Winter training on a turbo

phreak
phreak Posts: 2,953
edited November 2009 in Training, fitness and health
In the initial part of winter most training seems to be 2 hours + of endurance type base work. Things like club rides offer the easiest way to clock up those miles but is there anything that can be done on the turbo? I don't really fancy spending 2 hours on it so is there any useful training work that you can do on it to build up endurance that requires less time?

Comments

  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    I've always worked on the theory that Turbo work is about quality over quantity.

    Thus, even if you're doing base work for 1 hour, as opposed to 2, you're getting a whole hour of what you're supposed to be doing at a constant resistance, no stopping for traffic lights, climbs, descents etc.
    "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'"

    @gietvangent
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    edited November 2009
    duplicate post- deleted
    "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'"

    @gietvangent
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,953
    So doing an hour or so at a constant pace/power/hr would be a good 'base' workout at this time of year?
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    Yeah, assuming the intensity is correct. Everything i'm doing at the moment is what i'd call base work..

    My on the bike stuff for the week at the moment is

    Monday: Rest
    Tuesday: 1 Hour on Turbo (below 85% Max HR)
    Wednesday: 1 hour on Turbo (below 85% MHR) with 4 x 5min intervals between 85% and 89% and 3 mins recovery.
    Thursday: 1 Hour on Turbo (below 85% Max HR)
    Friday: Rest
    Saturday: 3 hours on road below 85% MHR
    Sunday: 3 hours on road below 85% MHR
    "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'"

    @gietvangent
  • fishyweb
    fishyweb Posts: 173
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    Yeah, assuming the intensity is correct. Everything i'm doing at the moment is what i'd call base work..

    My on the bike stuff for the week at the moment is

    Monday: Rest
    Tuesday: 1 Hour on Turbo (below 85% Max HR)
    Wednesday: 1 hour on Turbo (below 85% MHR) with 4 x 5min intervals between 85% and 89% and 3 mins recovery.
    Thursday: 1 Hour on Turbo (below 85% Max HR)
    Friday: Rest
    Saturday: 3 hours on road below 85% MHR
    Sunday: 3 hours on road below 85% MHR

    As an aside...

    I've not really done much HR zoned work on my bike yet as I've primarily been a runner up till now. But, with running, "base work" is generally done at below 70%, in order to improve aerobic fitness, and to teach the muscles to use fat as an energy source. I'd have thought similar principles would apply to cycling as well (though bearing in mind that your max HR in cycling would be lower than your running max).

    P.S. And the percentages are not an absolute percentage of max HR either, but take your resting HR into account as well. Google for Karvonen Formula for more info.
    http://app.strava.com/athletes/287459
    Member of http://www.UKnetrunner.co.UK - the greatest online affiliated running club
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,953
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    Yeah, assuming the intensity is correct. Everything i'm doing at the moment is what i'd call base work..

    My on the bike stuff for the week at the moment is

    Monday: Rest
    Tuesday: 1 Hour on Turbo (below 85% Max HR)
    Wednesday: 1 hour on Turbo (below 85% MHR) with 4 x 5min intervals between 85% and 89% and 3 mins recovery.
    Thursday: 1 Hour on Turbo (below 85% Max HR)
    Friday: Rest
    Saturday: 3 hours on road below 85% MHR
    Sunday: 3 hours on road below 85% MHR

    I've got a power wotsit on my trainer so presumably I can do 85% of my max power for an hour for the same effect.
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    phreak wrote:
    disgruntledgoat wrote:
    Yeah, assuming the intensity is correct. Everything i'm doing at the moment is what i'd call base work..

    My on the bike stuff for the week at the moment is

    Monday: Rest
    Tuesday: 1 Hour on Turbo (below 85% Max HR)
    Wednesday: 1 hour on Turbo (below 85% MHR) with 4 x 5min intervals between 85% and 89% and 3 mins recovery.
    Thursday: 1 Hour on Turbo (below 85% Max HR)
    Friday: Rest
    Saturday: 3 hours on road below 85% MHR
    Sunday: 3 hours on road below 85% MHR

    I've got a power wotsit on my trainer so presumably I can do 85% of my max power for an hour for the same effect.

    I should point out that the majority of these workouts are done between 74% and 79%, 85% is the top end of that zone.

    I'm not sure how power works but i'm near certain the zones aren't the same. Alex/RST on here is a genius at such stuff and his blog is well worth a look.
    "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'"

    @gietvangent
  • bahzob
    bahzob Posts: 2,195
    Just to offer a view on the OP. Whether club runs are the best way to clock up miles depends very much on the nature of the run.

    The important thing about endurance miles isnt the distance/time ridden but the intensity that's maintained. It needs to be constant and high throughout. Some club runs happen like this but others are more social and spend most time in the recovery zone. In which case they are good fun but poor training.

    My experience is that time over winter is well spent training in what's called the "sweetspot" zone. This is an intensity thats just a bit short of the pace that you can maintain for a hard hour. Not altogether by coincidence this is around the 85% or so that you mention. Stuff like 4x10 mins, 2x20 mins. You dont need to get too hung up on actual power/hr whatever. Just try doing something 4x10 at 85% and see how you feel. Aim should be that you can do all 4 comfortably but not easily, having to breathe through the mouth quite deeply by the end but not gasping, If can do this up the effort a bit next time, if not down it.

    This will keep you nicely topped up over winter and ready for next year,
    Martin S. Newbury RC
  • le_grimpeur
    le_grimpeur Posts: 135
    phreak wrote:
    In the initial part of winter most training seems to be 2 hours + of endurance type base work. Things like club rides offer the easiest way to clock up those miles but is there anything that can be done on the turbo? I don't really fancy spending 2 hours on it so is there any useful training work that you can do on it to build up endurance that requires less time?

    I don't have a HR monitor. My turbo has the ability to measure watts, which I use a secondary element. I use the turbo as a cardiovascular workout for an hour, then I look at the output. I use it focus on pushing myself over xx minutes as I feel like and improving hill climbing technique.

    Over the first winter (last year) I noticed that using it once or twice a week for an hour at a time meant that I didn't lose any form, which - in turn - meant that I was in better form at the start of this season than last, and thus have been able to improve throughout this year
    The ultimate cruelty of love's pinions
  • le_grimpeur
    le_grimpeur Posts: 135
    phreak wrote:
    In the initial part of winter most training seems to be 2 hours + of endurance type base work. Things like club rides offer the easiest way to clock up those miles but is there anything that can be done on the turbo? I don't really fancy spending 2 hours on it so is there any useful training work that you can do on it to build up endurance that requires less time?

    I don't have a HR monitor. My turbo has the ability to measure watts, which I use a secondary element. I use the turbo as a cardiovascular workout for an hour, then I look at the output. I use it focus on pushing myself over xx minutes as I feel like and improving hill climbing technique.

    Over the first winter (last year) I noticed that using it once or twice a week for an hour at a time meant that I didn't lose any form, which - in turn - meant that I was in better form at the start of this season than last, and thus have been able to improve throughout this year
    The ultimate cruelty of love's pinions

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