My First Power Meter

Power Meters and Performance Progress
Written by Marcus Smith
Rob Foster
May 19, 2020
-
5
Mainline Class
Specialty Class
Endurance
Ladies Run Club
My First Power Meter

Power meters, they’ve been around for a while and have pretty much revolutionised the way cycle training is monitored and structured. They are arguably, the most reliable form of monitoring physiological progress, providing immediate feedback during sessions and identifying strengths or weaknesses.


As cycling has become progressively more mainstream and technology has become smarter and more accessible, you’ll often find people training and racing with a power meter. Power meters enable you to ride to your specific level and accurately monitor your progress. So whether your goal is to smash ‘Jeff’ up a hill, improve your race performance or simply get faster, you will be able to get there in a more data driven and focused way.


So how do power meters affect the way we train? I thought I would use myself as an example and show you how my training progressed to the next level.


The Stone Age


So when I started cycling I was using Heart rate and RPE (rate perceived exertion) to quantify my training and efforts, I didn’t have a power meter so that’s the best I could do. But riding to HR and RPE in Northumberland is pretty difficult as there are a lot of hills and being competitive in nature I found it difficult to ‘cruise up’’ them. The measure of my progress was purely on race results and comparing times up the same hill. There are a few issues with this, mainly that I was at the mercy of confounding variables such as wind, temperature, time of day, traffic ect. Race results are reliant not only on physical prowess but race tactics and execution are a huge factor therefore attributing success to training is difficult.


Hello Power!


On getting a new job in London, my role enabled me to start training indoors and more specifically training to power. I knew all about training to power through studying applied sport science in university and continued to keep up to date with the latest science. Now I had access to it. Firstly though, I had to get used to it.


I got all my training zones from a functional threshold power test (FTP). This is a nasty little test that takes skill to execute. Initially my test data was all over the place, but I wasn’t disheartened as I knew it was just a case of learning how to execute the test for a fair reflection of my fitness. Once I had an accurate FTP result, I was able to set specific goals and targets. The quality work was predominantly done indoors using data from the power meters, but I still used HR driven training during longer, outdoor rides or with social clubs. By combining my training I was able to make sure that I found the balance between training and remembering why I ride in the first place.


How did my training change?


In a word, focus. Training to power, especially indoors, brings focus to every ride. Every training session has a purpose and I was able to check back and answer ‘Did I accomplish the objective of this session?’. Another thing power training brings is relating a wattage or output to an RPE or sensations of a ride. By putting a number to those sensations, when I took away the data, I was left with a far more reliable and relatable internal gauge of stress. Lastly is recovery, indoor and power based sessions are more intense, there isn’t ‘dead space’ or easy pedaling, this means they are far more taxing. So I started paying a lot more attention to my recovery. Stretching, nutrition and cool downs are brought into sharp focus, because if you get these things wrong, there's a risk of slipping into an overtrained mess.


How was my performance?


In terms of performance, I improved so much. My power went up as it was properly applied and stressed, my pedalling efficiency improved, my left to right balance and power distribution during pedaling evened out. Ultimately, I felt so much more in control of my progress which was shown in race results. Upon returning to old the familiar hills of Northumberland, without intending to, I would rip through my previous records with ease. In terms of time scale, we’re not talking years here, but mere months. Just a short time spent with focused power training gave significant results.


Are you tempted?


Are you interested in getting a power meter or have you just got one and don’t know where to start? My advice is give yourself a week of ‘playing’ around, firstly, ride as hard as you can for 5 minutes and see how many watts you put out. Pedal at an easy pace where you can hold a conversation and relate that to your wattage, this helps you to start associating numbers to sensations. Next do an FTP test and set some goals based on your results. Finally watch your numbers soar.


Your goal can be FTP related or simply smashing your favourite strava section. It’s important to make sure you’re working towards something. Without structure and proper application of the numbers, you’ll get to watch your fitness decline or stay the same. Power meters are great tools, if used properly. If not, you might as well take it off.


Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions, about power meters or training to power, feel free to drop me an email.

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Specialty Class #25-13

ENGINE

Long EMOM with a mixture of machines and body weight exercises.

GYMNASTICS

This Tuesday, we’re focusing on pull-up progressions! Strict, kipping, and butterfly will appear, followed by lat and core supersets.

On Thursday evening, we’ll focus on handstand hold progressions before having some fun with handstand walks and finishing off the session with core and strength work.

HYROX

This is the Last Simulation before race week. We will lower the volume but keep the intensity high to make sure you are ready for race day!

