For my cyclists that have power meters, I like to use a combination of heart rate and power numbers for some workouts. One reason I do this is to flush out fitness data that would otherwise be hidden. Let me give you an example.

If the assignment is to ride at Zone 2 heart rate (the biological response), the athlete does that workout without regard to power output or speed. This kind of workout has its place in training and I do use it.

If the assignment is to produce Zone 2 power, the athlete completes the workout and typically comments in the feedback section. A comment might be, “Heart rate high (or low) for Zone 2 power.”  Or they might comment, “Workout went well.” In any case I do get information from this workout – and the workout has its place in my mix of workouts.

Sometimes, I use a combination of heart rate and power so the athlete can drive the highest power possible on that day, while limiting the biological cost. Below is a sample workout for an athlete with a current Zone 2 top-end wattage of 135 and top-end Zone 2 heart rate of 136. I wanted an aerobic workout  that produced the highest possible power during specific intervals.

The workout

Do a 10-minute warm-up.

The entire workout is 4 repeats of the following:

5 minutes at ~135 watts (Keeping heart rate 136 or below. If you can push higher watts than 135 for a cost of 136 heart rate – do it.)

5 minutes at 120 watts or less (Zone 1 heart rate)

End with easy spinning at Zone 1 heart rate

One of my athletes (power and heart rate data used in the sample above) recently returned from a ski trip in Switzerland. He skied for six days at an altitude of 3000 to 4000 meters. He lives at sea level. Though he was only at altitude for a week, his results for the workout I describe above showed a marked change. He was able to push wattages much greater than 135 while keeping heart rate low. Important to note, his low heart rate felt low and the effort felt easy. (Sometimes athletes note that a low heart rate feels really hard – i.e. Zone 2 heart rate feels like Zone 3.)

You can see his graph below.

(You can select the graph to make it larger.)

Did his time at altitude change his ability to push higher wattage for a low - aerobic - cost? Is this result just part of his increased fitness due to the training mix? (It’s important to note I’ve worked with this person for a few years.) Or, was this workout a performance fluke? (He was able to produce more wattage than what is normal, given this heart rate.)

The questions are reasonable and I’ll continue to monitor his performance to see if it is time to make an adjustment to training zones.

If you are a self-coached athlete, it is important to cross-reference training zone data from time to time to be sure you are getting the most benefit from the workouts. You can get some of this data from testing – but – I believe it is important to sample workout data as well.

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Detailed off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific running, cycling and more triathlonplans found here.

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Cyclists and triathletes training with power can be tempted to keep pushing the same power levels and workouts in the off-season that were normal in the race season. Aiming to keep training volumes and intensity levels the same year round can lead to burnout and injuries. Even Olympic athletes change workouts so they can be faster in the upcoming season.

You too must change your training in order to achieve new success.

One way of changing training is aiming to harvest as much power from a workout as possible, without popping over a heart rate cap. For example, if you’re using one of my off-season (base or preparation) training plans you may find one of your workouts allows a range of heart rate intensities from Zone 1 to Zone 3. One way to aim for higher power levels – while restricting heart rate – is to go ahead and aim for your Zone 3 peak race season power production during the ride and recover when heart rate reaches the pre-assigned cap. 

This kind of workout is great for indoor trainers and helps the time pass quickly. Here is one example 60-minute indoor trainer workout:

Warm-up 15 minutes at Zone1 to 2 heart rate. 

Pick a rolling course on your trainer or simulate a rolling course. Ride at roughly XXX watts (your Zone 3 power goal) until your heart rate reaches the top of Zone 3. When HR reaches the top of Zone 3, spin easy at Zone 1 watts, or less, for 2 minutes. Repeat the sequence until 35 minutes are up.

Spin easy at Zone 1 watts.

I find this kind of “gaming the system” does a few things for athletes:

• Even if you are new to using power on an indoor trainer, and you don’t have power on your outdoor bike, you can begin to figure out power zones to make winter training more interesting and fruitful.
• Once you know a power goal and a heart rate cap, you can use self-talk to relax and keep heart rate lower while aiming for high power output. This skill can, and should be, transferred to the race season. In other words, how can you keep biological costs (heart rate) low while riding fast? Play with this, and you should find you can influence the numbers. 
• The workout allows you to aim for some of the racing season’s power production without turning the session into the same workouts you’ve done for months.

With the right mix of workouts, you can make next season your best.

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   Detailed off-season plans for triathlon and cycling, along with event-specific running, cycling and more triathlon plans found here.

   Comments can be added on Facebook.

   Ironman and half-Ironman plans available on ActiveTrainer.

One of the most frustrating things for endurance athletes to deal with is a winter weather. It’s tough maintain fitness given cold and shortdays, but to get sick on top of it is maddening.

When I wrote the story on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, one thing that I learned from the research is that aerobic exercise builds the immune system, while long durations of high intensity exercise stresses the immune system.

I was never able to find what experts believe to be the threshold for how much is "too much intensity." Does 30 seconds of anaerobic work tear down the immune system? How about a minute? Is it cumulative? Does 5 minutes spread over an hour tip people over the threshold of tearing down the immune system?

In short, we don’t know for sure.

