Pro power meters becoming more practical for the rest of us

According to an article in this month's Bicycling Magazine, the type of power meter currently used by most pro cyclists is becoming more practical for serious amateurs, too:

"I've been racing since 1975," says Andrew Coggan, Ph.D., 46, an internationally recognized exercise physiologist at Washington University in St. Louis. "I started using a power meter in 1999. Since then, my average power for five- and 20-minute efforts has gone up 3 to 5 percent-and I'm at an age where it should be going down 1 percent a year," says Coggan, who wrote the power-based training chapter for USA Cycling's Expert Coaches Manual. "It's given me huge improvements, and it's not like I didn't know how to train before-I'm an exercise physiologist, after all."