HEART RATE MONITOR VS POWER METER. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Do you want to take your bike training to the next level, then it’s time to turn to technology. So, what is the difference between a heart rate monitor and a power meter? Put simply, a heart rate monitor is measuring your body’s ‘input’ to the bike ie the ‘physiological cost’, whereas a power meter is measuring ‘output’ only.
Power is an indication of the total workload of all the systems of your body that power the bike, as a lone variable this tells us nothing about how the body created this power, heart rate gives us that insight! of the condition of your body and how hard it’s having to work. The stress of exercise on your body, will directly impact your performance on the road. Your heart rate during training can be used as an indicator to monitor signs of overtraining and how recovered you are from the previous day’s efforts and other signs of fatigue that you won’t get if you are relying solely on power meter metrics. For example in longer events where overheating and dehydration lead to fatigue you would generally expect a higher heart rate for a given power output, a good indication you might need to back off to complete your event!
Whereas, the power meter helps you see how and when you expend your energy. A power meter allows you to see a real-time output of your pedalling effort. During training you can practice holding a consistent power output to improve pacing and endurance for your events. Your body is subject to different variations daily, be that through tiredness, overtraining or other daily stresses going on in your life. Athletes that are serious about their performance and looking to make those necessary marginal gains in their racing and training to reach peak performance, should understand the importance of how power and heart rate are two pieces of a much bigger maze of the performance process.
For an elite triathlete a heart rate monitor and power meter are a must. An elite triathletes who does not use at least one of these devices are few and far between. They play a key role in their training and racing, in terms of discipline and following pacing strategies and for analysis of effort post-exercise.
All that said, a power meter and a heart rate monitor are only effective if you are using them in conjunction with a prescribed training plan from a coach who knows what he’s doing with power and heart rate in order to understand the bigger picture.
As ever, there’s no single heart monitor or power meter that is the best. This will depend on how you intend to use it and your budget and if you want to use it with more than one bike. As a user of their equipment lets take a look at one of each of the said products:
- Garmin HRM-Dual Heart Rate Monitor
The Garmin HRM-Dual heart rate monitor has dual transmission via ANT+ and Bluetooth connectivity which makes it easy to have accurate heart rate data on Garmin devices compatible gym equipment, and third-party training apps. Great news for all the Zwift junkies out there. The HR-Dual has the traditional soft strap that is renown for being comfortable, adjustable and washable. You just put it on and forget about it. The HRM-Dual is rated water resistant, suitable for splashes, rain or snow, but is not suitable for swimming,
Buy from: Wiggle
Verdict: Garmin’s HRM-Dual chest strap heart rate monitor can connect to just about any device or app. It’s reliable, accurate, long-lasting and comfortable, and is fit for purpose.
Highly recommended.
- Garmin Vector 3 Dual-Sensing Pedal Power Meter
The Garmin Vector 3 dual-sensing pedal power meter uses strain gauges that deflect slightly when a force is applied. By measuring this torque and combining it with angular velocity, power (measured in watts) can be calculated. And, it doesn’t stop at power, these intelligent pedals will also record cadence and left/right balance, on top of other advanced cycling dynamics, helping you tailor your training around your specific weaknesses and strengths to improve your form. Installs like another other pedal and quickly transfers between bikes. These power meters contain Bluetooth Smart. This is used both for firmware updates, as well as connectivity to head units using Bluetooth Smart (i.e. to a Polar or Suunto watch, or Zwift on iOS, or similar).
Buy from: Wiggle
Verdict: A great set of intelligent pedals, accurate, usable and easily switchable power meter boasting in depth and accurate data, even to the point where it will show you where the power is applied on the pedal so you can apply the proper cleat position. As with all Power Meters they do not come cheap, but the Garmin Vector 3 dual-sensing offers a much richer level of analysis and technical training than the cheaper single-sided Vector 3S.
Highly recommended.
