New member saying hello... is it time to panic ???

3legs

Firstly,

Hello to all - long time voyeur, first time poster, sorry in advance for the length of the first post (go easy on me)

Following major surgery last winter I managed to get out cycling again from about July onwards to regain a reasonable level of health/fitness and was riding up to 40 miles hilly routes before the dark nights crept in in October. Between Oct and Dec I did a bit of pootling to and from work on a heavy old MTB, but its only a flatish 4mile trip each way.

Anyway, having gone through the pain of regaining health, strength and fitness last summer I am not inclined to just throw it all away now in the winter, so I bought a turbo trainer and have been doing 3 or 4 x 60-90 mins 'zone 2' sessions a week for the last month. At this time of year time is at a premium to me due to work commitments and other hobbies, so the indoor trainer is my best option (I think).

Finally, to the point of my post. I went for a 'real ride' for the first time in ages this weekend, and although I expected to struggle a bit I did think that the turbo session would have helped retain an acceptable level of fitness. Let's just say that I got a rude awakening, and only managed 10 miles, during which time my lungs burned and my legs felt completely empty throughout. A very unwelcome shock to the system, which has left me questioning the benefit of the hours that I have spent on the turbo (although I did at least get to listen to some cool tunes I haven't heard for ages).

I had been planning on adding some 2 x 20 turbo session into my schedule from February to boost my power, but after the truly awful display on my bike in the real world yesterday I am now panicing a bit about the actual benefit from indoor riding. Any assurances or tips on how I can get best use out of my limited time between now and the return of light nights would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Mike Willcox

3legs wrote:

Firstly,

Hello to all - long time voyeur, first time poster, sorry in advance for the length of the first post (go easy on me)

Following major surgery last winter I managed to get out cycling again from about July onwards to regain a reasonable level of health/fitness and was riding up to 40 miles hilly routes before the dark nights crept in in October. Between Oct and Dec I did a bit of pootling to and from work on a heavy old MTB, but its only a flatish 4mile trip each way.

Anyway, having gone through the pain of regaining health, strength and fitness last summer I am not inclined to just throw it all away now in the winter, so I bought a turbo trainer and have been doing 3 or 4 x 60-90 mins 'zone 2' sessions a week for the last month. At this time of year time is at a premium to me due to work commitments and other hobbies, so the indoor trainer is my best option (I think).

Finally, to the point of my post. I went for a 'real ride' for the first time in ages this weekend, and although I expected to struggle a bit I did think that the turbo session would have helped retain an acceptable level of fitness. Let's just say that I got a rude awakening, and only managed 10 miles, during which time my lungs burned and my legs felt completely empty throughout. A very unwelcome shock to the system, which has left me questioning the benefit of the hours that I have spent on the turbo (although I did at least get to listen to some cool tunes I haven't heard for ages).

I had been planning on adding some 2 x 20 turbo session into my schedule from February to boost my power, but after the truly awful display on my bike in the real world yesterday I am now panicing a bit about the actual benefit from indoor riding. Any assurances or tips on how I can get best use out of my limited time between now and the return of light nights would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Indoor riding is a good substitute for dark nights and adverse weather conditions but IMO is mainly useful for higher density/speed training and not endurance work, which on an indoor trainer is mind boggling boring as hell. So if indoors then make it hurt.

The cold weather and extra clothing will have helped make your first ride a bit of a shock so don't be put off. There's nothing like the real thing though and if you can get out on the road do so at every opportunity. You'll be fine.

PhilofCas

from what you have said it sounds to me like you may have just been 'spinning' on the turbo, did you have much resistance set ?, you've done lots (and like MIke says mind bogglingly boring) of turbo work and you didn't get any benefit once out on the road ?, something doesn't seem to add up.

PhilofCas

i do apologise, hello and welcome to you too and no, don't panic, all this will be a distant memory once the light nights start and that lovely warm UK weather kicks in !

SteveR_100Milers

The turbo is not as easily beneficial as is so ofetn made out, simply because its so damn hard mentally to go as hard. I find that you are far more aware of fatigue than you are riding on the road, therefore a HRM or power meter is essential for a turbo - if you think you're going hard then you're probably not going hard enough! Turbo training is horrible, thats why most of us use them for intervals otherwise you'd end up slashing your wrists.....

Alex_Simmons/RST

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

Turbo training is horrible, thats why most of us use them for intervals otherwise you'd end up slashing your wrists.....

Better than stringing up some piano wire I suppose!

Toks

3legs wrote:

Firstly,



Finally, to the point of my post. I went for a 'real ride' for the first time in ages this weekend, and although I expected to struggle a bit I did think that the turbo session would have helped retain an acceptable level of fitness. Let's just say that I got a rude awakening, and only managed 10 miles, during which time my lungs burned and my legs felt completely empty throughout. A very unwelcome shock to the system, which has left me questioning the benefit of the hours that I have spent on the turbo (although I did at least get to listen to some cool tunes I haven't heard for ages).

