Danielle Foster is one of our CycleOps Master Training Specialists. She is also the CycleOps Power Cycling Coordinator at The Natatorium training facility, one of the first fitness clubs in the nation to carry a full fleet of power-measuring CycleOps Club 300PT Indoor Cycles. Read on to hear how training with power is transforming her students...
Power, for the past three years, it has been invisible to us. We’ve always been creating it, but we were never able to see it, let alone measure it!
Our facility was savvy enough to realize the value in training with power. We knew it would take our IDC (indoor cycling) classes to a whole new level. We invested in the bikes hoping the ability to measure so many factors (actual work done, heart rate response, cadence and exact caloric expenditure) would enhance our riders’ ability to see fitness progression.
We are only one week in with our CycleOps 300PTs. Club members love the way they look, love the way they feel, but what’s a WATT? What’s a KJ? As instructors, we have been telling them, “as soon as you put force on the pedals and turn them, you produce energy, watts. You’ve always created that power every time you’ve ridden, you just couldn’t see it!”
As far as KJ’s (kilojoules) go, many riders had their heart rate monitors estimating their caloric expenditure. And it was just that--an estimate. They now understand that how many watts they produce and sustain relates directly to the number of KJ’s they put out.
In seven days they have realized sustained work and efficient strokes produce steady power, and for many of our indoor-only riders, that boils down to MORE KJ’s! We talk about how it takes 50 KJ’s to burn off one Oreo Cookie. Now that our riders can SEE the mechanical energy it took to turn the pedals to equal an Oreo, they are thinking twice about what they put in their mouth.
The electronic boards on the treadmills and ellipticals have been giving them exaggerated estimates for years on calories out. Those formulas are antiquated and based on male coalminers. This is the first piece of equipment that gives them quantifiable data to see TRUE CALORIES OUT, so we can work on balancing that energy in-energy out equation so many people struggle with.
Our IDC classes had always followed the principles of training. They were based on all we had- heart rate and RPE. Nothing was measured, it was monitored. Many of the riders had the ability to MONITOR their bodies response to exercise via the heart rate monitor. Other riders relied soley on feel ( I know my body, I don’t need a monitor) to determine whether they were aerobic or anaerobic. But what kind of work were they doing, what was the stimulus, the load?
Our instructors have been using the comparison of when we’re in the weight room. We can SEE the 50lbs. stamped on the side of the weight loaded up on the squat bar. Would you squat without knowing the weight you are lifting? No! How would you know how to get stronger if you don’t know the load you’re starting with? We know we’re progressing and getting stronger as that initial load gets easier… So let’s up the weight!
It’s the same on a bike with a Power Tap. The riders realize, ‘wow, I’m creating the same watts I did last week, but at a lower heart rate, and it feels easier!’ They get it! In one week, our members who are a mixture of outdoor cyclists and IDC enthusiasts have embraced training with power. They’re downloading data and discussing graphs! It’s in your face, quantifiable data. They appreciate the fact that they can now be much more efficient with the time they have to exercise. There is no grey area.
Was there a learning curve? Yes. Is it rocket science? No. We’ve always created power, that elusive, invisible value-but now our riders are naming their ‘imaginary little guy’ on their console who never blinks, and tells them EVERY SECOND how much work they’re doing.
Has this changed our classes? Yes, by adding more meaning. Riders understand that every stroke, every minute is measured, is valuable. They know they can always be better. Heart rate has a range, everyone has a genetically set maximum, and RPE is subjective, but power is infinite. We can always get stronger, more efficient.
I can only imagine what this will do to increase the fitness level of our riders. I think about how lucky they are to be in on the beginning of this indoor cycling revolution-they are in the fore-front. I’ll be checking in with their progress in the future. Power On!!!
Danielle Foster
CycleOps Master Training Specialist/ Saris Cycling Group
CycleOps Power Cycling Coordinator-The Natatorium
Nordic Walking Master Trainer
ACE Faculty
Fitness Blueprint-VO2MAX Testing