Are turbo trainer`s boring to use ?
JimmyK
Posts: 712
With winter approaching :x , the ole icy roads are gonna impact big time on my biking. I used to go to the local gym and ride the exercise bikes there , which was as boring as hell for me, although plenty of women in tight lycra gave me something to focus my attention upon :P
If a turbo trainer was set up in my garage for the winter season, would it not be as boring as anything to use ?
Jimmy
If a turbo trainer was set up in my garage for the winter season, would it not be as boring as anything to use ?
Jimmy
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Set up a TV/laptop with stacks of cycling DVDs to keep you occupied."A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"
PTP Runner Up 20150 -
Yes.0
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And yes agin. They are boring for anything over 20 minutes.'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.0
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+3 Yes! Max I've done is 90 mins but that was whilst watching the footie. Check out this if you want to add some interest.
http://www.thesufferfest.com/0 -
Not only are they boring, they're sweaty and too warm due to lack of cooling breeze (even a fan isn't a complete solution). They are the worst form of cycling but vital to get the winter miles in if you don't have the luxury of living in tuscany or on the cote d'azure."In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"
@gietvangent0 -
You may well find riding on a turbo extremely boring or on the other hand you may wonder how you ever did without one. Do everything possible to make turbo training as comfortable as you can to ensure that good training is possible.JimmyK wrote:With winter approaching :x , the ole icy roads are gonna impact big time on my biking. I used to go to the local gym and ride the exercise bikes there , which was as boring as hell for me, although plenty of women in tight lycra gave me something to focus my attention upon :P
If a turbo trainer was set up in my garage for the winter season, would it not be as boring as anything to use ?
Jimmy
Don't listen to those who may say that a fan is not a complete solution as that just means that the fan or fans they are using are not powerful enough to keep them cool so get a powerful fan or two. Either that or they are looking for any excuse not to turbo train
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I use a 20 inch 200W fan that is plenty for any situation and I really do mean that, even out on the roads at temperatures approaching freezing and wearing less clothing than most the turbo can be cooler and I have NEVER ever been too hot no matter how hard the session.
All in all you still may never like turbo training but if you give it a proper chance it may grow on you, and they have there advantages in not ending up with a dirty bike and clothing, no punctures, no lights needed in winter and no chance of slipping on icy roads.0 -
disgruntledgoat wrote:.... (even a fan isn't a complete solution).
Perhaps not, but 2 decent fans is.More problems but still living....0 -
yes.
I have special randomised itunes playlists to stop the voices getting too loud. Can't do TV or dvd cos i live in a shared house, and we're not allowed to set it up in the living room. the hall's the best we can do.
I'm thinking of making a whole playlist based around the theme of 'walls', as that's my typical view...point your handlebars towards the heavens and sweat like you're in hell0 -
Music helps but only to get started, for me the best antidote is keep the sessions short and sweet max I do is 50mins good warm up and then solid session which if you work hard at will keep u more than occupied. I avoid doing 'miles' on turbo keep it power sessions or intervals. Turbos can make you very strong.'..all the bad cats in the bad hats..'0
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Oh, h*ll yes. I thought everyone knew that. They are so boring that I'm thinking of running this winter.0
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They sure are.
i maxed on a 3 hour stint last year one frosty Saturday. Didnt know where I was when I finished!
Still could be worse. A guy who has won the Trans America race, and now runs a cycling holiday company in the US, used to do 20 hour sessions on his turbo in his cellar, in the dark. He reckoned that people are at their weakest when nightfall came and by training in the dark he was better prepared and used to attack as when it got dark!!0 -
I went for the Fortius trainer with some RLV DVD's.
It's great fun in my opinion. I can whack on some music and climb an Alpine Col for an hour, race for an hour, or simply cruise round enjoying the scenery.
I've managed the full Alpine classic course in four and a half hours. The thought of even getting on my old trainer was one that almost put me off training for good. Now I look forward to an hour after work.0 -
I went for the Fortius trainer with some RLV DVD's.
It's great fun in my opinion. I can whack on some music and climb an Alpine Col for an hour, race for an hour, or simply cruise round enjoying the scenery.
I've managed the full Alpine classic course in four and a half hours. The thought of even getting on my old trainer was one that almost put me off training for good. Now I look forward to an hour after work.0 -
A few places on the net to find some plans. Do a search on here. This is a dedicated website to turbo training which should give you more than enough plans!
www.turbotraining.co.uk0 -
Your right turbos are boring - but compared to riding on a cold & wet Sunday morning/afternoon & missing my Sunday roast - then I assure you being bored is more appealing. Not sure of the maths, but I think the right training course - then 60 mins on the turbo trainer has to be the same as any 4hr road ride, if not more.0
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Turbo training can numb the brain a bit. Distraction is the key. Either music or visual. I did the entire Star Wars saga earlier this year. Thus far I haven't delved into the doovde collection but soon will. Music so far seems enough...
I find that having a specific program' in mind helps. I clock watch throughout counting down the seconds to effort/recovery. A HRM is a very useful tool, keeps you in the zone & is something else to look at.
Keep a towel handy too for when the head gasket blows. A fan will help but you'll still sweat buckets.0 -
DoubleTop wrote:Your right turbos are boring - but compared to riding on a cold & wet Sunday morning/afternoon & missing my Sunday roast - then I assure you being bored is more appealing..
