Best Buy: Power Meter or Heart Rate Monitor?

You bought a new bike and now you're ready to blaze the cycling world. You've bought all the necessary bike clothing, shoes, helmet and other biking accessories.

The next question is what other accessories can you buy that will enable you to gauge your fitness level and how you are progressing in developing speed and endurance?

Two that are available are a heart rate monitor and a power meter. Which one should you buy? Some will agree that a power meter would be the best way to start out. Others will feel that a heart rate monitor should be the first choice.

There are a lot of articles out there and posts through different blogs that explain the differences between the two. There are very in-depth studies performed by researchers who explain the details of both. There are some differences of opinions as to which one to use, but here is an overview of both.

More: 11 Reasons to Buy a Power Meter

Heart Rate Monitor

One option for a beginner cyclist is to start out with a heart-rate monitor first. Most HRM training programs are broken down into different training zones.

Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of heart rate training.

Advantages

• Helps a beginner cyclist get a feel for his own body's adaptation for different levels of intensity.
• Helps you not over exert yourself. One example would be in a time trial where you may want to save some energy for the end.
• Training in different heart rate zones will help you from overtraining.
• Personal programs can be designed. An example would be determining race efforts and recovery periods.
• Cost efficient.

Disadvantages

• Heart rate is affected by external and internal factors--stress, being tired, outside weather conditions, diet.
• Day-to-day adjustments. Depending on how you are feeling on a particular day, constant changes in your target zones may be required.
• It takes time for your heart rate to respond to an increase in exertion.

More: Breaking Down Your Target Heart Rate

Power Meter

So what about a power meter? How will it help? A power meter is a good tool when you want to know a specific measurement of the power output from your body. It measures in watts. The force you are applying for a sustained amount of time. Training at different intensity levels with a power meter can be done just as with a HRM.

Advantages

• Power meters provide a measurement of real power output (watts)
• Power meters provide instant feedback so you know exactly how much power you are exerting at any given time
• A HRM cannot detect a decrease in power output like a power meter can even though your heart rate may remain the same over a specified amount of time
• You may be training at your normal heat rate while feeling tired but the power meter will tell you how much power you are actually producing

Disadvantages

• Cost is a factor for many people

More: 5 Reasons to Train With a Power Meter

Most, if not all, power meters come with heart rate capability so a cyclist can have the best of both.

It would seem that power and heart rate are in direct correlation to each other, but this isn't necessarily true. If your heart rate is low, you may be producing more power than what you think. If your heart rate is high you may not be producing more power than what you think. One may believe the higher your heart rate is the more power you should be exerting.

Can a cyclist be just as strong in speed and endurance training with just a HRM and not with a power meter? This can be true, but there is still the probability that he could be stronger with the use of the power meter. The use of a power meter will enable the cyclist to better pace himself than with the use of a HRM. The risk of slowing down is greater with a HRM because the power meter will help you maintain better efficiency over a given distance.

So is a power meter a good investment? This question will ultimately have to be decided by the cyclist. With the comparisons made of the advantages and disadvantages it would seem it would be very advantageous to buy and train with a power meter. However, if the cost is a major factor for a cyclist, then the use of a HRM will be the most logical tool.

More: 4 Tips for Using a Power Meter Wisely

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