Q: How does The Breakaway work?
A: The Breakaway starts with your existing data. We use data from your indoor workouts (Zwift and Peloton), your outdoor workouts (Garmin, Hammerhead and Wahoo), and your biometrics (Oura). If you use Strava we can usually get a lot of that data from one source.
We then analyze your power data, heart rate data and more . We break your historical efforts into Power Skills, and then show you the 12 Power Intervals that you can work on. All of your efforts are benchmarked against what’s possible for YOU. This means we use your data and compare to our proprietary database of what’s possible for people your age, your gender, and at your weight. As you get older, we adjust and show you where you can improve!
We then analyze your power data, heart rate data and more . We break your historical efforts into Power Skills, and then show you the 12 Power Intervals that you can work on. All of your efforts are benchmarked against what’s possible for YOU. This means we use your data and compare to our proprietary database of what’s possible for people your age, your gender, and at your weight. As you get older, we adjust and show you where you can improve!
Q: What if I don’t have a Power Meter?
A: You should get one! Power meters are the best way to train and are getting increasingly more affordable. Our friends at Power Meter City have a great selection and can answer all your questions.
Q: Why do you focus on Kilojoules?
A: There are so many ways to measure your rides and workouts. Miles, time, elevation, etc. The truest sense of your effort is how much ‘work’ did you do, and for endurance sports, Kilojoules is the metric for work. Kilojoules can be directly measured by your power meter, or calculated via your heart rate data (as long as we know your weight, which we do). We do both at The Breakaway. Why? Because there’s a big difference in the work it takes to do 100 miles in 4 hours vs 7. And there’s a big difference in doing 100 miles in 5 hours with 2,000 feet of elevation, vs the same ride with 11,000 feet of elevation. But a ride that was 2,000 kilojoules for you is normalized – it’s the same work regardless of distance or elevation.
Q: What data works with The Breakaway?
A: We need power or heart rate data to be able to provide you the best of The Breakaway experience. Currently we can currently import data from Strava, Peloton, Zwift, Hammerhead, Oura and Garmin Connect.
Q: What is a Power Skill?
A: A Power Skill is a group of Power Intervals that represent a specific part of cycling and fitness. The Breakaway has 3 Power Skills; Sprinting (under 2 mins), Attacking (2 min - 10 min), and Climbing (15 mins - 1 hour).
Q: What is RPE?
A: RPE, or ‘Rate of Perceived Effort’ is the single best measure of what a workout was for you. We have so much data but if you ask the best coaches (and we have) they’ll tell you the single best metric for assessing a ride is ‘On a scale of 1 to 10, how hard was that ride for you?’. The basics of RPE are an estimation, on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being essentially a ‘walk in the park’ and 10 being an all out, over what you thought possible puke-fest effort. The ratings we use are about how the ride ‘felt’ and are:
RPE 1: Very Easy – This is an easy, breezy effort. Zero sweat created. It’s barely a workout at all.
RPE 2: Easy – This is Recovery pave/. Your muscles are engaged but there’s no pressure or stress on your legs or lungs at all.
RPE 3: Easy – This is your all-day pace. You can ride and hold a pace here, with a conversation, for hours and hours.
RPE 4: Moderate – You can still talk here but it’s a little more labored. This ride wasn’t easy but it definitely wasn’t hard.
RPE 5: Moderate – OK, here the talking starts to get harder. We’re working now. This ride felt like a workout.
RPE 6: Hard – Things shift here. You don’t want to talk. This ride was hard and you might need some recovery depending on the previous days.
RPE 7: Hard – You’re at threshold here. You can’t talk. This is starting to suck. Recovery from this ride is likely needed.
RPE 8: Very Hard – Pain. This is where the work begins. This ride was as hard as you can go without doing real damage.
RPE 9: Very Very Hard – Borderline Maximum effort here. This was just below your all-time best. You’re wrecked.
RPE 10: Max effort – This is everything you have. You left it all on the road or trail. This is beyond what you even thought was possible.
RPE 1: Very Easy – This is an easy, breezy effort. Zero sweat created. It’s barely a workout at all.
RPE 2: Easy – This is Recovery pave/. Your muscles are engaged but there’s no pressure or stress on your legs or lungs at all.
RPE 3: Easy – This is your all-day pace. You can ride and hold a pace here, with a conversation, for hours and hours.
RPE 4: Moderate – You can still talk here but it’s a little more labored. This ride wasn’t easy but it definitely wasn’t hard.
RPE 5: Moderate – OK, here the talking starts to get harder. We’re working now. This ride felt like a workout.
RPE 6: Hard – Things shift here. You don’t want to talk. This ride was hard and you might need some recovery depending on the previous days.
RPE 7: Hard – You’re at threshold here. You can’t talk. This is starting to suck. Recovery from this ride is likely needed.
RPE 8: Very Hard – Pain. This is where the work begins. This ride was as hard as you can go without doing real damage.
RPE 9: Very Very Hard – Borderline Maximum effort here. This was just below your all-time best. You’re wrecked.
RPE 10: Max effort – This is everything you have. You left it all on the road or trail. This is beyond what you even thought was possible.
Q: What does it mean that I’m a Sprinter?
A: Sprinters excel at, well, Sprinting. But there’s more. This Power Skill is all about short bursts of effort at extremely high output. This means your best results, so far, are in this category. Maybe that’s because you’re predisposed to these types of efforts, maybe that’s because this mirrors your training and focus, or maybe this is because you just haven’t trained too hard in the other Power Skills.
