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Do Power Meters Really Measure Power?

2K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  stevemtu 
#1 ·
I bet that got your attention didn't it? Well, its true and here's why: your nervous system will only allow you to exhibit the amount of power that your joint stability allows. So they should actually be called "stability meters."

While the cycling world, rooted deep in tradition, has yet to draw a definitive correlation between gym work and generating more power in the saddle, the only place to create joint stability and structural integrity is off the bike.

Can you cheat the system through sprint workouts, intervals, etc? Yes to an extent, but if you want to fast track laying down more power, optimize your neuromuscular coordination (the way your muscles work together to move your bones) and you will drive your power, I mean stability output, through the roof.

This is why you aren't measuring watts on a power meter, you're measuring joint integrity. Another way to look at this is by asking what an activity's perceived threat to your skeletal system? The higher the perceived threat from a lack of joint stability, muscle imbalances, etc the less power your nervous system will allow your body to produce.


"If muscle length is altered as a result of a postural misalignment, then tension development will be reduced and the muscle will be unable to generate proper force," Mike Clarke DPT, MS, PES, CES and Scott Lucett MS, PES, CES, NASM-CPT (NASM Essentials of Corrective ExerciseTraining).

The good news is that cycling is a single plane activity that is very prone to deactivating the glutes, causing the above mentioned muscular misalignment as your legs move in a fixed range of motion. And running is bad for you?

Real quick, its not. Its the way someone runs that is bad for them. Ok, off the soap box, on with the article.

Awesome, right? Not really, because if the glutes are supposed to extend the hip to drive power, and they don't function correctly, the hamstrings and hip flexors become overactive and movement compensations will take place and injuries will occur.
 
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#6 ·
I was just thinking about issues related to this spam/troll post.

I think that one of the benefits to doing strength work, whether it's in the gym with a barbell or at home, is that it keeps you strong and flexible in the right places for riding.

I have mixed feelings about strength work. For someone with a desk job like me, I feel like running and lifting helps me squeeze in fitness to my limited weekday time, so I can be a comfortable weekend warrior. I hope that once our baby starts to sleep a bit more that I'll be able to summon up some more energy for riding at night or in the early AM, but right now I feel like running and lifting are the most time effecient ways I have to burn calories and keep from expanding too quickly.
 
#7 ·
I was just thinking about issues related to this spam/troll post.

I think that one of the benefits to doing strength work, whether it's in the gym with a barbell or at home, is that it keeps you strong and flexible in the right places for riding.

I have mixed feelings about strength work. For someone with a desk job like me, I feel like running and lifting helps me squeeze in fitness to my limited weekday time, so I can be a comfortable weekend warrior. I hope that once our baby starts to sleep a bit more that I'll be able to summon up some more energy for riding at night or in the early AM, but right now I feel like running and lifting are the most time effecient ways I have to burn calories and keep from expanding too quickly.
I was previously unable to run due to pain. Since I can now run I feel that it can be a good supplementary work out. Weights not so much for me. I blow up when I lift.
 
#9 ·
There's a great website called T-Nation.com that has a ton of killer training information. Do a search for "single leg" and you will get a ton of ideas of things to do for your workouts. Endurance athletes spend all of their time generating power/strength on one leg, so its a great idea to train that. Bulgarian split squats, single leg straight leg deads, etc are awesome ways to get faster on the bike.
 
#13 ·
I bet that got your attention didn't it? Well, its true and here's why: your nervous system will only allow you to exhibit the amount of power that your joint stability allows. So they should actually be called "stability meters."

While the cycling world, rooted deep in tradition, has yet to draw a definitive correlation between gym work and generating more power in the saddle, the only place to create joint stability and structural integrity is off the bike.

Can you cheat the system through sprint workouts, intervals, etc? Yes to an extent, but if you want to fast track laying down more power, optimize your neuromuscular coordination (the way your muscles work together to move your bones) and you will drive your power, I mean stability output, through the roof.

This is why you aren't measuring watts on a power meter, you're measuring joint integrity. Another way to look at this is by asking what an activity's perceived threat to your skeletal system? The higher the perceived threat from a lack of joint stability, muscle imbalances, etc the less power your nervous system will allow your body to produce.

"If muscle length is altered as a result of a postural misalignment, then tension development will be reduced and the muscle will be unable to generate proper force," Mike Clarke DPT, MS, PES, CES and Scott Lucett MS, PES, CES, NASM-CPT (NASM Essentials of Corrective ExerciseTraining).

The good news is that cycling is a single plane activity that is very prone to deactivating the glutes, causing the above mentioned muscular misalignment as your legs move in a fixed range of motion. And running is bad for you?

Real quick, its not. Its the way someone runs that is bad for them. Ok, off the soap box, on with the article.

Awesome, right? Not really, because if the glutes are supposed to extend the hip to drive power, and they don't function correctly, the hamstrings and hip flexors become overactive and movement compensations will take place and injuries will occur.
First of all you don't know what your talking about as your confusing power and force. Also joint stability is only really important when your lifting weights. Most cyclists spin at 80-90 rpm which means having a smooth efficient spin is more important then working on your joint stabilitiy in the gym with weights where you trying not strain your muscles joints by applying to much force (newtons) for the body joint to handle.

What power meters measure is force applied through a distance (also called work done) over time.

Work=(force)*(distance)

Power= work/time

The SI units are: newton-meters/ second= Joules/second= Watts

Also see the wiki on bicycle performance:

Bicycle performance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
#17 ·
I was a lifter/bodybuilder type guy for a lot of years. Since I started racing 5 years ago I hardly do any strength for the legs. My leg mass stays great just by training/racing. Vo2 max intervals hypertrophy my legs very effectively.

When I first started racing I tried incorporating lower body strength training with training which failed big time. I now do light strength training in the off season to stay balanced.

If I wouldn't have lifted for years before cycling I don't think I'd be as powerful a cyclist. So I'm glad I had some great leg strength built up before I started; now I can maintain it.

The problem is for skinny legged guys having to cram in leg strength during the off season. It takes a long time and focus to build considerable leg strength with weights so the question is can a cyclist who's weak in leg power (not saying endurance) build up power in the off season enough to help? And would it really help? I think so it would just have to be done right.
 
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