![]() ![]() Of course, with anything new, it will require some time for the user to play around and learn the subtleties, but ease of use comes quickly for even with little tech savviness. In terms of a seamless “smart training system,” it has my coaching approval. This means no fussing around with pushing a thousand buttons to find that one item you want, buried deep in some menu that you forget each time… just plug the PC8 into your lap top, click and drag, file and save! Be Smart On top of storing all historical files for review at any time, the new SRMX has many upgrades as well as tried-and-true matrices including auto FTP calculation, HR-to-Power Slope Charts, Critical Power Curve analytics, custom training zones, and mapping features. With that being said, let’s dive right in! SRMX It has a lot to offer, so much that it’s best to look at few key features on a higher level, then dive in deep on the next article. They keep evolving with the market, this time launching the new SRMX software. So, what the German company created was more than just a power meter, it was a complete SRM Training System. No other company had software to do that. ![]() SRM was one of the first to bring this type of technology to cyclists, not only with the first commercial power meter, but a cycling computer with real-time feedback and an analytical software called SRMWin to organize rider’s data. Some of the software options out there include the new SRMX, Golden Cheetah, Training Peaks WKO4, My Daily Plan, Strava’s online analytics, and a few others. Lucky for us, there are many people (far more intelligent than me) who have created software that can not only read all of these data points, but also organize them in a way that reports back to us how the ride went, what the athlete actually did, and gives insight into training thresholds, maximums, and current states of “freshness.” More exciting still: we’re getting into PREDICTIVE MODELING OF PERFORMANCE for athletes with these big data sets and history of training files. But then we have to know what to do with this data. With each pedal stroke, we get hundreds of data points, such as power, heart rate, cadence, torque, GPS location, temperature, and R/L pedal mechanics for some units. Thanks to these exciting advances, more and more people are investing their money into a power meter. We’re entering a unique period in exercise physiology where we can really start to capture, quantify, and organize big data sets, especially on a bicycle, where we can computationally reveal the trends of what all the miles, intervals, and recovery blocks are doing. But what is it? Google defines Big Data as “extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.” The inner nerd within all of us just smiled at that. The phrase “Big Data” is popular and catchy in our data-driven world. Let’s take a look at some options while keeping the big picture, as well as your budget, in mind. With many power meters and data monitoring devices on the market these days, it’s hard to sift through all the options to know what is best. Now, before we dive into the nerdy coach talk, please know that my whole aim for this writing is to educate you, the reader, then get a working game plan so you are equipped to optimally prepare to reach your goals. Over the next few paragraphs, I’ll shed some light on why it’s ideal to use a power meter on more, or all, of your bikes if you’re looking to gain that cutting edge. Don’t get me wrong: we can get people fit and coach world champions without power meters, but as technology improves and more cost-effective power meters come to market, there are compelling reasons to capture as much data as possible. But you should know that capturing this data can lead to great insights about you, as an athlete. This is particularly cemented in the road cycling culture however, I often get questions such as “Do I really need a power meter on my mountain bike?” or “Won’t the heart rate monitor let me know about where I’m while racing on the cross bike?” Much of this comes down to budget, I get it. It’s well established that training and racing with a power meter is the best way to monitor exercise intensity, training load, performance, and other matrices. Well what are you supposed to do with all that data? And is it all valuable to look at? My quick answers are: capture it, and yes look at it. Many of us who ride, race, and train are fortunate to use multiple bikes for these events and we create an obscene amount of data over a year of riding, let alone a lifetime. Mountain bikers are coming back from World Cups, roadies are tuning up for nationals, and others pumping out fondos or grinding gravel on the weekends.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |