Power Meters and Nutrition
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Fueling properly on and off the bike is one of the most difficult aspects of the world of cycling. In theory it is easy, but as riders we hardly ever execute eating correctly. We eat too much, not at the right time, or even not enough. However, by using an Ergomo power meter, riders can easily overcome these obstacles.
The Bonk is possibly one of the worst feelings in cycling. Its as if someone instantly shut out the lights to the engine powering your bike, you. But why? The Bonk was not caused because the rider didn’t have the fitness or train properly for the training session or event; it is simply that he or she didn’t fuel properly. Simply put, the rider did not eat or drink enough to sustain the level of energy output for the training or race. The Ergomo Pro power meter can help riders achieve this balance because the system can show riders their total energy output in either kilojoules or kilocalories (what we most commonly refer to as calories.)
In theory riders undertaking endurance training, or rides more than an hour in length, should strive to take in from 100 to 300 calories an hour. This number will usually be significantly less than the total energy expenditure for the hour. However, it is impossible while riding to maintain a one to one ration of intake to output because the body can only absorb a certain amount of nutrition an hour. Having an Ergomo Pro power meter can benefit a rider, as the rider can see exactly how much he or she is burning, and correlate that to an amount that needs to be consumed to stave off the bonk. Every person is different, and this system will allow riders to tailor their eating perfectly. Also, this process can show if a rider is primarily a sugar burner or a fat burner.
Typically, a fat burner will be able to ride for much longer than sugar burners at endurance and tempo pace before it is necessary to take in fuel. For example a fat burner could conceivably ride for 1250 Kilocalories before needing to take in calories while a sugar burner would need to begin fueling at 750 (These are hypothetical numbers, every rider is different.)
Also, by knowing the exact number of calories burned on a ride, athletes can tailor their on and off bike eating to achieve weight loss goals as well. Athletes typically have an off bike caloric expenditure of 1250 to 2000 calories a day. This is what is known as a Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). There are many online calculators that can roughly estimate an athlete’s RMR based on their personal attributes. The RMR added to the on bike expenditure, will tell cyclists the amount of calories that they need to consume to break even. If there is a deficit in the amount of calories consumed compared to expended, then weight loss will take place and vice versa if the opposite is the case. Typically speaking, a pound is 3500 calories and if a rider has a controlled deficit of 500 calories a day, which is well within the safe weight loss range, then he or she will lose a pound a week. This is important for all of those cyclists who constantly struggle to increase their power to weight ratio safely. (The power to weight ratio is an expression of average power to the weight of a rider. For example, a professional grand tour contender can put out 6 watts per kilogram for an hour or more).
By using an Ergomo Pro power meter for nutrition in cycling, there are clear benefits to any cyclist choosing to use a power meter for such a purpose. The Ergomo system can be easily implemented to help with on the bike nutrition, off the bike nutrition, and to help facilitate weight loss and increase cyclists power to weight ratio.
