How judiciously managing your anaerobic reserve
leads to success

The Extended Critical Power Concept

The intensive use of a power meter in cycling has led to the development of new models, new software and a lot of associated terminology. The most appealing and widely used term is undoubtedly FTP or Functional Threshold Power. For the daily training practice, this concept was a real relief but when it was equated with MaxLass, anaerobic threshold, 4 mmol and others, it showed confusion and ambiguity, not least because FTP has no real physiological meaning.

Training Stress Score is another commonly used term. This quantitative measurement gives a good picture of the external stimulus acting on the cyclists body but the physiological impact is far from clear. TSS can have a similar value despite the fact that totally different systems are activated so that the actual internal load on the body is misjudged.

Charles Dauwe D.Sc. developed a modern version of the rather "old" Critical Power Concept,
the Extended Critical Power concept ECP.
Through his enlightening approach, he had managed to transform
a rather mathematical approach into a tool with both great physiological and practical significance.
Using a series of judiciously chosen "to the limit" efforts, this model calculates new
physiological data points, load indexes and training zones
and is therefore able to better understand the true physiological impact of training and competition.

Of interest to the sprinter types is the knowledge of how fast they can deplete their anaerobic energy reserves but equally important is how intense a lead out may be to still have sufficient sprinting power for their ultimate jump.

All these elements are used in modules and allow the users to calculate their own metabolic status and set up the almost perfect training sessions.

Thanks to this concept it is also possible to calculate the dynamics of the anaerobic exhaustion and recovery - ExRec - and
consequently manage the anaerobic energy reserve.

This Exhaustion-Recovery process has now been coded into computer applications such as
Typhoon: a standalone and web based program taking its data input from recorded power files.
SuperCycle: an application that allows the dynamics of exhaustion and recovery to be displayed "live."

This new approach is a real game-changer in the wonderful world of coaching.
It allows the trainer to precisely monitor the acute response,
to estimate the chronic adaptations quite closely, to better plan the periodization
and to align the training sessions with the
necessary training load for the planned competitions.