Turbo Training for TTing
campagsarge
Posts: 434
Can anyone point me in the right direction as to what kind of Turbo sessions I should be doing for 10/25 mile TT for the 2008 season?
Are there any books out there that could help me?
Are there any books out there that could help me?
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2 x 20s. Warm up for 10 min, 20 min at a constant effort, 5 min recovery, and another 20 min at that same constant effort. The 20 min efforts should be at a pace you can only just hold at the end of the second interval. Nominally the effort you may want to use is the average power you can hold for the last 20 min of an all-out 30 min (although I'm prepared to be corrected!). It may take a session or two to get the intensity dialled in just right, and you may be surprised at what effort level you actually can hold!
And use a fan....Le Blaireau (1)0 -
Thanks davey, will give that a go. Yup, the fan is essential!0
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I used the 2 x 20 sessions on the turbo for 10/25 mile TTs last year. Knocked over 3 mins off my 10 time.0
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I have bought a book by Arnie Baker -" Smart Cycling" cost me about £5 from amazon. It has 12 set turbo sessions, plus another 12 for specific areas for racing (e.g. TTing, Sprinting, Crit racing etc etc). From the bits I have read of it so far, what I like about it is that it mixes up and varies the sessions, as simply hammering out 2x20's is going to bore the cr*p out of me.
As an example, a one hour TT specific session would be:
15 min warm up (42x17 at 60 up to 120 rpm)
alternate islolated leg for 1 x4 mins 52x15 at 55 rpm
alternative ILT for 1x3 mins 52x14 at 50 rpm
rest 3 mins
20 min at TT effort 52x15 75-90 rpm, target minimum 85%MHR (there is a whole chapter about physiological threshold where you cross from aerobic respiration to anaerobic respiration, steady state effort etc etc). Ideally your TT pace is at just under your AT fror maximum gains in performance - for trained cyclists this mght be 92-93% MHR for beginners possibly much lower at 85% for example.
There are other workouts that concentrate on leg strength based around an hours ILT sets, some power/sprint sessions which are "long" intervals at 4" and shorter 15 second sprint intervals. Either way, for me they are much more varied, therefore the time passes quicker, and more to the point its then easier to actually keep the intensity at the right level. And who says it should be 20 mins? why not 2 x 15 or 3 x 13?0 -
No one says it "should be" - just an arbitrary choice of time for a long interval. Have a go at 3x13s if you like. The OP asked for a suggestion and I gave him a suggestion...Le Blaireau (1)0
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Thanks guys. Just purchased said book Steve, thanks. I do prefer a bit of variation in my Turbo Training as I do get bored quite quickly.
That is some reduction in time Dug, well done. Did you do anything else, like change bike, loose a bit of weight, change in diet etc, etc?0 -
DaveyL wrote:No one says it "should be" - just an arbitrary choice of time for a long interval. Have a go at 3x13s if you like. The OP asked for a suggestion and I gave him a suggestion...
I wanst aiming any critiscism at you, Its just always intrigued me why 2x20 weas selected as an arbitrary session that almost everyone and every magazine quotes. There must be a reason for it somewhere.....0 -
Like all these things, it's a trade-off between duration and intensity that addresses one important aspect of your physiology and which also happens to fit nicely into a session of approx an hour.SteveR_100Milers wrote:............Its just always intrigued me why 2x20 weas selected as an arbitrary session that almost everyone and every magazine quotes. There must be a reason for it somewhere.....
Another important session for the OP's goals would involve 5min intervals. Maybe 4x5min with a good recovery inbetween, as hard as you can sustain at a constant intensity for the entire interval.
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campagsarge wrote:That is some reduction in time Dug, well done. Did you do anything else, like change bike, loose a bit of weight, change in diet etc, etc?
Yeah of course my faster times weren't all down to doing 20x2 sessions. I did have a new lo-pro, skin suit and aero helmet, probably worth 1min over 10 miles. What I did was:
1. Have a decent winter, good steady (not slow) miles and worked on pedalling with a faster cadence.
2. Wrote down a structured training plan and wrote out some SMART objectives.
3. Worked out my training in 4 week blocks, 3 weeks at gradual increases (either intensity or duration) and then one easy week.
4. For intervals and intensity/speed I used a variety of workouts, including hill repeats, 5mins intervals, 1 min intervals.
5. I did at least one session a week using the 20x2 intervals on a turbo.
6. Learnt (through experience) how to ride a 10 and 25 mile TT.0 -
What was your PB this year for both distances?
I assme for 2x20's these are done at TT pace i.e. at the LT (or AT?) "threshold"? (aka " as hard as you can go for 20 mins non stop")0 -
SteveR_100Milers wrote:What was your PB this year for both distances?
I assme for 2x20's these are done at TT pace i.e. at the LT (or AT?) "threshold"? (aka " as hard as you can go for 20 mins non stop")
21.26 and 57.19. I rode the 20 min intervals at 10 mile TT pace.0 -
thats pretty amazing, but was that in line with the improvement from the previous year? In other words (I know you had the aero stuff as well) did the turbo training have such a dramatic effect? I'm at 24-30 for a 10 twice this year on fast courses, and a 1-01 for a 25. If I knew that a decent winter programme using the turbo including doing 2x20 once a week would shave a minute or more off my 10 times then I'd sign up now......0
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SteveR_100Milers wrote:thats pretty amazing, but was that in line with the improvement from the previous year? In other words (I know you had the aero stuff as well) did the turbo training have such a dramatic effect? I'm at 24-30 for a 10 twice this year on fast courses, and a 1-01 for a 25. If I knew that a decent winter programme using the turbo including doing 2x20 once a week would shave a minute or more off my 10 times then I'd sign up now......
Steve, there is no way I'd claim that the 20x2 sessions on the turbo where the only factor in my times last year. But they were included as part of the programme that I outlined above, it seemed to work for me. It is hard to judge my times against previous years as I mainly road raced and only did the odd TT, last season I concentrated purely on TTs. Sounds like you are doing similar times to mine a couple of years ago, I reckon one of the biggest factors is learning how to ride a 25.0 -
Agree with that, though I did a few many years ago, and also did 50's and a 100 this year....for me a 25 is as fast as a 10, or probabkly for me I cant ride a 10 any faster than a 25....0
