Using your power data to find the right training approach for you
Isaiah Newkirk
Hello everyone, my name is Isaiah Newkirk and I am a coach here with FasCat coaching. Welcome to the first video of our training video series. These videos are to showcase high level coaching strategies and how you can use these to benefit your own training.
With the 2021 season pretty much here it's the time of year where athletes are coming to us with the big question of “what training approach is right for me?”
While there are plenty of great training plans to guide you out there, including the ones we offer. It's hard to know exactly which one to choose and how to piece them together correctly to set you up for your season. What I’m about to go through, will help you make sure that you have the right training approach for you by using your past data. This is also a great tool for coaches and self coached athletes alike. This is something that I use with each and everyone one of my athletes.
Before we get started I want to make one point. A good coach will always be learning about how particular training stress can either work or not work for individual athletes. I like to think of all my athletes as puzzles, and the goal is to help find the best training approach for both their goals and their athlete makeup, or their strengths or weaknesses.
You might try one approach and then need to pivot to try another, so don’t be afraid to keep a watchful eye on your data and be open to new training stressors and switching gears. There is not always one answer to a problem but data gives us a pretty high level place to start.
WKO is a very good platform to find these data points, but as most athletes use TrainingPeaks I am going to stick to that platform in these examples.
To find the right approach we will go through three key steps.
Learning your schedule and training Volume
Learning who you are as an athlete through
Peak Metrics in two charts
And learning the Demands of your goals
From these three steps the plan comes into play by filling in the holes and allowing you to know what training will be effective and to the point.
There is one key thing to do before diving in. When an athlete comes to me I spend a few hours sorting through data and making sure the data is clean. What I mean by that is removing power spikes and or bad files. So for example, recently an athlete of mine had their power meter go crazy and they set a new FTP of 800watts. This will obviously skew your data in a non accurate way, so you should remove these bad files or clean them up.
Next let's start figuring out who you are as an athlete and get into the three steps.
First volume, look back over the last year to see what your average duration was. This gives us insight into how much time you were able to devote to training. A simple spot to pull this from is in TrainingPeaks in the dashboard “duration by week” chart. Set it to bike and the last period of time you spent building for your event. This will show you your average duration. Now ask yourself if you have more time to give in your current schedule. Be honest with yourself because a one hour ride is more often than not more like a two hour ride all said and done. From this, you can pull what your average training time can be, and should be, in order to make gains on the previous year. The importance of knowing average training time is not because volume is everything, it's for making the best use of the time you do have. For example, if you are an athlete that is training for a 100mile gravel race that will take you 8 hours to complete and you only have 8 hours a week to train, this means you have to get creative with your training as you start to boost out your simulation rides for that event. It’s not impossible, but it means using your training time correctly.
Now we know what volume you have to work with. Let's find what areas you need to focus on. In order to do this we need to get to know who you are as an athlete (so what your strengths and weaknesses are) and then compare that to what your goals are.
First write down your A races or goals, once you have those listed out. Find out what the demands are of those events. If you have done the event in the past then go back through that file and pull out the “key moments” in the race. Look for the biggest demand and biggest sections of raw power. So if your main event is the Leadville mountain bike race, the key demands to pull out are the key climbs, the fact that it's over a long duration, and it’s at altitude. But if it's a criterium it could be that you need to hit 900watts 30 times in a 1 hour duration.
LT100Mountain bike race Criterium example
If you have not done the event, then do some digging. With technology nowadays you can find a past athletes activity of a race on Strava, review what rough power they had to do and or look for photo’s/ask athletes who have done the event for intel into what conditions are like. All of these will give you what demands you need to prep yourself for. Finding these is key to success on race day.
Strava for race information Next is step two, Learning who you are as an athlete through Peak metrics in two charts. We learn this by piecing together what is known as your power curve. The first graph is the "Power Profile" chart. There’s a lot here, and ignore where your eye naturally wants to go- the ranking chart on the left. There are better uses of this chart. What this chart does for us is give us basic data points to look at with w/kg included. So if you are an athlete that doesn’t produce high power, but let's say for example your 5min w/kg is pretty good, then this graph will pinpoint that and tell us that this is something that you can use to your advantage and label as a strength.
Power Profile ChartThe second chart is the "Peak Power" chart. This chart I use as a glimpse into the athlete at their best, strictly from a data point of view. By looking at this we can see what your peaks are on a really large scale. So 1second all the way up to three hours and beyond if you want. You can also compare this chart to custom time selections to compare year to year.
Peak Power Chart So after all of this you have in front of you, the time you have to train, the demands of your event or your goal, and your power profile viewed from several lenses through the two charts. Now you are looking for holes in your training by comparing everything and from that can create a plan forward. This is when the puzzle part comes into play. Your volume gives you how much time you have to work with. Who you are as an athlete and your peak metrics tells you your strengths and weaknesses. And the Demands of your goals tells you if you need to continue to work on those strengths or work on the weaknesses. This sounds simple but really dig deep into those three steps and I bet some small things will start to jump out that you need to work on. While I can’t tell you exactly what will work for you, here are a few examples of my athletes that I went through this process with. We will call them athlete 1, 2, and 3.
Athlete 1 : was focusing on time trials but was missing sustained power that matched the power they were looking to compete with. They had been doing regular 10-20min climbs but with the state TT as a goal it was simple to see in their power curve that they were missing these efforts and it would take work to really build that out. So we started by slowly working on control in TT position and pushing out their long range power. Athlete 2 : started working with me recently and he is training for a 1400km A event. Now this is a great example of where his available training volume and long range power profile gave me huge insight in his plan of action. He was actually missing 3-5 hour rides and instead up to that point had either been doing 14 hour rides OR 1-2 hour rides. For him it’s important to focus on consistency in the middle range and be able to make the most of it by staying on the pedals so that his training time transfers really well out to ultra events.
Athlete 3 : A professional road racer, she was a threshold monster and crushed TT’s. But the problem is that racing professionally on the road she needed to boost her top end to make the break aways and win races at the top level. Both her Peak Power chart and power profile very clearly showed that she had spent most of her time working on her strengths but was missing the required pop she needed to win. This took a pretty drastic training change but it paid off big time after a couple of months of changing focus.
So, let's recap Find your volume to know how much time you have to work with. Figure out who you are as an athlete through your peak metrics to know your strengths and weaknesses. And find the Demands of your goals to know if you need to continue to boost out strengths or work on weaknesses. After you know what holes you need to fill, or what demands you need to focus on, then you can put together the right training approach for you.
Thanks for watching everyone. Let us know what you think in the comments below but I hope this helps you achieve your goals this year. See you next time.
Copyright © 2021 FasCat Coaching - all rights reserved.
Join our *FREE* Athlete Forum to nerd out with FasCat coaches and athletes about your FTP, race data, power based training, or anything related to going fast on the bike! To talk with Coach Isaiah about your power data please fill out a New Athlete Questionnaire to set up a complimentary coaching consultation.The Relationship Podcast
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Triple Bypass
- Features Sweet Spot, Tempo & Threshold Intervals to prepare you for the long sustained climbs!
- Group Rides & Simulation Rides on the Weekend
- Includes a Taper into the Race + Leg Openers

