The Power Meter Handbook: A User's Guide for Cyclists and Triathletes

by Joe Friel

Overview

In The Power Meter Handbook, Joe Friel offers cyclists and triathletes a simple user’s guide to using a power meter for big performance gains. In simple language, the most trusted coach in endurance sports makes understanding a power meter easy, no advanced degrees or tech savvy required.

Cyclists and triathletes will master the basics to reveal how powerful they are. Focusing on their most important data, they’ll discover hidden power, refine their pacing, and find out how many matches they can burn on any given day.

Once they understand the fundamentals, Friel will show how to apply his proven training approach to gain big performance in road races, time trials, triathlons, and century rides.

With The Power Meter Handbook, riders will:

• Precisely match their training to their race season
• Push their limits step by step
• Track fitness changes—reliably and accurately
• Peak predictably for key events
• Vastly improve training efficiency

Power meters aren’t just for the pros or racers anymore. Now The Power Meter Handbook makes it easy for any cyclist or triathlete to find new speed with cycling’s most advanced gear.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781934030950
Publisher:	VeloPress
Publication date:	09/01/2012
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	15 Years

About the Author

With a masters degree in exercise science, Joe Friel was a marathoner and running coach throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. After his first triathlon in 1983 and falling in love with the sport he began coaching multisport athletes becoming one of the first triathlon coaches in the country. The following year he opened a triathlon store in Ft. Collins, Colorado—probably the first in the world. Throughout the 1980s his race management company organized several triathlons in Colorado. He left retail and race management in 1987 to focus on coaching. The athletes he coached for over 30 years ranged from novice to high-performance amateur to professional to Olympian. In 1997, he was a founding member of the USA Triathlon Coaches Association. He served as co-chair in 1999-2000. In 2000, he attended the Sydney Olympics to assist with team preparation. The following year he was the coach of team USA for the World Triathlon Championships. Throughout the 2000s he was a frequent speaker at USAT coach seminars. He wrote 17 books on training, the most notable being The Triathlete’s Training Bible, which is now in its 5th edition and translated into 15 languages. It remains the best-selling book in the world on triathlon training. In 1999, he co-founded TrainingPeaks, online training software for endurance athletes. As an athlete he competed in hundreds of events including national and world championships, was an All-American Age Group Triathlete several times and a USAT-regional multisport champion. He stopped competing after a bike crash in 2014 restricted range of shoulder movement. He continues to present at triathlon camps and clinics for triathletes and coaches around the world. Joe currently lives and trains in the mountains of northern Arizona and is working on his 18th book—this one for coaches.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

PART I: WHY POWER MATTERS

Chapter 1: Why Use a Power Meter?

Why Power?

Why Not Heart Rate, Speed, or Feel?

Output and Input

Warning!

Chapter 2: What Is Power?

The Basics of Power

How a Power Meter Works

Getting Fitter and Faster With Power

Chapter 3: Getting Started With Your Power Meter

What's on Your Handlebars?

KiloJoules, Average Power, and Normalized Power

Power's Relationships with Time and Heart Rate

PART II: TRAINING MORE EFFECTIVELY

Chapter 4: Your Power Zones

Power Zones

FTP: Your Most Important Number

Your Personal Power Zones

Chapter 5: Riding with Intensity

How Hard Did You Ride?

How Well Did You Pace?

Burning Matches

Chapter 6: Are You Fitter and Faster?

Power and Heart Rate Compared

Power and Energy

Are You Tired?

Are You Fitter and Faster?

Chapter 7: Using Your Power Meter for High Performance

Power Training Components

Power and Periodization

Performance Management

PART III: IMPROVING COMPETITIVE PERFORMANCE

Chapter 8: Power Training for Time Trials and Triathlons

What's Important?

Preparing for Your Triathlon

Preparing for Your Time Trial

Steady-State Racing With Power

Chapter 9: Power Training for Road Racing

What's Important?

Preparing for Your Road Race

Road Racing With Power

Chapter 10: Power Training for Endurance Events

What's Important?

Preparing for Your Event

Century Rides With Power

Multi-Day Tours With Power

Chapter 11: Power Training for Mountain Bike Racing

What's Important?