ENGINE: Long EMOM with a mixture of machines and body weight exercises

MOBILITY

This week, we have the topic: Why are your calves and hamstrings always tight? What can we do to remedy this? Get yourself booked in, and I will show you! This is a great session for everyone, but it is extra beneficial to those runners out there!

PURE STRENGTH

This week's pure strength, we have a chance to progress our 20 RM RDL, followed by some heavy press and strict press cluster sets.

WEIGHTLIFTING

This week in weightlifting, we are focusing on the squat clean. With a fun complex followed by some pulls. Perfect technique session, working on the barbell timing and full depth in the clean

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Endurance #25-13

Monday Ride

A ride dedicated to group riding skills and some fitness. Coach Rob Foster leads this ride, if you'd like to join email Rob Foster.

Start time: 05:59 am

Session Length: 1.5 hour

Location: The Loop Cafe, Bike DXB

Track Tuesday

Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.

Time: 05:59 am

Session Length: 1.5 hour

Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park

Entrance fee

Friday - Coffee Run

Our weekly tempo run.  Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.

Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time
: 05:59 am

Start Location: Common Grounds

Saturday - Jebel Jais Ride

Today our weekly endurance ride is at Jebel Jais! If you're interested to join email us here.

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Ladies Run Club 25-13

Monday

There is no in person session this week at LRC. Those who are Unlimited Members, your Training Peaks have been programmed still.

Tuesday

Time: 5:59am

Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park

Entrance fee

Session: Track Tuesday

This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. This week we will be running 600m repeats. Which will start at 5km pace and progress to 3km pace, so that the pace increases within each rep.

Wednesday

There is no in person session this week at LRC. Those who are Unlimited Members, your Training Peaks have been programmed still.

Friday

Time: 5:59am

Location: Common Grounds

Session: The Coffee Run

This week we will be running a negative split session, meaning that the second half is faster than the first. After 30 mins of easy running, lock into a 20 mins block of effort from 7 - 9 RPE.

Saturday

Time: 5:15am

Location: Cape Town

Session: Two Oceans

Today the 56km runners will be taking on Two Oceans.

Sunday

Time: 6:00am

Location: Cape Town

Session: Two Oceans

Today the 21km runners will be taking on Two Oceans.

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Mainline Class
Specialty Class
Endurance
Ladies Run Club
Daily Workout 25-13

Eid Mubarak, we hope you all have a great long weekend! Class times are different this week, so please check the schedule on Mindbody! We have a great week lined up, so see you all on the gym floor!

Monday:

We start the week with an epic partner workout. Grab a partner, and let's start the week with a bang!


Conditioning:

40 min amrap in pairs

50 Cal Row

6 wall walks

50 CB Clean and Jerk

6 Wall Walks

50 Box Jump Overs

6 Wall Walks

Tuesday:

On Tuesday, we have some push-and-pull work in our strength area, focused on overhead pressing, and then 2 12-minute AMRAPs for you to get stuck into.

Strength:

Every 90 sec x 8 Alt between

A: 8 Dual DB Z press

B: 20 Alt Gorilla Rows

Conditioning:

12 min amrap

30 Wall balls

30/25 cal ski

30 Double Unders

Rest 3 Mins

12 min amrap

30/25 Sal Ass bike

20 V Ups

20 Russian KB Swings

Wednesday:

Wednesday, we are hitting some paused back squats in the strength, and then we get after a real grind of a WOD with some burpee pull-ups, front squats, and running.

Strength:

Every 2 mins x 6 - 3/3/2/2/1/1 Tempo Back Squats @21X1

Conditioning:

10 rounds for time

5 Front Squats

Pool Run

5 burpee pull-ups

Thursday:

Thursday, snatch complex with some accessory, followed by the workout ACID BATH.

Strength:

Every 2 mins x 8 - 1 Snatch Pull + 1 hang Power Snatch +

1 Power snatch

rest 3 mins

Every 2 mins x 3 - 5 Snatch Grip Deadlift

Conditioning:

For time

500m ski

500m row

1000m c2 bike

Friday:

FUF - Finishing the week with some push-pull work in the strength, before an all-in barbell workout to end the week! What Better!

Strength:

Every 2 mins x 5 - 5 push press

rest 3 mins

Every 2 mins x 4 complete 6 DB bench Press @ 30x1 + 3-5 strict pull ups

Conditioning:

5 min amrap

9 Deadlift

6 Hang Power Clean

3 STOH

Rest 3 mins x 3

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
My First Power Meter

Power meters, they’ve been around for a while and have pretty much revolutionised the way cycle training is monitored and structured. They are arguably, the most reliable form of monitoring physiological progress, providing immediate feedback during sessions and identifying strengths or weaknesses.


As cycling has become progressively more mainstream and technology has become smarter and more accessible, you’ll often find people training and racing with a power meter. Power meters enable you to ride to your specific level and accurately monitor your progress. So whether your goal is to smash ‘Jeff’ up a hill, improve your race performance or simply get faster, you will be able to get there in a more data driven and focused way.


So how do power meters affect the way we train? I thought I would use myself as an example and show you how my training progressed to the next level.


The Stone Age


So when I started cycling I was using Heart rate and RPE (rate perceived exertion) to quantify my training and efforts, I didn’t have a power meter so that’s the best I could do. But riding to HR and RPE in Northumberland is pretty difficult as there are a lot of hills and being competitive in nature I found it difficult to ‘cruise up’’ them. The measure of my progress was purely on race results and comparing times up the same hill. There are a few issues with this, mainly that I was at the mercy of confounding variables such as wind, temperature, time of day, traffic ect. Race results are reliant not only on physical prowess but race tactics and execution are a huge factor therefore attributing success to training is difficult.


Hello Power!


On getting a new job in London, my role enabled me to start training indoors and more specifically training to power. I knew all about training to power through studying applied sport science in university and continued to keep up to date with the latest science. Now I had access to it. Firstly though, I had to get used to it.


I got all my training zones from a functional threshold power test (FTP). This is a nasty little test that takes skill to execute. Initially my test data was all over the place, but I wasn’t disheartened as I knew it was just a case of learning how to execute the test for a fair reflection of my fitness. Once I had an accurate FTP result, I was able to set specific goals and targets. The quality work was predominantly done indoors using data from the power meters, but I still used HR driven training during longer, outdoor rides or with social clubs. By combining my training I was able to make sure that I found the balance between training and remembering why I ride in the first place.


How did my training change?


In a word, focus. Training to power, especially indoors, brings focus to every ride. Every training session has a purpose and I was able to check back and answer ‘Did I accomplish the objective of this session?’. Another thing power training brings is relating a wattage or output to an RPE or sensations of a ride. By putting a number to those sensations, when I took away the data, I was left with a far more reliable and relatable internal gauge of stress. Lastly is recovery, indoor and power based sessions are more intense, there isn’t ‘dead space’ or easy pedaling, this means they are far more taxing. So I started paying a lot more attention to my recovery. Stretching, nutrition and cool downs are brought into sharp focus, because if you get these things wrong, there's a risk of slipping into an overtrained mess.


How was my performance?


In terms of performance, I improved so much. My power went up as it was properly applied and stressed, my pedalling efficiency improved, my left to right balance and power distribution during pedaling evened out. Ultimately, I felt so much more in control of my progress which was shown in race results. Upon returning to old the familiar hills of Northumberland, without intending to, I would rip through my previous records with ease. In terms of time scale, we’re not talking years here, but mere months. Just a short time spent with focused power training gave significant results.


Are you tempted?


Are you interested in getting a power meter or have you just got one and don’t know where to start? My advice is give yourself a week of ‘playing’ around, firstly, ride as hard as you can for 5 minutes and see how many watts you put out. Pedal at an easy pace where you can hold a conversation and relate that to your wattage, this helps you to start associating numbers to sensations. Next do an FTP test and set some goals based on your results. Finally watch your numbers soar.


Your goal can be FTP related or simply smashing your favourite strava section. It’s important to make sure you’re working towards something. Without structure and proper application of the numbers, you’ll get to watch your fitness decline or stay the same. Power meters are great tools, if used properly. If not, you might as well take it off.


Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions, about power meters or training to power, feel free to drop me an email.

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Endurance #25-13

Monday Ride

A ride dedicated to group riding skills and some fitness. Coach Rob Foster leads this ride, if you'd like to join email Rob Foster.

Start time: 05:59 am

Session Length: 1.5 hour

Location: The Loop Cafe, Bike DXB

Track Tuesday

Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.

Time: 05:59 am

Session Length: 1.5 hour

Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park

Entrance fee

Friday - Coffee Run

Our weekly tempo run.  Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.

Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time
: 05:59 am

Start Location: Common Grounds

Saturday - Jebel Jais Ride

Today our weekly endurance ride is at Jebel Jais! If you're interested to join email us here.

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Ladies Run Club 25-13

Monday

There is no in person session this week at LRC. Those who are Unlimited Members, your Training Peaks have been programmed still.

