Good morning fellow FasCats -
Coach @Isaiah has a new video training tip describing how you can use your power data to help determine the right training approach for yourself. Have a watch and you may discuss/ask questions here:
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for this. This is pure gold. Exactly what I needed to hear. I do have a couple of questions regarding training data. I’ve used my PMC to gauge my overall fitness but wonder if I have been filling it with erroneous data. I’ve always done my ftp test indoors capturing my data with the smart trainer’s onboard power meter. Reason being is that I perform 99% of interval workouts indoors. However, on the weekends I get out for longer rides and use the power meter on the bike. I was thinking my bike’s power meter shows a bit more power than the smart trainer indoors. If that’s the case given how TSS is calculated could I make the assumption that my outdoor rides have a higher NP and over inflate my TSS number leading to a higher CTL?
I used to think that my PMC was only the result of cycling data with my power meter however since I started strength training with an hr strap and noticed that my CTL does goes up a point after these workouts. I guess it is calculating based off hrTSS? So is this something that shouldn’t be included in my PMC? I also input data from my MTB (no power meter) which again calculates off hrTSS. Even though this isn’t the gold standard which is probably the same power meter on all the bikes I feel it does serve a purpose by measuring fatigue. Which leads me to another question- what if I measured how I feel and overall fitness with a Whoop band instead of using ATL? Would this be more accurate than a PMC given the fact that I could wear it all the time and it would take into account all activities?
thanks,
Duane
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@howellduane you are quite welcome!
It is pretty common to have one power source read differently from another (including trainers). What I would advise is recording and uploading both devises and then comparing the percentages across a few workouts. This will give you a pretty accurate baseline to work from. It’s also common to be able to achieve higher power and TSS outside then inside relative to perceived exertion. So with all that said, no I do not believe it is inaccurately inflating your TSS.
The PMC chart can be configured to only display particular activities (so you can set it to just bike). Since you mountain bike I would set your PMC to display both bike and mountain bike to get the most relevant numbers for you. HRTSS is still a good metric to work with. I would keep away from using the whoop band over ATL. While the whoop band does record full day strain, it is still lacking a tad in its ability to be as accurate as a power meter and even a chest strap at detecting high end training stress.
Optimally you can use both tools in conjunction. So PMC to track progress and then whoop to keep an eye on recovery/how other things in life are adding up.
Lots there but I hope that helps!
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