# Difference between avg and norm power



## kreuzberg (Feb 1, 2009)

ok so I'm not quite sure about this, but my understanding was that a greater difference between average and normalized power indicates a harder effort. For example, a ride with an average power of 200 watts and a norm power of 230 watts isn't as hard as a ride with avg power of 200 watts and norm power of 250.

So my question is, is there a way to measure two efforts to see which was harder using this discrepancy? I'm just curious.

Which one would be quantifiably "harder":

avg 220, norm 250
avg 200, norm 240.

Any ideas?


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

It indicates a more variable-power effort. But, your scenario is basically correct.

Just look at your TSS, which should be revealing enough as to which was "harder."


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## Speedi Pig (Apr 18, 2004)

I've understood it to be that normalized power is a measure of effort...it's an estimation of what your average power would have been had you maintained an absolutely steady effort for the duration. That is, compare two rides of the same duration (time), and the one with the higher normalized power was the harder, regardless of average power.

TSS is probably the best comparison of ride difficulty of one ride versus another, but the formula for TSS uses only normalized power, right?


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

Speedi Pig said:


> TSS is probably the best comparison of ride difficulty of one ride versus another, but the formula for TSS uses only normalized power, right?


Yes. .


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## kreuzberg (Feb 1, 2009)

iliveonnitro said:


> Just look at your TSS, which should be revealing enough as to which was "harder."


Oh yeah...why didn't I think of that?
Thanks!


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

intensity factor (IF) is better than TSS to measure how 'hard' a ride was since it's the ratio of normalized power to threshold power. A 6 hour endurance ride can have a high TSS but may not feel as hard as a 1 hour TT at threshold, so TSS is really training volume.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

stevesbike said:



> intensity factor (IF) is better than TSS to measure how 'hard' a ride was since it's the ratio of normalized power to threshold power. A 6 hour endurance ride can have a high TSS but may not feel as hard as a 1 hour TT at threshold, so TSS is really training volume.


Although skewed to duration, since IF is squared, it is still an accurate enough measure to believe that a 300TSS ride would always be harder than a 100TSS ride, regardless of the intensity.


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