When I have an athlete that is recovering from a cold, but not quite well yet (some seven to 10 days after the onset of cold symptoms), one workout I will include is intervals right around lactate threshold power (LTP).  If you are using power now, you know your training zones based on a time trial. If you don’t have a system now, you can reference the free download intensity document and chart used in my training plans to give you a place to start.

The workout

Warm up 10 minutes at Zone 1 to 2 intensity

Beginning at the 10-minute mark, do 10 x 1 minute at the prescribed power level. Take 4 minutes of easy spinning at Zone 1 to 2 intensity between each interval. Intensity levels for each interval are:

#1 and #2 = LTP minus 25 to 20 watts

#3 and #4 = LTP minus 20 to 15 watts

#6 through #10 = LTP minus 10 watts to plus 5 watts

For example, if your LTP is 200 watts, your intervals would go as follows:

#1 and #2 = 175 to 180 watts

#3 and #4 = 180 to 185 watts

#6 through #10 = 190 to 205 watts

I’ve found that this workout helps ease the athlete backinto higher levels of work, without being exhausting. I do adjust the intervals some, depending on the individual athlete. You may have to adjust the power levels some or reduce the number of intervals, but remember the main goal is to recover from the illness to 100-percent health.

I received this question yesterday:

Q:   Hey Gale - I’m frustrated and would very much appreciate your opinion. I began working with a new coach and my coach has me focus on pace and power, rather than heart rate, which I’ve really enjoyed. I love shooting for specific speedy numbers in my workouts and as often as possible I try to exceed the numbers assigned. Here’s the dig. While I’ve been achieving good numbers, it seems I’ve been sick more in the past year than ever before. Each time I seem to make headway on gaining fitness and speed, I get sick again. My morning heart rate is elevated and I’ve noticed that my heart rate is elevated relative to the power zones my coach uses. Coach says that heart rate isn’t important in my training and the only thing I need to worry about is pace and power. What do you think? D.L.

A:    Hi D.L. ~ Sorry to read you’ve been sick a lot. Repeated illnesses can be very frustrating. I use multiple tools with my athletes to track progress and attempt to head off trouble. Achieving goal pace and power numbers on any given workout are just two of the many tools I use to monitor an athlete’s progress. Here are some thoughts:

• Your heart rate is an indicator of how your body is responding to work and recovery. When athletes are coming back from an illness, I prefer to restrict workouts by heart rate rather than power or pace. I find that aiming for pace or power zones possible when the athlete was healthy, are not possible during recovery from illness and some athletes get frustrated when “the numbers” are not giving the answers they want. Until you are 100-percent healthy, forget about power and pace. Here are some guidelines for adjusting your training plan during and after an illness.
• I have found, repeatedly, that pace and power will come around if you allow your body to heal and get healthy. Those that try to push for those higher numbers often see more setbacks. The more setbacks you have in training, the harder it is to achieve your optimal performance goals.
• Once you think you are healthy, do pay attention to how your heart rate responds to various workouts and environmental conditions. What is your “normal” (that is normal for you) morning heart rate? What is your normal heart rate for lactate threshold power or pace intervals? What is normal for a recovery day? What is normal after you’ve recovered for several days? If you see a disconnect between heart rate and pace or power, log that in your journal and take it to heart. Perhaps you need another recovery day, when the plan called for another tough workout?
• If you haven’t had a blood test recently, it might be a good idea to get one. A blood test lets you know if things are normal or out of range. Occasional retesting is a good idea so you can see if there are any trends in the numbers. Also, if you do get an illness, you can compare your normal healthy blood values to illness numbers.
• Plenty of items affect recovery. See this link for a column on how much time it takes to recover from a race. Those items not only apply to races, but really tough workouts, and blocks of tough workouts, as well.
• I think it’s a good idea to know your normal body temperature range. High, or heading towards high, body temperature can be another indicator of the need for more recovery to prevent an illness. Unfortunately I don’t have a hard number for you to aim for at this time. (i.e. “If your body temperature is up x.yz degrees, take the day off.")
• I have to assume your coach has designed your training plan to elicit specific responses from your body, in order to help you peak for your upcoming event(s). Constantly trying to “over-achieve” the numbers assigned for you may be causing you more harm than good. If you think your training zones are too low or you wonder about the purpose of a workout (restricting pace or power), talk to your coach about it. The same comments apply to workout time and/or distance. If you’re in a cycle of overachieve, illness, overachieve, illness – it’s a sign something isn’t working correctly.
• Is your life more stressful now than it was awhile back? If you haven’t told your coach about new items affecting your lifestyle, you need to.
• Closely monitor how you feel. Yes, I know there is no feel-gauge, but you can use a scale to rank how you feel on any given day and during a workout. Use any scale you please – 1 to 5, 1 to 7, 1 to 10… In any case, rank how you feel. If 1 is terrible and 10 is great, how do you feel today? Multiple days rating less than five is a warning that you’re heading for trouble.

There are more items that you can track to keep an eye on how your body is responding to the demands of training – and life.  I believe you need to monitor more than just power and pace. Only monitoring power and pace is like only looking at the speedometer of your car to determine if the car is working correctly. If you ignore the gas gauge, oil pressure gauge and other indicators on your car, you may end up broken down with a towing and repair bill that is very undesirable.

More resources:

Overtraining blog

Morning body temperature experiment