Preparing for Your Mountain Bike Race

Mountain Bike Racing With Power

Appendix A: Power-Based Workouts

Appendix B: Analysis Software

Abbreviations

Glossary

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Joe Friel is arguably the most experienced personal cycling coach in the U.S., and his book The Cyclist's Training Bible has become, well... the Bible of the sport." — Bicycling magazine

"Joe Friel has spent most of his life in devotion to the understanding and teaching of sport. Joe has managed to focus on the key components to athletic success while weeding out the noise." — Justin Daerr, professional triathlete

"One of the most trusted coaches in the sport." — LAVA magazine

"I find Friel's book [The Cyclist’s Training Bible to be] a treasure of information for cyclists of all levels." — Andy Hampsten, 1988 Giro d'Italia winner, 1992 Tour de France stage winner at Alpe d'Huez

"25 years of active multisport coaching has proven that Joe Friel has an unprecedented understanding of endurance sports. As a multiple triathlon world champion, I would consider Joe as one of the leading figures in triathlon coaching today. Joe’s professional approach and practical understanding of sports physiology has helped many endurance athletes of all abilities reach their full athletic potential." — Simon Lessing, 5-time Triathlon World Champion
 
"Joe Friel’s wealth of knowledge in triathlon is astounding and he has a wonderful way of sharing that knowledge with all athletes from beginners to elite professionals." — Siri Lindley, Triathlon World Champion

"Whether you’re a beginning triathlete or a seasoned pro, Joe Friel is the leading authority on triathlon training." — Ryan Bolton, Ironman winner and 2000 U.S. Olympic team member

"Joe does the hard work for the beginning triathlete by condensing, prioritizing, and simplifying all the science and practical experience which he has mastered over decades of coaching."  — Barb Lindquist, 2004 USA Olympic Team
 

Editorial Reviews

"A simplified approach to using a power meter effectively."

Cycling Weekly

"A great introduction to using a power meter for your bike."

Boston.com

"The ridiculously, underutilized power meter finally has a handbook to help you get the full benefit. Packed full of specific, useful information, if you own a power meter, [The Power Meter Handbook] is an absolute essential piece of equipment."

TriEdge.net

"Renowned coach Joe Friel demystifies this training tool and offers 12 power-based workouts, as well as weekly training schedules for road races, time trials, triathlons, and century rides."

Bicycling magazine

"Training using a power meter can seem like a daunting undertaking, but coach and author of The Cyclist's Training Bible Joe Friel simplifies the process in his new book, The Power Meter Handbook."

Canadian Cycling magazine

"Many of us have spent thousands on sophisticated power meters, so it seems another $16.95 to make sure we're using them to their fullest potential is a no-brainer. After a few chapters to make sure you understand your power meter and what those numbers you're drooling over really mean, Friel helps you determine your individual power zones and functional threshold power. From here he helps you determine when and how to train harder, build a better base, and the crux of it all: get fitter and faster to improve overall competitive performance."

BikeRumor.com

One of the most trusted coaches in the sport.

LAVA magazine

"Renowned coach Joe Friel demystifies this training tool and offers 12 power-based workouts, as well as weekly training schedules for road races, time trials, triathlons, and century rides." — Bicycling magazine

"One of the most trusted coaches in the sport." — LAVA magazine

"A simplified approach to using a power meter effectively." — Cycling Weekly

"Joe Friel is arguably the most experienced personal cycling coach in the U.S., and his book The Cyclist's Training Bible has become, well... the Bible of the sport." — Bicycling magazine

"The ridiculously, underutilized power meter finally has a handbook to help you get the full benefit. Packed full of specific, useful information, if you own a power meter, [The Power Meter Handbook] is an absolute essential piece of equipment." — TriEdge.net

"A great introduction to using a power meter for your bike." — Boston.com

"Many of us have spent thousands on sophisticated power meters, so it seems another $16.95 to make sure we're using them to their fullest potential is a no-brainer. After a few chapters to make sure you understand your power meter and what those numbers you're drooling over really mean, Friel helps you determine your individual power zones and functional threshold power. From here he helps you determine when and how to train harder, build a better base, and the crux of it all: get fitter and faster to improve overall competitive performance." — BikeRumor.com

"Training using a power meter can seem like a daunting undertaking, but coach and author of The Cyclist's Training Bible Joe Friel simplifies the process in his new book, The Power Meter Handbook." — Canadian Cycling magazine

From the Publisher