Indoor training you actually like doing??

bahzob

Weather being what it is hard to avoid turbo/rollers right now..

Like most I guess cant say look forward to these. However have found a routine I actually do like doing and thought share it + ask if any other ideas out there....

Musical Escalator: (need an MP3 player + have a liking for music with up tempo beat..)
- Set up a playlist with music from 3 favourite groups/artists, one group after another, with a couple of slow ballads at the end.
(I used some longish Iron Maiden tracks, then shorter Killers, then a few MCR to round off)
- First song first group start pedalling at endurance/level 2 (so shouldnt need too much of a warm up).
- When second song comes along up work rate to tempo/level 3
- third song back to level 2 and then keep criss crossing each change of song.
- When next group comes on do first track at level 3
- Next track up effort to sweetspot
- Alternate level 3/sweetspot on track changes
- Next group up first effort to sweetspot and second to threshold, then keep alternating till end or you crack (I cracked sixth song I must admit)
- Warm down to the ballads

I tried this Sunday and found time just flew by. I just got into the music and ended up doing a really hard workout (in fact set some PBs) without clock watching and feeling it was too much of a chore until the very end. Actually looking forward to repeating it and getting to ballad without wimping out...

Anyway worked for me. Any other suggestions be good to hear them.

thiscocks

One Ive done and found quite 'fun':

15min warm up

1min hard
30 sec recovery
1min hard

10min easy

7min building resistance (1 increase per min)

10min hard

15min warm down


Adds up to just under 1 hour. The hard bit is the 10 min push as you have to stick with it whatever resistance you build (7X) in the 7 minutes, and is easy to put too much on!

Tim

shockedsoshocked

I don't actually mind doing any structured indoor sessions, as much as i'd rather be out on my bike. It's when a session is a bit aimless I can't bear it.

tonyw43

I've been doing a variety of interval sessions from the Heart Rate book I bought. Working on endurance at the minute and the different sessions seem to go quite quick. If I try to do something unstructured, I tend to loose interest, so these are perfect.

DaveyL

I don't mind doing even the ultra-boring one hour at constant power and constant rpm session, but I just find that I get a bit sore the last 10 or 15 min, due to being sat in the same position for so long. I'm still new enough to the turbo (and a big enough chap) that I am not too keen to spend much time out of the saddle looking down at my lovely new carbon fibre bike flexing alarmingly (though in reality it is probably OK). I guess I should just live with it and get up and stretch the legs every 10 min or so.

The sufferfest podcasts are good company though, and I am trying to get some of my VHS TdF footage onto the laptop as well.

I like to look on these boring sessions as being good mental training for those longer rides when the going gets tough.

singlespeedexplosif

I love all indoor training. It rocks. Not been past 4 hours yet but working on that this Saturday

Bronzie

DaveyL wrote:

I like to look on these boring sessions as being good mental training for those longer rides when the going gets tough.

+1

Makes a 1-hour TT seem like a piece of cake (mentally, I mean) if you can sit on the turbo for any length of time without slitting your wrists. Mind over matter.

Captain Fagor

Did three hours (a record for me) on my indoor spinning bike on Saturday. The first hour was a very gentle 125bpm courtesy of Pink Floyd (Echoes), with the next two hours at 160-170bpm thanks to Metalllica (Black and S&M albums).

Frank the tank

I find riding on the turbo is not too bad once you get going, and accept the main reason I'm on it is 'cos the weather isn't fit so having the turbo to ride is a bonus.

GrahamGillooly

I don't mind being on the turbo (maybe because i'm fairly new to it), i just hate setting it up and taking it down sometimes. Wish i could set it up and just leave it, but i suppose it takes around the same time to sort out a full winter kit..

Anyway, when i'm on the turbo, i like..

20 minute warm up
(warming up to a certain number of watts, e.g 200)

10 minutes of that

Increase watts by 10 for 5 minutes, then decrease by 10 for 5
(taking you back to 200)

5 minutes breather

Increase watts by 10 for 5 minutes, then decrease by 10 for 5
(taking you back to 200)

And then 20 minutes gradually cooling down



Or sometimes i like warming up for about 30 minutes and then trying to beat my 10TTTT
10 mile Turbo Trainer Time Trial

Brian B

thiscocks wrote:

One Ive done and found quite 'fun':

15min warm up

1min hard
30 sec recovery
1min hard

10min easy

7min building resistance (1 increase per min)

10min hard

15min warm down


Adds up to just under 1 hour. The hard bit is the 10 min push as you have to stick with it whatever resistance you build (7X) in the 7 minutes, and is easy to put too much on!

Tim

Very similar to my own 'hour' indoor training. I feel that the intervals break up the time and some good music helps too.

skavanagh.bikeradar

I've got a close ratio 7 speed block so a simple session for me is Work/Rest intervals going up and down the block.

Warm up starting in Small Ringx1st Cog (whatever you have, I've got a 42x19) for 2 mins
After 2 mins knock it down to 2nd cog
After 4 mins knock it down to 3rd cog
Then knock it down 1 cog every minute 'till you hit 10 minutes or whatever you decide works for you.

Intervals - Big Ringx1st Cog (e.g. for me 53x19)
7 intervals working down the block at the start of . Use an easy spinning gear in the rest period. So for example (choose depending on fitness levels and objectives):
Work = 4min
Rest= 2min

When you get to 53x7th cog do the same intervals working back up the block.

End with a spin for 5 or 10 minutes and a bit of stretching if you get time. Length of session depends on length of work and rest. You can make it hard by keeping rest short and work long and of course by adding extra sets of 7 down & ups (if you are mad).

I'm not sure what physiological responses this is aimed at, certainly there will be threshold work involved, but it is also a bit 'big gear' training and I know that is passe these days. However it is a challenging session that you can build week by week and it passes time in a focused way on the turbo so it works for me.

I try and keep the revs at around 100 where I can and as high as possible when it gets more difficult later - I go on RPE and aim to knock out an effort that allows me to complete each interval and recover just enough to continue. It is a hard effort.

bahzob

singlespeedexplosif wrote:

I love all indoor training. It rocks. Not been past 4 hours yet but working on that this Saturday

And I thought I was a bit daft....well done..(What shorts have you got?)

singlespeedexplosif

lots of different ones

Blonde

One word: Velodrome

I've owned a turbo for five+ years and have used it twice (mostly due to the impression it does of of a jet aircraft taking off) . The track is much more fun anyway.

Can reccommend derny, sprint and SQT sessions. I like all three a lot, but I've yet to try a track league night, which by all accounts should be even better!!

singlespeedexplosif

even better, track & turbo, like what I do

birdy247

Check out http://www.turbotraining.co.uk

It basically lets people add plans, and you can play the plan online with a stopwatch which tells you when its time to change steps. I posted about it last week or so, so any feedback would be great.