Tuesday

Time: 5:59am

Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park

Entrance fee

Session: Track Tuesday

This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. This week we will be running 600m repeats. Which will start at 5km pace and progress to 3km pace, so that the pace increases within each rep.

Wednesday

There is no in person session this week at LRC. Those who are Unlimited Members, your Training Peaks have been programmed still.

Friday

Time: 5:59am

Location: Common Grounds

Session: The Coffee Run

This week we will be running a negative split session, meaning that the second half is faster than the first. After 30 mins of easy running, lock into a 20 mins block of effort from 7 - 9 RPE.

Saturday

Time: 5:15am

Location: Cape Town

Session: Two Oceans

Today the 56km runners will be taking on Two Oceans.

Sunday

Time: 6:00am

Location: Cape Town

Session: Two Oceans

Today the 21km runners will be taking on Two Oceans.

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Mainline Class
Specialty Class
Endurance
Ladies Run Club
Daily Workout 25-13

Eid Mubarak, we hope you all have a great long weekend! Class times are different this week, so please check the schedule on Mindbody! We have a great week lined up, so see you all on the gym floor!

Monday:

We start the week with an epic partner workout. Grab a partner, and let's start the week with a bang!


Conditioning:

40 min amrap in pairs

50 Cal Row

6 wall walks

50 CB Clean and Jerk

6 Wall Walks

50 Box Jump Overs

6 Wall Walks

Tuesday:

On Tuesday, we have some push-and-pull work in our strength area, focused on overhead pressing, and then 2 12-minute AMRAPs for you to get stuck into.

Strength:

Every 90 sec x 8 Alt between

A: 8 Dual DB Z press

B: 20 Alt Gorilla Rows

Conditioning:

12 min amrap

30 Wall balls

30/25 cal ski

30 Double Unders

Rest 3 Mins

12 min amrap

30/25 Sal Ass bike

20 V Ups

20 Russian KB Swings

Wednesday:

Wednesday, we are hitting some paused back squats in the strength, and then we get after a real grind of a WOD with some burpee pull-ups, front squats, and running.

Strength:

Every 2 mins x 6 - 3/3/2/2/1/1 Tempo Back Squats @21X1

Conditioning:

10 rounds for time

5 Front Squats

Pool Run

5 burpee pull-ups

Thursday:

Thursday, snatch complex with some accessory, followed by the workout ACID BATH.

Strength:

Every 2 mins x 8 - 1 Snatch Pull + 1 hang Power Snatch +

1 Power snatch

rest 3 mins

Every 2 mins x 3 - 5 Snatch Grip Deadlift

Conditioning:

For time

500m ski

500m row

1000m c2 bike

Friday:

FUF - Finishing the week with some push-pull work in the strength, before an all-in barbell workout to end the week! What Better!

Strength:

Every 2 mins x 5 - 5 push press

rest 3 mins

Every 2 mins x 4 complete 6 DB bench Press @ 30x1 + 3-5 strict pull ups

Conditioning:

5 min amrap

9 Deadlift

6 Hang Power Clean

3 STOH

Rest 3 mins x 3

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Specialty Class #25-13

ENGINE

Long EMOM with a mixture of machines and body weight exercises.

GYMNASTICS

This Tuesday, we’re focusing on pull-up progressions! Strict, kipping, and butterfly will appear, followed by lat and core supersets.

On Thursday evening, we’ll focus on handstand hold progressions before having some fun with handstand walks and finishing off the session with core and strength work.

HYROX

This is the Last Simulation before race week. We will lower the volume but keep the intensity high to make sure you are ready for race day!

ENGINE: Long EMOM with a mixture of machines and body weight exercises

MOBILITY

This week, we have the topic: Why are your calves and hamstrings always tight? What can we do to remedy this? Get yourself booked in, and I will show you! This is a great session for everyone, but it is extra beneficial to those runners out there!

PURE STRENGTH

This week's pure strength, we have a chance to progress our 20 RM RDL, followed by some heavy press and strict press cluster sets.

WEIGHTLIFTING

This week in weightlifting, we are focusing on the squat clean. With a fun complex followed by some pulls. Perfect technique session, working on the barbell timing and full depth in the clean

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
My First Power Meter

Power meters, they’ve been around for a while and have pretty much revolutionised the way cycle training is monitored and structured. They are arguably, the most reliable form of monitoring physiological progress, providing immediate feedback during sessions and identifying strengths or weaknesses.