I had been planning on adding some 2 x 20 turbo session into my schedule from February to boost my power, but after the truly awful display on my bike in the real world yesterday I am now panicing a bit about the actual benefit from indoor riding. Any assurances or tips on how I can get best use out of my limited time between now and the return of light nights would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

1. the perceived excertion on the turbo cannot be underestimated. Its trememdously hard especially novice TTer's - there's no chance to free wheel, no change of scenary, no undulations or corners to negotiate and there's an unbelievable excessive build up of heat and sweat. In fact the energy it takes simply to concentrate on the effort alone could probably power a small house

2. So to cope with all this you possibly select gearing, cadence or ride intensity below outdoor settings or what would bring about physiological adaptions.

3. Hence no 'real' fitness gains are being made but nevertheless you get extremley hot and bothered you're heart rate is really up there (which as anyone who's knows their stuff doesn't always mean a great deal)

Tips

Get a trainer with a good road feel

Make sure you're well hydrated and are being cooled by a large fan

Use you natural road cadence if possible

Use a speedometer on back wheel (poor mans power meter)

Or get a power meter

Start 2 x 20's

Just to show you how deceptive the old ticker can be I have a Kurt Kinetic trainer and in 53/17 during 2 x 20's my hrt rate is usually 169BPM's if i change down to 53/19 the perceived exertion is pretty much the same and so is my Heart rate. But we all know, assuming I stay at 95rpms and the trainer speed remain constant I'm putting out less power/speed and hence it a less effective workout

3legs

Thanks everyone for comments. All good stuff.

PhilofCas wrote:

from what you have said it sounds to me like you may have just been 'spinning' on the turbo, did you have much resistance set ?, you've done lots (and like MIke says mind bogglingly boring) of turbo work and you didn't get any benefit once out on the road ?, something doesn't seem to add up.

My tubo (cycleops magneto) has progressive resistance which automatically changes depending on the intensity of the ride. Using a HRM I have been riding at my usual cadence (90ish) at just below 75% MHR for between 60 and 90 mins 3 or 4 times a week. which I had hoped would help with endurance - although I probably haven't been doing long enough session for any real benefit. I was actually surprised at how easy this felt but was still hoping that it would at least have slowed down the rate of decline in fitness levels.

I'm sure it will be doing me some good and that I will have a solid foundation from which to build on, I was just surprised at how bad I felt - and so was therefore disappointed with the time spent on the turbo. I had actually been enjoying the turbo sessions, which seemed to go against everything I had read.

Panic over. I'll be stepping up the efforts in the next few weeks, both indoors and outdoors. Hopefully then I will see some benefit for the work already put in. If not, then at least I know for next winter.

Perhaps I just had an off day, perhaps it was because I was on a new bike and hadn't got the riding position quite to my liking, perhaps the shock of cold air to lungs and legs was all too much. Roll on spring

Toks

3legs wrote:

Thanks everyone for comments. All good stuff.

PhilofCas wrote:

from what you have said it sounds to me like you may have just been 'spinning' on the turbo, did you have much resistance set ?, you've done lots (and like MIke says mind bogglingly boring) of turbo work and you didn't get any benefit once out on the road ?, something doesn't seem to add up.

My tubo (cycleops magneto) has progressive resistance which automatically changes depending on the intensity of the ride. Using a HRM I have been riding at my usual cadence (90ish) at just below 75% MHR for between 60 and 90 mins 3 or 4 times a week. which I had hoped would help with endurance - although I probably haven't been doing long enough session for any real benefit. I was actually surprised at how easy this felt but was still hoping that it would at least have slowed down the rate of decline in fitness levels.

Er...mate I think your answer is right there in Bold. Less than 75% of your max is essentially an easy ride day. Great if thats what you want but not great for improving fitness in less than an hour. And infact if you consider the natural build up of heat which bumps up your heart rate, cardiac drift etc and the fact you found them so easy it suggests they were more like recovery rides. You need to find out a way to measure the insenstiy of your riding. And definitley push things up in to the 80-85 percentage. Ride moderately hard for 15-20mins take a five minute break and then go for it again for the same duration. Thats it workout over

3legs

Cheers Toks

I had slowly come to the conclusion that if it seemed too good to be true then it probably was.

From a pure health perspective I am sure it has done me some good (something I value highly after my op).and I know what needs doing next... This evenings turbo session will be 'interesting'

Once again, thanks to everyone for their comments.

PhilofCas

3legs wrote:

Cheers Toks

I had slowly come to the conclusion that if it seemed too good to be true then it probably was.

From a pure health perspective I am sure it has done me some good (something I value highly after my op).and I know what needs doing next... This evenings turbo session will be 'interesting'

Once again, thanks to everyone for their comments.

absolutely, you could have been sat on your ar*e watching telly vegitating, definitely done you some good and not a wasted effort, sounds like you'll be Mr Sweatsville tonight !!