100 Mile Mountain Bike Race

16 Weeks Of Sweet Spot
- Builds a Big Aerobic Base
- Complete 4 month Training Plan with 3 Power Tests
- new Professional Level with 18 - 26 hours / week

24 Week Off-Season Cyclocross Training
- Off-season cyclocross plan is a combination of weight lifting and sweet spot base
- 24-week plan is perfect to begin in January-March to prepare for the Spring/Summer season

30 Week Weights + Sweet Spot Base
- Increase power and endurance
- Combines Weight Lifting then Sweet Spot Base Training

40k Time Trial
- 12 wks of TT specific threshold intervals
- Raise your threshold power output with VO2's
- Includes, Course Recons, a Taper into the Race + Leg Openers!

At Home Weight Lifting Plan: 10 Weeks (new for 2024)
- Increase your Power Output in 10 weeks
- This program is modified from our tried 'n true 10 week weight lifting plan

Boulder Roubaix

Breck Epic Sweet Spot Training Plan

Climbing Intervals
- This plan will put you on the start line prepared to crush some massive climbs!
- Tempo, SS & Threshold intervals during the week + group rides and/or harder efforts on the weekend

Crusher in the Tushar
- Prepares you to CRUSH the Tushar Crusher this upcoming July
- Includes Sweet Spot, Threshold, VO2 work, and Simulation Rides

CX Race & Recover: In-Season
- Perfect for putting your speed & skills to the test
- Keeps your 'cross skills sharp so you are ready to race and balances recovery so you can continue to perform well

Cyclocross Intervals
- Suitable for the cyclocross athlete that wants to get ready to race
- Includes a taper and leg openers to prepare you for your first race of the season

Cyclocross Summer Sweet Spot
- Perfect for the CX athlete that likes to plan ahead and build a solid base
- Includes structured Sweet Spot intervals + skill work so no watts are left on the table!

