winter turbo training help

sarts

Hi Folks I am a newbie to this site and was wondering would anyone have advice for me. I work abroad and spend up to 6 weeks away at a time followed by 4 weeks off. During my off month I try get as much time on the road on my bike 6 days a week with one rest day(got 60 hours bike this month at home).
My problem is on my time away I have a spinning bike in my villa as the road is too dangerous to cycle on so what sessions should I do on this indoor bike. I intend to race next season so would anyone have any idea as to a program I could use for the indoor training during my time away.
Do i need to do LSD of 3hrs plus on this bike or are shorter more intense sessions as good?Is it too early to start such sessions as the season starts next March 2012.Any advice would be much appreciated.

ut_och_cykla

Short harder sessions spaced to allow recovery in between and intended to keep up fitness levels. As the season nears you probably need to mix things up more/do more generally,. Obviously you need saddle time too , but 3 hours LSD on a turbo is more a test of your sanity than anything else - and you can do it (if you want to ) when you're home.
Just my thoughts ...

sarts

Thanks ut_och_cykla for your time and response. I have tried 2 hours LSD on the indoor bike and it was testing(on the mind!!!).I found these sessions on the net would you mind letting me know your thoughts?
Hills: 10 mins warmup, 3 x 6 mins ascending difficulty on a high resistance after 3mins increase resistance and maintain cadence for 2 mins then increase resistance and maintain cadence for 1 min, 2 mins recovery , 10 mins warmdown
Power Boost: 10 mins warmup, high resistance sprint flat out for 1min , spin easy for 3 mins, repeat for up to 10 reps, 10 mins warmdown
Threshold Booster: 10mins warmup, 6 x 5mins with 3 mins recovery aiming to keep heart rate 15-25 beats below max, spin easy for 3 mins, 10 mins warmdown.
Would you think this is enough or any further suggestions as i generally have the time while i am away.
Hope your training is going well and thanks again.

kfinlay

There's always the Sufferfest videos to help you while on the spin bike - there's 7 different videos and you get a discount for buying all 7 at one time (70US$ instead of 84US$)

andyrr

I'd agree wrt the Sufferfest vids.
Got the Hunted and Angels ones and find that they do seem to make the hour or so pass that bit quicker in comparison to other entertainment.
Other than just music I've sometimes used races I've recorded myself from Eurosport and use these in a Sufferfest-like way, eg changing gear 1 sprocket at a time for each Km covered, all the way up the block then back down. Not always 100% successful as sometimes the distance counter seems to disappear then reappear 5Kms later !

For really short turbo sessions I've done the Tabata-like session, eg 20 sec/10 sec hard/easy. The session is either (there seems to be disagreement on this) as many efforts as you can manage or do 8. If you're capable of doing over 10 then probably you aren't going as hard as you should. I've sometimes found that I just can't make the effort hard enough so get to 12 and I could manage a few more. Each one should be a 20 sec sprint and then the 10 sec recovery seems to last barely a moment !

ut_och_cykla

I don't feel qualified to comment on your sessions - if you think they work for you they are probaly ok!
I think 2 x 20 sessions give a lot for time /effort input, as do 5 x 4:4 minutes at a level above the effort you use for 2 x 20. A third session that I've heard is worth doing is half an hour of 30:60 (seconds) where the 'on' is 30 secs and at a level even higher than the 4:4. Not for the faint hearted and perhaps not now.
But 2 x 20 - perhaps working up to 3 times a week would build power at threshold. Then get the distance/tempo work done out of doors and fine tune after Christmas with shorter harder intervalls?
But remember - what works for some doesn't work for others. Good luck
(and a big thumbs up for the sufferfest stuff. Time passes quickly on the turbo with them to watch.....

sarts

Thanks for all your advice. It is really appreciated.Here's to the next month of indoor training.Cheers guys!!

andyrr

ut_och_cykla wrote:

I(and a big thumbs up for the sufferfest stuff. Time passes quickly on the turbo with them to watch.....

time passes quicker - don't think it passes quickly, just makes the hour or so that bit more bearable !

phreak

What's the point of base training if you can go straight into intervals?

JimboPlob

I have found that www.turbotraining.co.uk is pretty good for some inspiration. Takes away the hassle of having to think on the turbo. I usually find a plan to play at work (or add my own if I am feeling imaginative), and then blast it when I get in.

sarts

Thanks Jimboplob I will give it a go. I have managed a good week of indoor training this week so far.It has all been 1-2hrs max but better than none at all. Thanks for the advice.

Pseudonym

andyrr wrote:

For really short turbo sessions I've done the Tabata-like session, eg 20 sec/10 sec hard/easy. The session is either (there seems to be disagreement on this) as many efforts as you can manage or do 8.

From my understanding, the principle is 8 - ie four sets of 20 secs flat out, followed by 10 secs easy, then repeat - the idea being that you should not have fully recovered from the previous sprint before you start the next one, so each subsequent effort becomes more difficult as you go further and further into the red each time. As you say, if anyone is managing significantly more than four sets, then it's probable that they aren't riding them hard enough, as you should be ready to fall off the turbo after the fourth set....

Best 15/20 mins you will ever spend on the turbo...(in terms of benefit, not enjoyment, obviously)...

glasgowbhoy

As someone points out. It's hardly race prep time. Shouldn't the next 8 weeks or so be about maintaining a base level then riding into the NY on a progressive plan?
I'm only using the turbo for steady efforts now but will be using a training plan (Joe Friel) from December onwards.

phreak

Glasgowbhoy wrote:

As someone points out. It's hardly race prep time. Shouldn't the next 8 weeks or so be about maintaining a base level then riding into the NY on a progressive plan?
I'm only using the turbo for steady efforts now but will be using a training plan (Joe Friel) from December onwards.

I'm much the same. Combining some steady efforts with a bit of gym work over the next month, mixing in the odd low cadence session as Christmas approaches, then get into intervals etc. in the new year.

bahzob

I used to do prodigious amounts of training but circumstances have changed and I have now scaled back and do all my training on a Wattbike spending an 30-60 minutes on it every other day.

My son has started training so I summarised the 5 key drills I use for his benefit here.

http://mr-miff-on-tour.blogspot.com/2011/09/5-key-training-drills-for-endurance.html

I've been doing this for the past 3 months or so and thus far the results have been very encouraging, nicely progressing in power on all the intervals. As an indicator of how unfit I was I started having difficulty doing 5 mins at 250W, I now comfortably do 2x20 at 260W.

I'll be a bit of a test case for how this sort of training can prepare for longer distance events, since I plan on doing a few of these again next year.