Cycling Commentary

Cycling Performance: Practical Ways to Improve Cycling Performance

Cycling Commentary focuses on practical ways to improve cycling performance. Written primarily for recreational cyclists and triathletes that like to race their bikes, Cycling Commentary provides relevant and timely topics geared towards improving cycling performance.

Articles include:

Cycling Performance and the Aging Athlete

Developing Aerobic Capacity

Improve Lactate Threshold

Functional Threshold Power (FTP): A Key Metric for Cycling Performance

Improve Cycling Performance with FTP Intervals

Improve Cycling Economy

Optimizing Body Weight

Tips to Get Lean and Improve Cycling Performance (Part 1)

Tips to Get Lean and Improve Cycling Performance (Part 2)

Tips to Get Lean and Improve Cycling Performance (Part 3)

Hiring a Cycling Coach

Bicycle Aerodynamics

Bicycle Aerodynamics and Cycling Performance

Training Tools to Improve Performance - TrainingPeaks

Training Peaks WKO+ Performance Manager

 

Enjoy these articles with my complements!

 

 

 

 

TrainingPeaks WKO+ Performance Manager: Training Tools to Improve Cycling Performance

Most serious cyclists have realized the benefits of training with a power meter to improve cycling performance. But, if you are not using TrainingPeaks WKO+ to view and analyze performance data, then you may be missing out on a valuable tool to improve performance.

TrainingPeaks WKO+ enables the cyclist to view key workout data from each session including peak 20-minute power, intensity factor, normalized power and training stress score (TSS). Using WKO+’s Performance Manager tool, in combination with daily TSS, the aspiring cyclist is able to track long-term fitness and form.

How WKO+ Performance Manager Works

When each power file is uploaded into TrainingPeaks WKO+, the workout is assigned a training stress score (TSS) value. Training stress score for a workout is calculated relative to a cyclist’s average maximum sustainable power over a one-hour time trial, also known as functional threshold power (FTP). One hour at FTP is assigned a value of 100 TSS.  Workout intensity and duration for each workout are factored in such a way as to provide a TSS value that represents a physiological value relative to one-hour at FTP.

So, for example, if a cyclist with an FTP of 265 rode for 1:15:00 at average power of 202 watts (low level tempo pace), WKO+ assigns a TSS value of 72.6, suggesting that the cyclist performed the physiological equivalent of 72.6% of a one hour-time trial. If the same cyclist road for 3 hours at an average of 195 watts (upper level endurance), then WKO+ assigns a TSS value of 167.6, the physiological equivalent of 1.67 one-hour time trials.

WKO+ records and weights the cumulative TSS result of each workout to determine both acute training load (ATL) and chronic training load (CTL), which is displayed in the Performance Manager. ATL is a 7-day weighted average of a cyclist’s TSS and provides a measure of short-term or acute training load. CTL, which uses a 42-day weighted average of TSS, provides a cyclist with a measure of long-term cycling fitness.

In the Performance Manager example above, the blue line represents CTL or the long-term fitness of a particular cyclist. From January – mid-March the fitness of this athlete, as measured by CTL was relatively constant at a value of 35 (representing an average of 35 TSS points per day). The pink line represents ATL, or the seven-day weighted TSS average of this athlete.

From January – mid-March, ATL fluctuates a little above and a little below the CTL based upon current workouts. The yellow line, which represents Training Stress Balance (TSB) and is an indicator of athlete fatigue – is the mirror image of the ATL line. When the yellow TSB line drops below the blue CTL line, the athlete is experiencing relative fatigue. When TSB is above the CTL line, the athlete is relatively fresh. Fitness (CTL) + Freshness (positive TSB) = Cycling Form.

During the winter period, the athlete was mostly doing inside, short duration workouts on the trainer. During this block of training, the cyclist did two 20-minute power tests to determine his functional threshold power and to set his FTP values within TrainingPeaks WKO+. The black line represents the 10-best 20-minute average power readings during that period of time, while the red line represents the 10-best normalized power readings (a matter for another article). On January 23, the athlete tested at 271 watts, giving him an FTP value of 257 watts. After several weeks of FTP-based training workouts, he retested on March 5 at 279 watts for 20-minutes, providing an FTP value of 265 watts. Even though fitness did not improve, per se, during this time period as measured by CTL, this athlete’s FTP did improve by almost 4% through focused FTP workouts provided by his cycling coach.

In late March, the athlete participated in a training camp that featured 7 days of long duration, low intensity (endurance or recovery) rides over an 8-day period. The ATL (pink line) provides a vivid graphic image of the significant increase in training load experienced by this cyclist. The CTL, too, rose by approximately 12 points from 34 to 46 during this same time period, while the TSB (representing athlete fatigue) plummeted.  

