ERG Mode: Friend or Foe
Indoor training has taken huge steps over the span of 4D history. One of the very first purchases I made after starting the company was a Computrainer. What is a Computrainer? In 2008 it was the cat’s meow of trainers. It was the “original” smart trainer and the cornerstone of being able to control wattage and perform lactate testing as well as course simulation. It was a fabulous product that still has a great reputation although since the Wahoo kickr and today’s other smart trainers have become so popular and because of Computrainer’s reluctance for change they have since ended production and become obsolete with the exception being the old school owners who just won’t stop using them. Since we are now decade plus ahead in time and platforms such as Zwift and Rouvy have become the norm as well as coaching programs like Sufferfest and TrainerRoad many people believe ERG mode is the most effective way to train. Several years ago, I was at a Power Training Conference with coaches and engineers from all of these companies as well as some of the brightest minds in coaching and developers of many of the power training metrics we use in Training Peaks here at 4D. Like almost any topic in life it is difficult to get everyone to agree on everything, but it became clear that software development and sales numbers were going to out-weigh some of the reasons not to use ERG mode and many of us on the side of the room that were not being paid to be there by one of the ERG coaching platforms were not going to change the other sides mind. ERG mode is simply letting the software control the wattage on the trainer, it is a thoughtless process in which the athlete simply has to pedal, regardless of cadence the smart trainer adjusts resistance to keep wattage constant. This is clearly not how real-life riding works. Out on the road cadence and gearing along with wind and terrain determine the wattage.
What does this mean for you? The fact that you are reading this is a step in the right direction. You are going to learn the pros and cons of ERG mode as well as how and when to use it. Before I get to the guidelines, it is important to understand that computers and math is very exact, black and white, 1’s and 0’s. Physiology on the other hand has a lot of range or grey area, there are not exact points of change, the body has to constantly adjust to operate in any given situation and there are many systems in the body working together. Psychology and physiology cannot be fully separated, and both are vitally important to athletic performance. There will be many more posts on psychology, and we won’t be doing a deep dive on the topic here. We will however emphasize the necessity of the athlete’s ability to focus and understand what they are doing during competition and training.
I have been very fortunate over the course of my coaching career to have not only had the privilege of working with so many athletes of different abilities but also of having met some amazing professionals who I was able to spend time with. Once such occasion came back in 2010 when John Fell and I got to spend 3 hours cruising Acadiana with Chris McCormack. You’re probably asking yourself what this has to do with ERG mode or this blog post all together. As it turns out you can learn a lot in 3 hours from listening to a World Champion. One of the take-aways from this ride as both John and I were there constantly recording our power and heart rates was that Chris was not even wearing a watch much less a heartrate monitor or power meter. Clearly this was a major talking point during the ride and in the 11 years since has always been there to draw on during many a coaching conversation. What John and I learned that day was that athletes advanced as Chris know their body and what it can do inside and out. Chris told us that he could tell how fast he was running just by looking at the ground and that his perception of intensity was burned into the point that he did most of his training without most of the fancy trackers that I was building my business on. He knew what intensity he needed for an easy aerobic ride a few days before a race just by feel. This is how we get back to ERG mode and I can’t just mention John Fell and not talk about how a couple years later when he was trying to qualify for Kona for the second time, he and I started using the terms “set it and forget it”. “Set it and forget it” sounds just like ERG mode. In ERG mode you just set a power intensity and the smart trainer holds that power for you. Makes perfect sense and obviously why you should use ERG. Not so fast my friends, “Set it and forget it” was well intended and the way we used it with John and his quest for a 3-hour Ironman marathon is what the inventers of many of these platforms are still going for today. The concept we and they are looking for is to burn in that intensity to control the environment to the point that you the athlete just executes said intensity on command. Like I said, this is all very well intended, but there are some errors here. First of all, it should never have been “set it and forget it”. It needs to be “Set it and FEEL it”. Back to the original lesson from Chris, he knew where he needed to be by FEEL. What we did with John was for his race pace work was to set the treadmill to three-hour pace and over the course of his IMFL build he burned that pace in. He needed to know what running that pace was going to feel like at the end of the race. And yes, he was both able to run the marathon goal pace and re-qualify for Kona that race.
This brings us full circle back to the entire topic of ERG mode. ERG mode is both your friend and your foe. Like many things that are well intended, too much can be a bad thing. ERG has some good qualities and then it has its limitations. I will start with the best thing about ERG mode, that is the ability to dial in power for testing in a controlled environment. In the lab setting this can show us important fluctuation points and help us determine and fine tune physiological thresholds. During a workout it can help you burn in a particular power or even motivate you to push beyond a mental barrier for duration if you are really paying attention. This is the “set it and FEEL it” method. The “set it and forget it” method is when you get on your smart trainer and proceed to watch a movie or read a book. I know many people have a tendency to do this from time to time. This can come back to bite you. It is always best to practice as specifically as you can from a training and racing perspective. Indoor training can be very focused, it is safe, and it can save a good bit of time if you don’t live in a place that is convenient to ride from. My first recommendation with regard to indoor training is to pick a virtual course through your platform of choice and just perform your workout as you would out on the road. When it does come time to use ERG mode, and you are dialing in a Race Pace for a triathlon or time trail and you really need to burn it in here are my guidelines.
Do not use ERG mode for intervals less than 10 mins, unless training for a specific distance event that will take less than that to complete. (ex. pursuit events on the track or a 3 mi. time trial)
When using ERG mode be sure to be focused and paying attention to your cadence. This is important as there is no shifting of gears in ERG mode but there will always be a reason to shift outside on the road and cadence and variation of it are skills that need to be developed and mastered.
When performing short efforts or road race specific type intervals smart trainers get sloppy and can lag, as those efforts need to be violent and explosive. I have yet to see a trainer of any kind that can fully mimic the feel of the road. Once again, your best option is just a simulated course that allows you to shift and change cadence as you would on the road.
The final take-away here is that your smart trainer can be a great tool, but you should always be mindful during your training sessions and practice focusing on how you are feeling during each effort and burn it into each training zone. The longer you do this the better you will get at it. Each day is an opportunity to grow and improve. Focus on the task at hand.
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