As cycling has become progressively more mainstream and technology has become smarter and more accessible, you’ll often find people training and racing with a power meter. Power meters enable you to ride to your specific level and accurately monitor your progress. So whether your goal is to smash ‘Jeff’ up a hill, improve your race performance or simply get faster, you will be able to get there in a more data driven and focused way.


So how do power meters affect the way we train? I thought I would use myself as an example and show you how my training progressed to the next level.


The Stone Age


So when I started cycling I was using Heart rate and RPE (rate perceived exertion) to quantify my training and efforts, I didn’t have a power meter so that’s the best I could do. But riding to HR and RPE in Northumberland is pretty difficult as there are a lot of hills and being competitive in nature I found it difficult to ‘cruise up’’ them. The measure of my progress was purely on race results and comparing times up the same hill. There are a few issues with this, mainly that I was at the mercy of confounding variables such as wind, temperature, time of day, traffic ect. Race results are reliant not only on physical prowess but race tactics and execution are a huge factor therefore attributing success to training is difficult.


Hello Power!


On getting a new job in London, my role enabled me to start training indoors and more specifically training to power. I knew all about training to power through studying applied sport science in university and continued to keep up to date with the latest science. Now I had access to it. Firstly though, I had to get used to it.


I got all my training zones from a functional threshold power test (FTP). This is a nasty little test that takes skill to execute. Initially my test data was all over the place, but I wasn’t disheartened as I knew it was just a case of learning how to execute the test for a fair reflection of my fitness. Once I had an accurate FTP result, I was able to set specific goals and targets. The quality work was predominantly done indoors using data from the power meters, but I still used HR driven training during longer, outdoor rides or with social clubs. By combining my training I was able to make sure that I found the balance between training and remembering why I ride in the first place.


How did my training change?


In a word, focus. Training to power, especially indoors, brings focus to every ride. Every training session has a purpose and I was able to check back and answer ‘Did I accomplish the objective of this session?’. Another thing power training brings is relating a wattage or output to an RPE or sensations of a ride. By putting a number to those sensations, when I took away the data, I was left with a far more reliable and relatable internal gauge of stress. Lastly is recovery, indoor and power based sessions are more intense, there isn’t ‘dead space’ or easy pedaling, this means they are far more taxing. So I started paying a lot more attention to my recovery. Stretching, nutrition and cool downs are brought into sharp focus, because if you get these things wrong, there's a risk of slipping into an overtrained mess.


How was my performance?


In terms of performance, I improved so much. My power went up as it was properly applied and stressed, my pedalling efficiency improved, my left to right balance and power distribution during pedaling evened out. Ultimately, I felt so much more in control of my progress which was shown in race results. Upon returning to old the familiar hills of Northumberland, without intending to, I would rip through my previous records with ease. In terms of time scale, we’re not talking years here, but mere months. Just a short time spent with focused power training gave significant results.


Are you tempted?


Are you interested in getting a power meter or have you just got one and don’t know where to start? My advice is give yourself a week of ‘playing’ around, firstly, ride as hard as you can for 5 minutes and see how many watts you put out. Pedal at an easy pace where you can hold a conversation and relate that to your wattage, this helps you to start associating numbers to sensations. Next do an FTP test and set some goals based on your results. Finally watch your numbers soar.


Your goal can be FTP related or simply smashing your favourite strava section. It’s important to make sure you’re working towards something. Without structure and proper application of the numbers, you’ll get to watch your fitness decline or stay the same. Power meters are great tools, if used properly. If not, you might as well take it off.


Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions, about power meters or training to power, feel free to drop me an email.

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Ladies Run Club 25-13

Monday

There is no in person session this week at LRC. Those who are Unlimited Members, your Training Peaks have been programmed still.

Tuesday

Time: 5:59am

Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park

Entrance fee

Session: Track Tuesday

This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. This week we will be running 600m repeats. Which will start at 5km pace and progress to 3km pace, so that the pace increases within each rep.

Wednesday

There is no in person session this week at LRC. Those who are Unlimited Members, your Training Peaks have been programmed still.

Friday

Time: 5:59am

Location: Common Grounds

Session: The Coffee Run

This week we will be running a negative split session, meaning that the second half is faster than the first. After 30 mins of easy running, lock into a 20 mins block of effort from 7 - 9 RPE.

Saturday

Time: 5:15am

Location: Cape Town

Session: Two Oceans

Today the 56km runners will be taking on Two Oceans.

Sunday

Time: 6:00am

Location: Cape Town

Session: Two Oceans

Today the 21km runners will be taking on Two Oceans.

