From Heart Rate to Watts: What I Learned Instructing Spin at the Velodrome

By Magne • Training & Data

This past season, my local cycling club made a significant upgrade. We moved our Thursday night spin classes from the old clubhouse to the Velodrome in Sola. Aside from the inspiring location, this move introduced a game-changer: Stages bikes equipped with power meters.

For many of the participants—a group primarily aged 40 to 65—this was their first real introduction to training with power.

The Experiment: Introducing Structure

In the beginning, we kept it simple. We ran intervals based on "feel" or Heart Rate, just like the old days. But with the new hardware available, I decided to shift the focus during the off-season.

We introduced a structured protocol: FTP (Functional Threshold Power) tests every 6 weeks.

The goal was to give participants a concrete metric for their capacity, moving beyond the often-variable nature of Heart Rate. We completed two full 6-week cycles leading up to Christmas. The results were not just good; they were startling.

The Results: Massive Gains on Low Volume

The winter "off-season" typically means lower training volume for most of these riders compared to the summer months. Conventional wisdom says you maintain fitness in winter and build in spring.

However, after the first 6-week block of intensity-controlled intervals, every single participant increased their FTP.

We repeated the test after the second cycle, just before Christmas. Again, everyone improved.

            The Outlier: One participant started the fall with an FTP of 270W. By Christmas, he tested at 340W. While he trained significantly more volume than the rest of the class, the structured intensity acted as a massive multiplier for his effort.
        

But even those with limited training time saw consistent gains. This confirmed a critical lesson: Intensity control is far more important than I previously thought.

Reflection: The "Blind" Years

I have trained with power myself for years, but my personal gains have often been marginal compared to what I witnessed with this group. Looking back, I realize I’ve often fallen into the trap of doing "hard intervals" without precise control—riding too hard on easy days or not hard enough on hard days.

Seeing a group of masters cyclists (40-65) make such rapid progress simply by calibrating their intensity was an eye-opener.

When I was an active cyclist trying to go pro, we didn't have power meters. We trained by heart rate, speed, and stubbornness. Seeing the data now, I can only imagine the advantage today's young talent has. Being able to prescribe exact wattage for structured FTP training during a rider's prime years is a tool we could only dream of.

For now, I'm just happy to see the "Thursday Night Crew" pushing numbers that would make riders half their age jealous.