I try my best to get my rides in whenever I can. I know there is a book for training with a power meter but I couldn't find anything on training by heart rate. Power meters are a little out of my budget so I would like to stick to a heart rate monitor. If someone can point in the right direction on evidenced base heart rate training programs that would be great. 

Thanks


----------



## jajichan (Jul 9, 2014)

I googled "training with heart rate cycling" and got 4.86 million results. The first ten will provide you with enough confusing and confounding material to last until you can go buy a powermeter. 

Basically you go out and make youself puke to get a max hr, or go out and do a long, flat-out time trial to get a rough threshold hr and base zones and workouts off of that. What you'll find, though, is that hr is affected by any number of factors so those need to be taken into consideration when necessary. It can be a bit fickle, but long term you can get results by putting in the work, as with everything.


----------



## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

jajichan said:


> I googled "training with heart rate cycling" and got 4.86 million results. The first ten will provide you with enough confusing and confounding material to last until you can go buy a powermeter.
> 
> Basically you go out and make youself puke to get a max hr, or go out and do a long, flat-out time trial to get a rough threshold hr and base zones and workouts off of that. What you'll find, though, is that hr is affected by any number of factors so those need to be taken into consideration when necessary. It can be a bit fickle, but long term you can get results by putting in the work, as with everything.


^^^^ this is spot on... You might be able to hunt around here and get what you want to know. There are good references out there for calculating your HR zones but the max effort is the way to do it correctly. Base Building by Chapple does a pretty good job of taking you through it... I'm not knocking HR, it can be a useful metric, like anything else... The RBR search function can make it a little difficulty, but if you spend some time, there are lots of great threads that talk about this.


----------



## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

Many serious cyclists will tell you HRM training is useless/pointless/outdated/... pick your favorite disparaging comment, and you must use a power meter or you're wasting your time. I am one who completely disagrees. In the world of endurance sports, cycling is about the only sport that can use a power meter. Pretty much all others have to rely on things like stopwatches, measured distances, and heart rate for the engine. It's still extremely useful as a training aid. If you believe that training should be based upon physiology, then an HRM, coupled with the right supporting information, is actually more insightful than a power meter.

A couple of well known references you might want to consider:
1. _Heart Rate Training_ by Benson -2011.

2. _Total Heart Rate Training_ by Friel - 2006.

If you're willing to dig into the literature, look up the works of Dr. Stephen Seiler. This collection put together by another prof is dated, but still completely applicable, and totally sound. Thee are a few chapters in there by others, but the physiological training information, useful in creating your own training program, is sound and accurate. There are some other Seiler references included as references in this thread from earlier this year.

One thing you should be aware of - there are at least three different systems of "zones" used by various authors. Seiler's is one (the Norwegian system of 5 zones), there is a popular scheme favored by U.K coaches, and another one popular with U.S. coaches/followers. I personally favor and use Seiler's because it was well grounded in physiological research, but they are useful, so long as you understand which one you're using.


----------



## 7hi7a (Mar 18, 2015)

ibericb said:


> Many serious cyclists will tell you HRM training is useless/pointless/outdated/... pick your favorite disparaging comment, and you must use a power meter or you're wasting your time. I am one who completely disagrees. In the world of endurance sports, cycling is about the only sport that can use a power meter. Pretty much all others have to rely on things like stopwatches, measured distances, and heart rate for the engine. It's still extremely useful as a training aid. If you believe that training should be based upon physiology, then an HRM, coupled with the right supporting information, is actually more insightful than a power meter.
> 
> A couple of well known references you might want to consider:
> 1. _Heart Rate Training_ by Benson -2011.
> ...


Thanks for the references. I will save up for a power meter but in the meantime, HR will have to do . Too many different power meters on the market. Its going to be hard choosing the right one.


----------



## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

7hi7a said:


> Thanks for the references. I will save up for a power meter but in the meantime, HR will have to do . Too many different power meters on the market. Its going to be hard choosing the right one.


If you are training to compete in cycling, then a power meter is probably a must. If not, it's a great and informative device, but hardly necessary. A good reference from Coach Alex Simmons, a regular here, on various power meters, and things to consider when buying one can be seen at his blog site here. It's the best single compendium I know of.


----------



## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

Never, ever base your "max" heart rate on the oft published guide of HRmax = 220 - age. Max heart rate can, and does, vary greatly between people of same age and fitness level.


----------



## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

Friel's and Carmichael's books all explain how to train using HR alone or power and HR. You can train with great effectiveness using only HR. In some ways, using power can make it simpler, but HR remains a valuable metric as it reflects the body's response to the workload. IMO, a good book for many is Chris Carmichael's "The Time Crunched Cyclist". I feel it's more readable and easier to digest than Friel's books, which are excellent too, just more intense in material presented and training plans and objectives.


----------



## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

If you're not racing and following a training plan (either given to you by a coach or written yourself) then a power meter is kind of a waste.

Even if you are very serious about racing, a power meter is not required. I know a couple elite and masters world champions, and many good local racers, who do not use power meters.


----------



## ziscwg (Apr 19, 2010)

since you are fairly new (a total n00b cannot finish a century ride)

just go HR training for now. I used it for a number of yrs and had good success with it. Read Joe Freil's Training Bible. 

Another reason to wait is the power meter landscape continues to change. You had Stages biotch slap the industry two yrs ago with a $700 meter that barely added any weight. They have a hard time keeping them in stock.

Now a company called 4iiii has just released a $400 user installed meter. This is going to be interesting too.

If you are dying to spend money and want to get better, hire a coach and get a training plan.


----------



## 7hi7a (Mar 18, 2015)

ziscwg said:


> since you are fairly new (a total n00b cannot finish a century ride)
> 
> just go HR training for now. I used it for a number of yrs and had good success with it. Read Joe Freil's Training Bible.
> 
> ...


Oh wow that 4iiii unit looks like a game changer. I'm going to keep my eyes out on this product. Do you know when is the release date?


----------



## PBL450 (Apr 12, 2014)

7hi7a said:


> Oh wow that 4iiii unit looks like a game changer. I'm going to keep my eyes out on this product. Do you know when is the release date?


Any day now...

An update on the 4iiii Precision Power Meter | DC Rainmaker


----------



## ziscwg (Apr 19, 2010)

7hi7a said:


> Oh wow that 4iiii unit looks like a game changer. I'm going to keep my eyes out on this product. Do you know when is the release date?





PBL450 said:


> Any day now...
> 
> An update on the 4iiii Precision Power Meter | DC Rainmaker


Even with the "proposed" release date, you still might want to wait. Power meters seem to need a bit of a breaking in period. So, maybe 6-12 months after they are shipping might be a good time to jump in. 

PowerTap has some new things too. 

Keep something in mind,

No gadget is going to make you better overnight. They are all tools to make the engine better. Concentrate on the engine. You'll be surprised how much better you get by consistent training. If you don't have much time, intervals are your friend. Lots of time.........then base building to start. 

I don't train for century rides. I just show up and do them. I train for 3 hr mtb races with some big climbs. I do just fine.


----------



## 7hi7a (Mar 18, 2015)

ziscwg said:


> Even with the "proposed" release date, you still might want to wait. Power meters seem to need a bit of a breaking in period. So, maybe 6-12 months after they are shipping might be a good time to jump in.
> 
> PowerTap has some new things too.
> 
> ...


This is really good advice. Definitely what I needed to hear. You just saved me a few hundred bucks . Thanks a lot mate!


----------