Q: What is a Power Interval?
A: There are 12 Power Intervals that make up the different Power Skills:
15 seconds
30 seconds
1 minute
2 minutes
3 minutes
5 minutes
10 minutes
15 minutes
20 minutes
30 minutes
45 minutes
60 minutes
15 seconds
30 seconds
1 minute
2 minutes
3 minutes
5 minutes
10 minutes
15 minutes
20 minutes
30 minutes
45 minutes
60 minutes
Q: What does it mean that I’m an Attacker?
A: Attackers have a little bit of both worlds - power from sprinting and endurance from Climbing. This Power Skill is all about acceleration and maintaining that effort for a few minutes. This is the local small climb, or the attack in a race that forms The Breakaway. This means your best results, so far, are in this category. Maybe that’s because you’re predisposed to these types of efforts, maybe that’s because this mirrors your training and focus, or maybe this is because you just haven’t trained too hard in the other Power Skills.
Q: What does it mean that I’m a Climber?
A: Climbers are all about long, sustained efforts. This Power Skill is all about big climbs, long efforts on the flats, or just getting a high average power for your 30+ minute Peloton workout. This means your best results, so far, are in this category. Maybe that’s because you’re predisposed to these types of efforts, maybe that’s because this mirrors your training and focus, or maybe this is because you just haven’t trained too hard in the other Power Skills.
Q: What’s a Benchmark?
A: A Benchmark is a way of comparing you to people like you. We set our benchmarks at The Breakaway based on top performance, adjusted for your age, weight and gender. Being in the top 10% means something different for everyone, so we make it personal in order for you to understand your strengths and weaknesses, and be able to make real improvements.
Q: What’s are the Levels?
A: We analyze your data and compare you to your benchmarks (people your age, your gender, and your weight). We then categorize you based on Seven Levels linked to the percentile you are, in your age and gender bracket.
Level 7 - World Class
Level 6 - National Star
Level 5 - Semi-Pro
Level 4 - Elite
Level 3 - Sport
Level 2 - Athletic
Level 1 - Intermediate
Level 7 - World Class
Level 6 - National Star
Level 5 - Semi-Pro
Level 4 - Elite
Level 3 - Sport
Level 2 - Athletic
Level 1 - Intermediate
Q: How can I upload a file?
A: We support .FIT file upload directly from your iPhone. To do that, follow the instructions here.
Q: How can I delete a ride?
A: You can delete a ride, or simply remove it from your ‘calculations’ if you think the data is an error. You can follow instructions on how to do this here.
Q: What is RPE?
A: RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion. Essentially it’s the most accurate way to measure how hard an activity was for you. No data or tool can truly know how something really felt for you. If you ask the best coaches and sports scientists in the world (and we did) if they could have only one metric to measure an athlete's progress after a workout, the answer is always RPE. “How did that feel?” No data or tool can truly know how something really felt for you. If you ask the best coaches and sports scientists in the world (and we did) if they could have only one metric to measure an athlete's progress after a workout, the answer is always RPE. “How did that feel?” Our scale is as follows:
RPE of 1 to RPE of 3: Easy, Recovery
RPE of 4 to RPE of 6: Moderate, Endurance
RPE of 7 to RPE of 9: Hard
RPE of 10: Maximum effort
Data and measurement is great, but you can’t risk losing the connection to how you “feel”. We use RPE, along with our data and machine learning to get better and better at guiding you to Peak Performance. The more you give us, the more we give you back.
RPE of 1 to RPE of 3: Easy, Recovery
RPE of 4 to RPE of 6: Moderate, Endurance
RPE of 7 to RPE of 9: Hard
RPE of 10: Maximum effort
Data and measurement is great, but you can’t risk losing the connection to how you “feel”. We use RPE, along with our data and machine learning to get better and better at guiding you to Peak Performance. The more you give us, the more we give you back.
Q: What is HRV?
A: HRV is one of the most important non-activity data sources for an athlete to track because:
- HRV is a ‘response’ data, meaning it is a measure of how your body is responding to stress.
- As load increases, an athlete ready for the load, and properly recovered, shouldn’t see a decrease in HRV.
- Importantly, things like diet, sleep, immune strength and other parts of what we call ‘life’ can impact your HRV.
- HRV is a ‘response’ data, meaning it is a measure of how your body is responding to stress.
- As load increases, an athlete ready for the load, and properly recovered, shouldn’t see a decrease in HRV.
- Importantly, things like diet, sleep, immune strength and other parts of what we call ‘life’ can impact your HRV.
Q: Why are you measuring my HRV?
A: An HRV trending at or above your baseline, is a sign that your body is responding well to the stresses of your training and life. In these cases, you can proceed with your training as planned.
An HRV trending below your baseline suggests a possible imbalance in your body’s response to stress. In this case, consider additional recovery or a decrease in intensity
An HRV trending below your baseline suggests a possible imbalance in your body’s response to stress. In this case, consider additional recovery or a decrease in intensity
Q: What is FTP?
A: FTP is a cycling metric that stands for Functional Threshold Power. It estimates the highest average power you can sustain for one hour, measured in watts. In cycling, FTP is a measure of fitness and indicates the amount of work you can sustain for long durations. Additionally, it’s used to determine power zones used in training.
