Biking efficiency is usually evaluated based mostly on two various metrics: absolute and relative energy output. These metrics present useful insights right into a bicycle owner’s health and efficiency capabilities, however understanding when to prioritize one over the opposite might be essential for attaining success on the bike.
Relative Energy Output vs. Absolute Energy Output: What’s the Distinction
Let’s begin by clarifying the distinction between relative and absolute energy output.
Absolute Energy Output measures the whole quantity of energy a bicycle owner can produce, measured in watts. For instance, your Useful Threshold Energy (FTP) is often introduced as an absolute energy output.
Presenting your uncooked energy output for a given time displays your uncooked power and muscular capabilities, no matter physique weight. Absolute energy output is usually emphasised in disciplines reminiscent of time trials and flat terrain racing, the place sustained excessive energy outputs are required to keep up pace and overcome aerodynamic drag.
Relative Energy Output is the quantity of energy a bicycle owner can produce per unit of physique weight (measured in watts per kilogram, or W/kg). For instance, an athlete that weighs 70 kg and has an FTP of 250 W would have a relative threshold energy of three.57 Watts per kg.
Because the title suggests, relative energy output accounts for variations in physique measurement and weight between athletes, which permits cyclists to match their energy outputs on an equal footing. Relative energy output is most essential for climbing, the place minimizing physique weight whereas maximizing energy output is essential for achievement.
The Impression of Terrain
The kind of terrain encountered throughout a experience has a big affect on whether or not absolute or relative energy output is extra essential:
Hilly Terrain: In hilly or mountainous terrain, the place climbs are frequent and steep, relative energy output turns into paramount. Climbing effectivity is instantly associated to a bicycle owner’s power-to-weight ratio, as lighter riders can ascend sooner with much less energy in comparison with heavier riders. Due to this fact, cyclists who frequent hilly terrain ought to search to prioritize enhancing their relative energy output.
Flat Terrain: On flat or rolling terrain, the place sustained efforts at excessive speeds are frequent, absolute energy output takes priority. Time trials, criteriums, and flat highway races demand sustained excessive energy outputs to keep up pace and fend off opponents. Cyclists who intention to excel in these disciplines ought to give attention to rising their absolute energy output via focused interval coaching, power improvement, and aerodynamic optimizations like gear & physique positioning.
Selecting the Proper Metric
When you’re seeking to enhance your driving efficiency, the choice to prioritize absolute or relative energy output relies upon largely on the kind of driving that you just do and your particular targets. I’ve listed a number of normal tips that can assist you decide which metric to give attention to:
Prioritize Relative Energy Output If:
- You incessantly experience in hilly or mountainous terrain.
- Climbing effectivity is important to your driving targets.
- You’re aiming to excel in climbing-centric occasions reminiscent of hill climbs or mountain bike races.
Absolute Energy Output If:
- You primarily experience on flat or rolling terrain.
- Sustained high-speed efforts are frequent in your driving self-discipline.
- You’re concentrating on time trials, criteriums, or flat highway races the place sustaining pace is essential.
A Creating Area – Compound Rating
There’s nonetheless ongoing debate amongst researchers as to which metric is extra advantageous when making an attempt to research athletic efficiency. Due to this fact, Peter Leo & colleagues opted to mix each absolute & relative energy to create a ‘Compound Rating’, which they confirmed to correlate very properly with skilled biking efficiency (Leo, et al., 2022).
This new “Compound Rating” might be calculated by merely combining your absolute & relative energy output. To calculate it, you have to to know your 5 minute energy:
Compound Rating [W2/kg] = absolute energy output [W] × relative energy output [W/kg ]
For instance, an athlete that weighs 70 kgs and has a 5 min energy of 325 W would rating a compound rating of ~1508 W2/kg. Initially, this worth won’t imply a lot, however I did discover the rating charts under on the Compound Rating web site (https://compoundscore.com/), which you would possibly discover very useful.
Males’s Categorization based mostly on Compound Rating:
Girls’s Categorization based mostly on Compound Rating:
Conclusion
Relative and absolute energy output are each essential metrics for assessing biking efficiency, however their relative significance varies relying on the terrain and driving self-discipline. By understanding the influence of terrain on the importance of those metrics, cyclists could make knowledgeable selections about the place to focus their coaching efforts and obtain their driving targets extra successfully. Whether or not climbing mountains or chasing pace on the flats, choosing the proper metric will help cyclists maximize their potential and revel in larger success on the bike. That’s all for this month – keep secure, experience quick, and I’ll see you subsequent month!
References
Leo, P., Spragg, J., Wakefield, J., & Swart, J. (2022). The Compound Rating in elite highway biking. Journal of Science & Biking, [Conference Paper]
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