I disagree I'd rather be cold, wet and starving but out on the road
The only time I made extensive use of the turbo was when I had a broken collar bone and I was not allowed out on the road. Then I was doing 2 hour+ sessions on the turbo0 -
Yep, more boring than a boring thing from boringville.
I agree with other posters. Get some dvd's to watch to entertain yourself. I also tried Spinervals but they are rubbish. Typical American 'go team' malarky. Carmichael Training Systems are much better.
Alternatively use them for specific short power sessions. I got sent to Tokyo a month before the '07 Etape. Tokyo is pants for training in the weekdays (weekends you can get out to the mountains) so I bought a turbo and did an Australian Institute of Sport designed session on it: Sprint your guts out for 90 seconds, rest and slowly turn the cranks over for 60 seconds. Repeat until dead. Trust me, you will be dead before you are bored!
Vive les All Blacks!!! [:D]0 -
I'm obviously a weirdo...I quite enjoy getting on the turbo :oops:
In the garage (so never too warm in winter), old TV and £20 Tesco DVD player and I'm happy to be able to watch all the TV shows and movies that Mrs BigG doesn't want to.....
Also intervals really help as they break the time up; doing a 1 hour steady state to test my FTP was a tough mental exercise - not boring just tough to concentrate - but I can do a 1h30m interval session (with warm up etc) quite happily.0 -
because no-one asked for it... Spotify playlist based entirely on songs that feature the word 'wall'. because we'll all be staring at them a lot over the next few months...
hitting the wall: http://open.spotify.com/user/patchy/pla ... YhsV50qdFTpoint your handlebars towards the heavens and sweat like you're in hell0 -
Never done a turbo trainer session, but I would have thought that maybe getting together with a few other guys to train would probably keep motivation and morale high. Conversation on a typical club ride usually makes the miles fly by. :shock:0
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Bhima wrote:Conversation on a typical club ride usually makes the miles fly by. :shock:
People can fall into the trap of pedalling round chatting away in a nice comfort zone and end up not doing much training however.
An hour on the turbo done properly can be more beneficial than a few on the road. They are a fantastic and useful training tool, especially for this time of the year, or for people with time constraints. Plus sometimes it's better to do the short high intensity stuff in the relative warmth of a garage or somewhere. Sucking in vast quantities of cold air isn't ideal.
A lad who does 2 weeks on/off on the rigs in the north sea spends 2 hours on the turbo every evening, and he goes better than a lot of lads who get in big miles (and some racers too!)."A cyclist has nothing to lose but his chain"
PTP Runner Up 20150 -
Bhima wrote:Never done a turbo trainer session, but I would have thought that maybe getting together with a few other guys to train would probably keep motivation and morale high. Conversation on a typical club ride usually makes the miles fly by. :shock:
How would you know?"In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"
@gietvangent0 -
I've been thinking about getting a turbo trainer for weekday evenings when it's too dark and cold to go out after work. anyone got a good suggestion as to what's a reasonably priced Turbo trainer?0
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I quite like turbos myself. The key for me is treating it like you would a gym/weights session - that is, having a specific structured plan of what you're going to be doing in that session, ideally something which takes concentration (so the time passes faster), and having a variety of different sessions to avoid tedium with the whole concept.
I used Pete Read's White Book as the basis, and added some other things such as 2X20s etc, and came up with a varied bunch of sessions, all lasting approx 1 hour, involving some speed/HR/gear/stopwatch varying combo so as to keep the mind occupied. Out of the sessions I do, 2x20 is easily the most tedious, and therefore least appealing, but I should only end up doing that about once a fortnight so no worries.
There's no way I would sit there at constant speed for 1-2 hours*, churning away; my brain would rebel at the tedium. But doing the stuff I do, and with music on, and a big f#@* off fan, it's more than tolerable.
I'm just getting back on the bike after being a lazy git for ages, and the turbo should be a big part of me getting fit again. It worked a treat last time, and now I'm a bit more clued up, reckon it'll be even more useful.
[ * although a great way of preparing the mind for the unrelenting effort of long continental climbs, if you can hack doing it!]0 -
Headbands are your friend.
Personally I loathe time spent on the turbo, intervals seem to be about ten times harder than doing the same effort on the road. In the summer months I will get up very early and do intervals with the aid of hills on the way to work rather than sit ont he turbo when I get back from work0 -
its not the turbo training that is boring its the session that you do that is boring, riding along a flat road at the same pace for 2 hours wouldn't be any more fun than sitting on a turbo at the same pace for 2 hours with a group, there is a group of about 6 of us who meet up twice a week in winter and do speed intervals and power sessions they normally last 90mins max we have music and fan and i find that much easier to do thean to get out in the wind adn the rain and do similar stuff. i have done a 3 hour charity turbo session once there was 3 instructor each doing 20min sets each and it was probably the fastest 3hours on a bike, still do my long rides at the weekend onthe road but intervals on the turbo are much safer and you can push harder as you don't have o worry about looking where you are going0
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They are as boring as a gym bike if you just pedal.
But if you are stuctured and go up and down sprockets whilst in a zone, the time goes much more quickly.
My preference is a spinning bike as I prefer the fixed wheel feel. They are good for standing and pounding as well whilst still feeling rock solid.
Better still, a spinning class. 45 minutes (or even more) without any of the associated boredom of lonely turboing whilst staring at a garage wall - wow hat does sound sad doesn't it?0 -
audiobooks and earphones - 45 minutes goes by before you even know it.0
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Yes0