To improve cycling performance, the training objective is to increase CTL gradually over a period of time (the build period) to achieve a high level of fitness prior to the athlete’s priority races. WKO+’s Performance Manager too provides a vivid demonstration of an athlete’s improvement in fitness through applied training. Prior to this cyclist’s A-priority races in the summer months, the athlete’s coach will reduce the acute training load to create athlete freshness. With a high level of fitness and fresh legs, this athlete will be ready to race when the time comes.

WKO+’s Performance Manager provides the tool for the athlete to measure improvements in cycling performance and to arrive at the start line on form and ready to compete.

Training Tools to Improve Cycling Performance – TrainingPeaks Log

An athlete seeking to improve cycling performance needs tools to help track and monitor progress. TrainingPeaks.com is probably the single best all-purpose training tool in the market today. A free, cloud-based software application, TrainingPeaks enables athletes to plan and update workouts, import power meter files and GPS files, update daily metrics, map out training routes and track meals. The athlete edition is free, and the coaches edition is used by triathlon, running and cycling coaches to plan, communicate and monitor athlete workouts.

TrainingPeaks is an incredibly powerful tool, the depths of which will be explored over the course of several articles.

Meal Journal

TrainingPeaks provides an easy-t0-use meal journal, which allows users to build a complete  library of meals as well as individual food items, known as "Favorites." The searchable library has thousands of foods, including whole foods, packaged foods and USDA labeled foods. A user may search the database and either drag the food directly to the daily calendar where quantity, time of day and any notes related to the food can be added, or the food may be saved to the athlete's own library of favorites for later consumption.

The adjacent graph shows a search for "whey protein." The TrainingPeaks database immediately delivers 10 possible results. Brand name searches can further clarify the results so that the user can hone in on the specific food they wish to track. Select a food, and TrainingPeaks provides a full list of ingredients, calories and nutrients including calories derived from protein, fat and carbohydrates.

TrainingPeaks also allows the user to bundle foods together to a create a meal that can be saved to a personal database. Quantities of food can be specified, and the user can easily update the meal for quantities of foods consumed as well as switch foods in and out. Over time, a user can build a journal of dozens, if not hundreds, of commonly consumed foods and meals.

TrainingPeaks provides the user with daily, weekly, monthly and even annual reports on nutrients and calories consumed. A daily summary, when combined with TrainingPeaks' tool for determining daily energy expenditure, allows the user to estimate calorie deficit or surplus accurately.

The daily chart below shows the total calories and grams consumed along with the percentages of macronutrients derived from carbohydrates, protein, fats and fiber.

 

Energy Balance

An athlete seeking to improve cycling performance by losing weight and getting lean can use TrainingPeaks to estimate daily caloric expenditure in relation to consumption. Within TrainingPeaks settings, a user may estimate Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), Average Daily Calorie Expenditure as well as Calories Burned by specific activity such as cycling, running, swimming, and strength training to derive an estimate of calorie expenditure for training activities. TrainingPeaks then adds calories expended from training to the estimated RMR to provide an accurate estimate of daily energy expenditure. If you use a power meter on your bike or a heart rate monitor that provides an accurate estimate of calories expended by activity, a user can further refine the estimate of calories consumed by uploading power meter based workouts directly into the TrainingPeaks.com daily log. A user can then compare daily calorie consumption with calorie expenditure to determine whether or not the desired energy balance is being achieved.

The chart below shows the relationship of calories consumed vs. calories expended for the first 6 weeks of the year for a particular cyclist. The red bars show days where calorie's expended exceed those being consumed, while the blue days show days when more calories were consumed then burned. This cyclist is seeking to lose approximately 12 lbs over four months, so the prevalence of red bars suggests that the athlete is moving in the right direction to reach race weight goal.

 

 Daily Metrics

 TrainingPeaks provides an easy-to-use tool to record daily metrics such as resting heart rate, sleep hours, weight, body composition as well as subjective measures relating to fatigue, sleep quality and overall state of being. By entering daily weight and body composition consistently at the same time each day (or week), a user may track their progress towards desired body weight and body composition. The graph below shows the progress of the above referenced athlete towards reaching a desired body weight of 164 lbs and 8%  body fat percentage. The chart shows that our athlete is on track, having lost 8lbs since the beginning of the year, with body comp consistently within the 8-9% range, per the Tanita scale used to document weight and body fat percentage.

 

As you can see, for the cyclist seeking to improve cycling performance by improving body composition and losing weight, TrainingPeaks as an indispensable tool to track and monitor performance over time.