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Mainline Class
Specialty Class
Endurance
Ladies Run Club
Daily Workout 25-13

Eid Mubarak, we hope you all have a great long weekend! Class times are different this week, so please check the schedule on Mindbody! We have a great week lined up, so see you all on the gym floor!

Monday:

We start the week with an epic partner workout. Grab a partner, and let's start the week with a bang!


Conditioning:

40 min amrap in pairs

50 Cal Row

6 wall walks

50 CB Clean and Jerk

6 Wall Walks

50 Box Jump Overs

6 Wall Walks

Tuesday:

On Tuesday, we have some push-and-pull work in our strength area, focused on overhead pressing, and then 2 12-minute AMRAPs for you to get stuck into.

Strength:

Every 90 sec x 8 Alt between

A: 8 Dual DB Z press

B: 20 Alt Gorilla Rows

Conditioning:

12 min amrap

30 Wall balls

30/25 cal ski

30 Double Unders

Rest 3 Mins

12 min amrap

30/25 Sal Ass bike

20 V Ups

20 Russian KB Swings

Wednesday:

Wednesday, we are hitting some paused back squats in the strength, and then we get after a real grind of a WOD with some burpee pull-ups, front squats, and running.

Strength:

Every 2 mins x 6 - 3/3/2/2/1/1 Tempo Back Squats @21X1

Conditioning:

10 rounds for time

5 Front Squats

Pool Run

5 burpee pull-ups

Thursday:

Thursday, snatch complex with some accessory, followed by the workout ACID BATH.

Strength:

Every 2 mins x 8 - 1 Snatch Pull + 1 hang Power Snatch +

1 Power snatch

rest 3 mins

Every 2 mins x 3 - 5 Snatch Grip Deadlift

Conditioning:

For time

500m ski

500m row

1000m c2 bike

Friday:

FUF - Finishing the week with some push-pull work in the strength, before an all-in barbell workout to end the week! What Better!

Strength:

Every 2 mins x 5 - 5 push press

rest 3 mins

Every 2 mins x 4 complete 6 DB bench Press @ 30x1 + 3-5 strict pull ups

Conditioning:

5 min amrap

9 Deadlift

6 Hang Power Clean

3 STOH

Rest 3 mins x 3

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Specialty Class #25-13

ENGINE

Long EMOM with a mixture of machines and body weight exercises.

GYMNASTICS

This Tuesday, we’re focusing on pull-up progressions! Strict, kipping, and butterfly will appear, followed by lat and core supersets.

On Thursday evening, we’ll focus on handstand hold progressions before having some fun with handstand walks and finishing off the session with core and strength work.

HYROX

This is the Last Simulation before race week. We will lower the volume but keep the intensity high to make sure you are ready for race day!

ENGINE: Long EMOM with a mixture of machines and body weight exercises

MOBILITY

This week, we have the topic: Why are your calves and hamstrings always tight? What can we do to remedy this? Get yourself booked in, and I will show you! This is a great session for everyone, but it is extra beneficial to those runners out there!

PURE STRENGTH

This week's pure strength, we have a chance to progress our 20 RM RDL, followed by some heavy press and strict press cluster sets.

WEIGHTLIFTING

This week in weightlifting, we are focusing on the squat clean. With a fun complex followed by some pulls. Perfect technique session, working on the barbell timing and full depth in the clean

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
Endurance #25-13

Monday Ride

A ride dedicated to group riding skills and some fitness. Coach Rob Foster leads this ride, if you'd like to join email Rob Foster.

Start time: 05:59 am

Session Length: 1.5 hour

Location: The Loop Cafe, Bike DXB

Track Tuesday

Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.

Time: 05:59 am

Session Length: 1.5 hour

Location: Dubai Sports City Sports Park

Entrance fee

Friday - Coffee Run

Our weekly tempo run.  Sessions are built on an RPE scale and accessible to all levels of runner. We start together, run hard then finish together and chat about it over a coffee and breakfast.

Brief time: 05:54 am
Start time
: 05:59 am

Start Location: Common Grounds

Saturday - Jebel Jais Ride

Today our weekly endurance ride is at Jebel Jais! If you're interested to join email us here.

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
My First Power Meter

Power meters, they’ve been around for a while and have pretty much revolutionised the way cycle training is monitored and structured. They are arguably, the most reliable form of monitoring physiological progress, providing immediate feedback during sessions and identifying strengths or weaknesses.


As cycling has become progressively more mainstream and technology has become smarter and more accessible, you’ll often find people training and racing with a power meter. Power meters enable you to ride to your specific level and accurately monitor your progress. So whether your goal is to smash ‘Jeff’ up a hill, improve your race performance or simply get faster, you will be able to get there in a more data driven and focused way.


