Sunday, September 22, 2013

Power Profile Test

I did the Power Profile test today with my new power meter. The goal of the test is to determine your strengths and weaknesses. The test is conducted by doing intervals over 15 seconds, 1 minute, and 5 minute intervals, as well as my functional threshold results.



The results of the power profile test shed insight on whether you're an: a) all rounder, b) sprinter, c) time-trialist, climber or steady-state rider, or d) pursuiter. I was under no illusion; I am definitely not a, b, or d.  



Before I looked at my results on the chart above, I was pretty happy with my power output today: 821 watts for 5 seconds, 465 watts for 1 minute, 320 watts for 5 minutes and 248 watts for my 20 minute FTP. All wattage is divided by weight to calculate watts/kg.

I look pretty weak on the chart above (my results are the red boxes). Apparently my 5 second power is equal to the untrained! Even my 1 minute is poor. Only my 5 minute power saved me today, landing me square in Cat-3 territory. 

I'll be doing these tests again in a month or so. I know I can do much better than this. Its only September, this week is my first week of speed work in 6 months, and the race season doesn't start for a few months. So, I have plenty of room for improvement. 

1 comment:

  1. As you may find, like me, [my race results bear out that] I cannot TT, and flat courses offer me no advantage. Hilly road races with an uphill finish are the only place I excel. In those races, being really fit, and having 6% body fat are rewarded. Hence my hero is Chris Horner.

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