Foundation : 3 Weeks
- Perfect for all cyclists beginning off season training
- Raise your CTL and the all-important muscle tension intervals

Gran Fondo Plan
- For the rider that has loftier goals than just finishing
- Includes longer rides and cycling specific nutrition guidance

Gravel In-Season

Gravel Training Plan

Haute Route

Iceman Cometh
- Start this six week plan Sept 25th
- XC MTB specific training for the IceMan

Indoor / Outdoor for Zwift & Smart Trainers
- Perfect for winter indoors
- Sweet Spot, Tempo intervals, Threshold Intervals

Indoor Cycling
- Indoor cycling training plan has advanced aerobic endurance
- Workouts are geared towards you riding indoors on the trainer

Intervals for Cross Country MTB
- 6-week cross-country interval training plan
- Endurance mountain bike hammer rides, VO2's, threshold, diabolical tabatas, and race starts to prepare you to crush your goal race!

Intervals for Time Trials
- 6-week Intervals for Time Trials training plan
- Use your training zones to ride just hard enough to get faster & stronger

Leadville 100 MTB
- Leadville 100 MTB Training Plan, starts Monday July 1st for the August 10, 2024 race
- Preps you for the grueling alpine climbs in Leadville
- Include simulation rides and nutrition guidance

Phil Gaimon's FONDO
- Complete similar workouts to what Phil does to prepare for all his KOM's
- Sweet Spot training, threshold intervals, and some anaerobic work

Phil Gaimon's Strava PR Plan
- Perfect Plan for Those with Less Training Time, starts at 15 minutes per day
- VO2's, 1 minuters, Tabatas, threshold, suprathreshold, and even Sweet Spot

Road & Crit Intervals
- Get race ready for the road season with our Intervals
- Includes VO2's, anaerobic intervals, diabolical tabatas

Road Race In-Season
- Weekend racing and group rides with weekday training and recovery
- anaerobic efforts like criss cross, Over/Unders Sweet Spot, Threshold

Road Racing Intervals
- Increase your functional and race-specific power output
- Includes Sweet Spot, VO2, Anaerobic, Threshold

Six Weeks Till Cyclocross
- This plan begins before the season starts so you have time to get faster
- Rock this plan and move onto the Cyclocross Intervals plan before the season starts

Six Weeks to Peak for CX Nationals
- Raises your CTL to peak for Cyclocross Nationals
- Strategically timed training block around Thanksgiving
- Includes an age-based taper

Stage Race Intervals
- Incorporates training races along with the weekend group rides
- For stage racers combines plenty of threshold work in the aero position

Steamboat Gravel

Sweet Spot + Resistance Training
- 16 Weeks of training perfect for building your aerobic base in the off season
- Four Phases of resistance training with neuromuscular sprint work
- Combines our 10 weeks of weight & Sweet Spot Part 2

Sweet Spot Marathon MTB Plan
- This plan gets you ready to climb a ride a 50-100-mile event
- This Plan was featured in Outside Magazine, click view details to learn what they had to say!

Sweet Spot Part 1 for the Triathlete
- Increase aerobic fitness and power output
- Perfect starting point for the foundation of your training

Sweet Spot Part 1: Build Your Base
- Begin to Build Your Base
- Increase FTP by 5 - 20% !
- Home of Sweet Spot training

Sweet Spot Part 2: Boost Your Base
- Boost Your Base
- Increase aerobic fitness and power output
- Perfect continuation from Sweet Spot part 1

Sweet Spot Part 3: Base to Race
- The transition from base to race
- Increase aerobic fitness and power output
- Perfect continuation from Sweet Spot part 2

Sweet Spot Part 4: Fresh and Fast
- ideal for summer training
- Increases FTP & Improves Endurance
- Balance of Sweet Spot and VO2 Max work

Triple Bypass
- Features Sweet Spot, Tempo & Threshold Intervals to prepare you for the long sustained climbs!
- Group Rides & Simulation Rides on the Weekend
- Includes a Taper into the Race + Leg Openers

100 Mile Mountain Bike Race

16 Weeks Of Sweet Spot
- Builds a Big Aerobic Base
- Complete 4 month Training Plan with 3 Power Tests
- new Professional Level with 18 - 26 hours / week

24 Week Off-Season Cyclocross Training
- Off-season cyclocross plan is a combination of weight lifting and sweet spot base
- 24-week plan is perfect to begin in January-March to prepare for the Spring/Summer season

30 Week Weights + Sweet Spot Base
- Increase power and endurance
- Combines Weight Lifting then Sweet Spot Base Training

40k Time Trial
- 12 wks of TT specific threshold intervals
- Raise your threshold power output with VO2's
- Includes, Course Recons, a Taper into the Race + Leg Openers!

