The use of JARVIS bike trainer in the science of cycling
From the scientific area to practical application: this is a short step in the science of cycling. Among the new tools to support scientific research applied to cycling, we can certainly include our JARVIS bike trainer, more than an easy bike trainer. Our idea of “roller”, in fact, has always been to create a real scientific laboratory that would allow us to range from personalized workout to research. In this regard, the use of JARVIS bike trainer in recent years by various Italian university research groups is not new. The latest work in chronological order is the one that published a few days ago in the latest issue of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (JSCR), by a research group that involved the University of Brescia, EURAC Research center (Bolzano), Marathon Sport & Medical Center (Brescia) and San Raffaele Telematic University (Rome).
Starting from the prerequisite that performance in long-lasting cycling races can be evaluated with several laboratory-derived and field-derived parameters, the study “Functional Threshold Power Field Test Exceeds Laboratory Performance in Junior Road Cyclists” compared the results of the functional threshold power (FTP) performed in a laboratory setting (indoor) with those outdoor, taking as a reference a group of young road cyclists with an average age of 17 years.
The use of JARVIS bike trainer in the evaluation of the physiological parameters of the study at issue
A junior road cycling team performed an indoor incremental test on MagneticDays JARVIS bike trainers for the determination of P4mM and the maximal aerobic power (MAP) (metabolic, VO2peak and mechanical, MAP), 4 indoor constant-power trials to estimate CP (critical power) and W′ (curvature constant), and an outdoor 20-minute TT performed in an outdoor uphill road (with an average gradient of 6.7%) to calculate FTP. All tests were conducted at least 24 hours apart and concluded within 15 days.
Despite its widespread use in professional and amateur cyclists, there is incomplete agreement on the relationships between FTP and traditional exercise intensity boundaries. This study was one of the few assessing FTP in field conditions, as well as the very first to involve junior road cyclists and a substantial uphill grade.
The results of the study explained by the MD Coach Luca Bianchini
The MD Coach Luca Bianchini explains the results of this scientific work: “This study shows that the power measured in the laboratory and outdoor are different. In percentage terms we are talking about a difference of around 14% in power. As reported in the paper, the environmental factors have the greatest impact on the comparison of indoor and outdoor tests. The reason why we prefer to do the tests indoor is because there are fewer disturbing factors during the execution. In outdoor – continues Coach Bianchini – each day is different from the next, not so much for the route, but for the environmental conditions (e.g. temperature and humidity) beacuse in indoor these conditions are more stable. The reason why we test in the laboratory is because there are only the individual variables to modify the result of the test, thus excluding many other variables that influence the result”.
The MagneticDays Coaches always consider these variables and with the use of JARVIS bike trainer we are able to limit them even more. We are talking about an instrument that guarantees us the same measurement over time. Furthermore, always using the same protocol, the data comparison has a very high accuracy and reliability. We don’t expect that every cyclist have a room/laboratory dedicated to JARVIS bike trainer (although that would be nice), but with these precautions we can monitor the athlete’s condition by excluding the most influential variables. Obviously, we must also have at our disposal the outdoor parameters, in order to fully understand the characteristics of the athlete through the analysis of outdoor workouts. For example, asking the athlete to ride on his favorite climb as hard as he can. In this way, thanks to the scientific literature supporting the experience, we are able to compare the athlete’s performance conditions.
In my personal opinion, the continuous interaction between experience and science, coach and athlete, company and market, allows to JARVIS bike trainer to evolve in a potentially infinite way, as well as the training methodology to be increasingly personalized and, above all, a continuous improvement of our athletes”.