So how do power meters affect the way we train? I thought I would use myself as an example and show you how my training progressed to the next level.


The Stone Age


So when I started cycling I was using Heart rate and RPE (rate perceived exertion) to quantify my training and efforts, I didn’t have a power meter so that’s the best I could do. But riding to HR and RPE in Northumberland is pretty difficult as there are a lot of hills and being competitive in nature I found it difficult to ‘cruise up’’ them. The measure of my progress was purely on race results and comparing times up the same hill. There are a few issues with this, mainly that I was at the mercy of confounding variables such as wind, temperature, time of day, traffic ect. Race results are reliant not only on physical prowess but race tactics and execution are a huge factor therefore attributing success to training is difficult.


Hello Power!


On getting a new job in London, my role enabled me to start training indoors and more specifically training to power. I knew all about training to power through studying applied sport science in university and continued to keep up to date with the latest science. Now I had access to it. Firstly though, I had to get used to it.


I got all my training zones from a functional threshold power test (FTP). This is a nasty little test that takes skill to execute. Initially my test data was all over the place, but I wasn’t disheartened as I knew it was just a case of learning how to execute the test for a fair reflection of my fitness. Once I had an accurate FTP result, I was able to set specific goals and targets. The quality work was predominantly done indoors using data from the power meters, but I still used HR driven training during longer, outdoor rides or with social clubs. By combining my training I was able to make sure that I found the balance between training and remembering why I ride in the first place.


How did my training change?


In a word, focus. Training to power, especially indoors, brings focus to every ride. Every training session has a purpose and I was able to check back and answer ‘Did I accomplish the objective of this session?’. Another thing power training brings is relating a wattage or output to an RPE or sensations of a ride. By putting a number to those sensations, when I took away the data, I was left with a far more reliable and relatable internal gauge of stress. Lastly is recovery, indoor and power based sessions are more intense, there isn’t ‘dead space’ or easy pedaling, this means they are far more taxing. So I started paying a lot more attention to my recovery. Stretching, nutrition and cool downs are brought into sharp focus, because if you get these things wrong, there's a risk of slipping into an overtrained mess.


How was my performance?


In terms of performance, I improved so much. My power went up as it was properly applied and stressed, my pedalling efficiency improved, my left to right balance and power distribution during pedaling evened out. Ultimately, I felt so much more in control of my progress which was shown in race results. Upon returning to old the familiar hills of Northumberland, without intending to, I would rip through my previous records with ease. In terms of time scale, we’re not talking years here, but mere months. Just a short time spent with focused power training gave significant results.


Are you tempted?


Are you interested in getting a power meter or have you just got one and don’t know where to start? My advice is give yourself a week of ‘playing’ around, firstly, ride as hard as you can for 5 minutes and see how many watts you put out. Pedal at an easy pace where you can hold a conversation and relate that to your wattage, this helps you to start associating numbers to sensations. Next do an FTP test and set some goals based on your results. Finally watch your numbers soar.


Your goal can be FTP related or simply smashing your favourite strava section. It’s important to make sure you’re working towards something. Without structure and proper application of the numbers, you’ll get to watch your fitness decline or stay the same. Power meters are great tools, if used properly. If not, you might as well take it off.


Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions, about power meters or training to power, feel free to drop me an email.

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep
My First Power Meter

Power meters, they’ve been around for a while and have pretty much revolutionised the way cycle training is monitored and structured. They are arguably, the most reliable form of monitoring physiological progress, providing immediate feedback during sessions and identifying strengths or weaknesses.


As cycling has become progressively more mainstream and technology has become smarter and more accessible, you’ll often find people training and racing with a power meter. Power meters enable you to ride to your specific level and accurately monitor your progress. So whether your goal is to smash ‘Jeff’ up a hill, improve your race performance or simply get faster, you will be able to get there in a more data driven and focused way.


So how do power meters affect the way we train? I thought I would use myself as an example and show you how my training progressed to the next level.


The Stone Age


So when I started cycling I was using Heart rate and RPE (rate perceived exertion) to quantify my training and efforts, I didn’t have a power meter so that’s the best I could do. But riding to HR and RPE in Northumberland is pretty difficult as there are a lot of hills and being competitive in nature I found it difficult to ‘cruise up’’ them. The measure of my progress was purely on race results and comparing times up the same hill. There are a few issues with this, mainly that I was at the mercy of confounding variables such as wind, temperature, time of day, traffic ect. Race results are reliant not only on physical prowess but race tactics and execution are a huge factor therefore attributing success to training is difficult.