At Home Weight Lifting Plan: 10 Weeks (new for 2024)
- Increase your Power Output in 10 weeks
- This program is modified from our tried 'n true 10 week weight lifting plan

Boulder Roubaix

Breck Epic Sweet Spot Training Plan

Climbing Intervals
- This plan will put you on the start line prepared to crush some massive climbs!
- Tempo, SS & Threshold intervals during the week + group rides and/or harder efforts on the weekend

Crusher in the Tushar
- Prepares you to CRUSH the Tushar Crusher this upcoming July
- Includes Sweet Spot, Threshold, VO2 work, and Simulation Rides

CX Race & Recover: In-Season
- Perfect for putting your speed & skills to the test
- Keeps your 'cross skills sharp so you are ready to race and balances recovery so you can continue to perform well

Cyclocross Intervals
- Suitable for the cyclocross athlete that wants to get ready to race
- Includes a taper and leg openers to prepare you for your first race of the season

Cyclocross Summer Sweet Spot
- Perfect for the CX athlete that likes to plan ahead and build a solid base
- Includes structured Sweet Spot intervals + skill work so no watts are left on the table!

Foundation : 3 Weeks
- Perfect for all cyclists beginning off season training
- Raise your CTL and the all-important muscle tension intervals

Gran Fondo Plan
- For the rider that has loftier goals than just finishing
- Includes longer rides and cycling specific nutrition guidance

Gravel In-Season

Gravel Training Plan

Haute Route

Iceman Cometh
- Start this six week plan Sept 25th
- XC MTB specific training for the IceMan

Indoor / Outdoor for Zwift & Smart Trainers
- Perfect for winter indoors
- Sweet Spot, Tempo intervals, Threshold Intervals

Indoor Cycling
- Indoor cycling training plan has advanced aerobic endurance
- Workouts are geared towards you riding indoors on the trainer

Intervals for Cross Country MTB
- 6-week cross-country interval training plan
- Endurance mountain bike hammer rides, VO2's, threshold, diabolical tabatas, and race starts to prepare you to crush your goal race!

Intervals for Time Trials
- 6-week Intervals for Time Trials training plan
- Use your training zones to ride just hard enough to get faster & stronger

Leadville 100 MTB
- Leadville 100 MTB Training Plan, starts Monday July 1st for the August 10, 2024 race
- Preps you for the grueling alpine climbs in Leadville
- Include simulation rides and nutrition guidance

Phil Gaimon's FONDO
- Complete similar workouts to what Phil does to prepare for all his KOM's
- Sweet Spot training, threshold intervals, and some anaerobic work

Phil Gaimon's Strava PR Plan
- Perfect Plan for Those with Less Training Time, starts at 15 minutes per day
- VO2's, 1 minuters, Tabatas, threshold, suprathreshold, and even Sweet Spot

Road & Crit Intervals
- Get race ready for the road season with our Intervals
- Includes VO2's, anaerobic intervals, diabolical tabatas

Road Race In-Season
- Weekend racing and group rides with weekday training and recovery
- anaerobic efforts like criss cross, Over/Unders Sweet Spot, Threshold

Road Racing Intervals
- Increase your functional and race-specific power output
- Includes Sweet Spot, VO2, Anaerobic, Threshold

Six Weeks Till Cyclocross
- This plan begins before the season starts so you have time to get faster
- Rock this plan and move onto the Cyclocross Intervals plan before the season starts

Six Weeks to Peak for CX Nationals
- Raises your CTL to peak for Cyclocross Nationals
- Strategically timed training block around Thanksgiving
- Includes an age-based taper

Stage Race Intervals
- Incorporates training races along with the weekend group rides
- For stage racers combines plenty of threshold work in the aero position

Steamboat Gravel

Sweet Spot + Resistance Training
- 16 Weeks of training perfect for building your aerobic base in the off season
- Four Phases of resistance training with neuromuscular sprint work
- Combines our 10 weeks of weight & Sweet Spot Part 2

Sweet Spot Marathon MTB Plan
- This plan gets you ready to climb a ride a 50-100-mile event
- This Plan was featured in Outside Magazine, click view details to learn what they had to say!

Sweet Spot Part 1 for the Triathlete
- Increase aerobic fitness and power output
- Perfect starting point for the foundation of your training

Sweet Spot Part 1: Build Your Base
- Begin to Build Your Base
- Increase FTP by 5 - 20% !
- Home of Sweet Spot training

Sweet Spot Part 2: Boost Your Base
- Boost Your Base
- Increase aerobic fitness and power output
- Perfect continuation from Sweet Spot part 1

Sweet Spot Part 3: Base to Race
- The transition from base to race
- Increase aerobic fitness and power output
- Perfect continuation from Sweet Spot part 2

Sweet Spot Part 4: Fresh and Fast
- ideal for summer training
- Increases FTP & Improves Endurance
- Balance of Sweet Spot and VO2 Max work

Triple Bypass
- Features Sweet Spot, Tempo & Threshold Intervals to prepare you for the long sustained climbs!
- Group Rides & Simulation Rides on the Weekend
- Includes a Taper into the Race + Leg Openers