Metric Chasing Training

In the last blog post I wrote about whether there were any metrics worth chasing in lieu of racing, and what training could be done to bolster those metrics.

To recap, there are a variety of metrics that help you become a better cyclist or triathlete, whether you race, just want to be faster, or like beating your mates on your local roads. These metrics are:
The Power Duration Curve (PDC) -  your maximal power at all durations you’ve ridden
Sprint Power - your best power over 5 seconds
Work above FTP (FRC/W’) - your anaerobic energy reserve, and measured as work, rather than power output
Maximal Aerobic Power (MAP) - your best 60-second power in a controlled ramp test
Time to Exhaustion (TTE) - the maximal duration you can sustain your FTP for
And, of course your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) - which is the maximal power you can sustain for a long time (around 40 to 70-minutes)

Each rider will have different strengths and weaknesses, which means that they can be really good at one or more of these metrics but could also be weak in some. For example, I’m terrible at sprint power, but my FTP and TTE are quite good.

What Training Can You Do?
It’s worth noting that most of these metrics can be improved with the correct training that targets them. However, in some cases, it may be that doing certain types of training to improve one aspect of your physiology may have a detrimental effect on another aspect.
As I mentioned above, I’m a terrible sprinter; I have very low peak power. One year I concentrated on my sprint and trying to improve it, because it’s obviously important for road racing, which is what I usually compete in. I put in substantial amounts of sprint training, which increased my power. However, to do that sprint training meant I couldn’t do much training in other areas that I needed to, and so my more endurancey aspects dropped off (significantly). In essence, it just made me a worse road racer.
With that in mind let’s look at some training sessions that will improve these metrics.

PDC - This covers all aspects of your performance ability from 1 second up to whatever your longest sessions are, whether that’s 3 hours or 24 hours. Training to improve this is dependent upon how long you ride for and a variety of other factors which are beyond the scope of this blog. We’ll come back to this in another blog.
Sprint Power – This can be increased with all-out sprints over a short period of time from 5 to 15 seconds. I’d suggest doing 3 to 6 maximal sprints effort from a rolling start of about 25 kph (15mph). Using a moderate size gear (e.g. 53 x 16) jump out of the saddle and give it some brute force, while trying to increase cadence. After around 5 seconds sit back down and try to maintain your power and speed over the remaining duration of the sprint. Take 10 minutes between the sprints where you roll around easy.
FRC/W’ - This is where you want to put in some ‘full-gas’ efforts over about 60 seconds. In training there’s no need to go to your absolute maximum (as you’ll be unlikely to repeat the effort). You’re better off doing a repeated maximal effort of 45 to 60 seconds at about 90% of your best effort, taking about 5 to 10 minutes between efforts, so that you’re fully rested. Complete 1 or 2 sets of 3 x 45 seconds.
MAP – This can be a difficult area to increase power, as essentially you’re working on your VO2max. Intervals of 3 to 5 minutes duration at about 80% of MAP with an equal rest duration. Start with about 3 intervals once or twice a week and add more intervals as you get used to them.
TTE – This is built by riding for long periods at below FTP, this can be quality endurance work through to moderately intensive endurance of about 90% of FTP for 20 through to 180 minutes, completing 1 or 2 sessions per week. These long sessions are very demanding though.
FTP – This will likely increase as you work on FRC, MAP and TTE, but can be explicitly worked on with efforts of 5 minutes through to an hour at 95% and up of FTP, which can be repeated 1 to many times in a session and repeated up to a maximum of 3 times per week.

If you follow some or all of these sessions (please, not in a single week!) you should be able to increase your all-round performance and become better at cycling. Let me know how you get on.

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