Hello Power!


On getting a new job in London, my role enabled me to start training indoors and more specifically training to power. I knew all about training to power through studying applied sport science in university and continued to keep up to date with the latest science. Now I had access to it. Firstly though, I had to get used to it.


I got all my training zones from a functional threshold power test (FTP). This is a nasty little test that takes skill to execute. Initially my test data was all over the place, but I wasn’t disheartened as I knew it was just a case of learning how to execute the test for a fair reflection of my fitness. Once I had an accurate FTP result, I was able to set specific goals and targets. The quality work was predominantly done indoors using data from the power meters, but I still used HR driven training during longer, outdoor rides or with social clubs. By combining my training I was able to make sure that I found the balance between training and remembering why I ride in the first place.


How did my training change?


In a word, focus. Training to power, especially indoors, brings focus to every ride. Every training session has a purpose and I was able to check back and answer ‘Did I accomplish the objective of this session?’. Another thing power training brings is relating a wattage or output to an RPE or sensations of a ride. By putting a number to those sensations, when I took away the data, I was left with a far more reliable and relatable internal gauge of stress. Lastly is recovery, indoor and power based sessions are more intense, there isn’t ‘dead space’ or easy pedaling, this means they are far more taxing. So I started paying a lot more attention to my recovery. Stretching, nutrition and cool downs are brought into sharp focus, because if you get these things wrong, there's a risk of slipping into an overtrained mess.


How was my performance?


In terms of performance, I improved so much. My power went up as it was properly applied and stressed, my pedalling efficiency improved, my left to right balance and power distribution during pedaling evened out. Ultimately, I felt so much more in control of my progress which was shown in race results. Upon returning to old the familiar hills of Northumberland, without intending to, I would rip through my previous records with ease. In terms of time scale, we’re not talking years here, but mere months. Just a short time spent with focused power training gave significant results.


Are you tempted?


Are you interested in getting a power meter or have you just got one and don’t know where to start? My advice is give yourself a week of ‘playing’ around, firstly, ride as hard as you can for 5 minutes and see how many watts you put out. Pedal at an easy pace where you can hold a conversation and relate that to your wattage, this helps you to start associating numbers to sensations. Next do an FTP test and set some goals based on your results. Finally watch your numbers soar.


Your goal can be FTP related or simply smashing your favourite strava section. It’s important to make sure you’re working towards something. Without structure and proper application of the numbers, you’ll get to watch your fitness decline or stay the same. Power meters are great tools, if used properly. If not, you might as well take it off.


Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you have any questions, about power meters or training to power, feel free to drop me an email.

Introduction

Mi tincidunt elit, id quisque ligula ac diam, amet. Vel etiam suspendisse morbi eleifend faucibus eget vestibulum felis. Dictum quis montes, sit sit. Tellus aliquam enim urna, etiam. Mauris posuere vulputate arcu amet, vitae nisi, tellus tincidunt. At feugiat sapien varius id.

Eget quis mi enim, leo lacinia pharetra, semper. Eget in volutpat mollis at volutpat lectus velit, sed auctor. Porttitor fames arcu quis fusce augue enim. Quis at habitant diam at. Suscipit tristique risus, at donec. In turpis vel et quam imperdiet. Ipsum molestie aliquet sodales id est ac volutpat.

Image caption goes here

Dolor enim eu tortor urna sed duis nulla

Elit nisi in eleifend sed nisi. Pulvinar at orci, proin imperdiet commodo consectetur convallis risus. Sed condimentum enim dignissim adipiscing faucibus consequat, urna. Viverra purus et erat auctor aliquam. Risus, volutpat vulputate posuere purus sit congue convallis aliquet. Arcu id augue ut feugiat donec porttitor neque. Mauris, neque ultricies eu vestibulum, bibendum quam lorem id. Dolor lacus, eget nunc lectus in tellus, pharetra, porttitor.

If you want to swim faster on race day, it’s no secret you’ve got to swim fast in training.

Tristique odio senectus nam posuere ornare leo metus, ultricies. Blandit duis ultricies vulputate morbi feugiat cras placerat elit. Aliquam tellus lorem sed ac. Montes, sed mattis pellentesque suscipit accumsan. Cursus viverra aenean magna risus elementum faucibus molestie pellentesque. Arcu ultricies sed mauris vestibulum.

Conclusion

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.
Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

Triathlon
Swimming
Race Prep

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