What do you do on the turbo ?

big_p

Because to be honest, i don't have a bloody clue, I've been on the turbo tonight for the first time in about 8 months, i usually just get on and ride but that's just as boring as hell.

I thought i would try and do some kind of interval type thing, It may have been a total waste of time but it certainly made the session less boring.

Here's the data.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/295299413

please guide me to the light...........!!!

supermurph09

Check out The Sufferfest set of downloads. That'll stop the boredom!

the Wretched: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/293571900

Downward Spiral.http://connect.garmin.com/activity/278354200

http://www.thesufferfest.com/

big_p

Supermurph09 wrote:

Check out The Sufferfest set of downloads. That'll stop the boredom!

i have a few, just never got around to doing them.

alihisgreat

big p wrote:

Supermurph09 wrote:

Check out The Sufferfest set of downloads. That'll stop the boredom!

i have a few, just never got around to doing them.

Do them, they're fun.

I like Angels.

neeb

The bulk of my turbo training is done at threshold power or near, e.g. 2x20 at 100%, 1x40 at 95%, 1h 30min at 85% etc. I find it pretty difficult to do that sort of thing outside even during the summer due to variable/rolling terrain, having to look out for traffic etc. Part of that is down to the topography where you live though - because it is up & down / rolling where I live it is quite easy to get VO2 max and anaerobic training done out of doors and difficult to keep a constant pace at threshold, but if you live somewhere with long, steady climbs the opposite could be the case.

Wrath Rob

big p: What do you want to achieve? General increase in fitness/average speed? Are you targeting TT's? Crit races? Sportives?

The answer you seek will be different in all cases, you need to refine your question. Or simply get onto Trainerroad.com and follow one of their programs.

alihisgreat

neeb wrote:

The bulk of my turbo training is done at threshold power or near, e.g. 2x20 at 100%, 1x40 at 95%, 1h 30min at 85% etc. I find it pretty difficult to do that sort of thing outside even during the summer due to variable/rolling terrain, having to look out for traffic etc. Part of that is down to the topography where you live though - because it is up & down / rolling where I live it is quite easy to get VO2 max and anaerobic training done out of doors and difficult to keep a constant pace at threshold, but if you live somewhere with long, steady climbs the opposite could be the case.

how do you manage 1h 30m on the turbo and not die of boredom?!

Hollow-legs

Join trainerroad ,Its the best thing i have done to focus my boredom on the turbo,,,Otherwise a good Dvd !I have a few sufferfest videos ,they are great but hard work!

neeb

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

neeb wrote:

The bulk of my turbo training is done at threshold power or near, e.g. 2x20 at 100%, 1x40 at 95%, 1h 30min at 85% etc. I find it pretty difficult to do that sort of thing outside even during the summer due to variable/rolling terrain, having to look out for traffic etc. Part of that is down to the topography where you live though - because it is up & down / rolling where I live it is quite easy to get VO2 max and anaerobic training done out of doors and difficult to keep a constant pace at threshold, but if you live somewhere with long, steady climbs the opposite could be the case.

how do you manage 1h 30m on the turbo and not die of boredom?!

I've got a tacx bushido and for anything longer than a 2x20 I use the RLVs. So it's usually Sa Colobra for the 1x40 and something like ventoux for the longer ones... I don't do that very often though, usually just over an hour is as much as i can face...

phreak

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

neeb wrote:

The bulk of my turbo training is done at threshold power or near, e.g. 2x20 at 100%, 1x40 at 95%, 1h 30min at 85% etc. I find it pretty difficult to do that sort of thing outside even during the summer due to variable/rolling terrain, having to look out for traffic etc. Part of that is down to the topography where you live though - because it is up & down / rolling where I live it is quite easy to get VO2 max and anaerobic training done out of doors and difficult to keep a constant pace at threshold, but if you live somewhere with long, steady climbs the opposite could be the case.

how do you manage 1h 30m on the turbo and not die of boredom?!

I do the same, but quite enjoy training so never feel bored. Usually stick a cycling video on whilst I train.

Re the original post, it depends what you are training for. No point doing a sufferfest session if it's unsuited to what you want to improve. Figure out what you want to get better at and work back from there.

robmurr2000

I see you use a Garmin 500 when on the turbo trainer, how did you set it up to get your data ?

jgsi

Whats prompted you to use the turbo now ...?
Bit of background helps if you asking for advice.. relevant background

bobones

robmurr2000 wrote:

I see you use a Garmin 500 when on the turbo trainer, how did you set it up to get your data ?

You need an ANT+ speed/cadence sensor on the back wheel and/or heart rate monitor to get any data. Switch the GPS off in the menu before you start. The GarminConnect website has a nice feature for programming workouts that you can upload to the device and follow. You can base the workout intervals on heart rate, speed and cadence.

For even more fun, get an ANT+ USB stick for your computer which will receive data from your sensors. You can then use programs such as Trainer Road, PeriPedal or Golden Cheetah to do workouts based on power derived from your speed on the turbo (virtual power). This needs a supported trainer with a known power curve. You can then combine these programs with videos from Sufferfest for some superb workouts with audio and video stimulation to alleviate the boredom.

robmurr2000

JGSI....I like to use the turbo when I can't get out on the road and I do midweek time trials, use Sufferfest videos as well.

Bobones.....thanks for the info, much appreciated.

big_p

Wrath Rob wrote:

big p: What do you want to achieve? General increase in fitness/average speed? Are you targeting TT's? Crit races? Sportives?

The answer you seek will be different in all cases, you need to refine your question. Or simply get onto Trainerroad.com and follow one of their programs.

I just want to drop a good few pounds as i am over weight at 220 lbs and only 5'8" and build some power and endurance, i have started to take care of my food intake and i have lost 10 lbs in the last month, I've cycled on and off for the last 20 years but that's always been mountain bikes, i bought a road bike about 18 months ago and at that point 15 miles was certain death, i did a solo 50 last week and averaged just short of 16mph.

I like watching racing on the tv but i have no interest in doing any, but i do want to start doing a few sportives, i have an entry into one of the policini events on the 8th of june and it's 68 miles, the most i have done before is 62 but that had a lot less hills.

i guess what i am trying to say is that i just want to be generally better on the bike.

neeb

big p wrote:

I just want to drop a good few pounds as i am over weight at 220 lbs and only 5'8" and build some power and endurance, i have started to take care of my food intake and i have lost 10 lbs in the last month, I've cycled on and off for the last 20 years but that's always been mountain bikes, i bought a road bike about 18 months ago and at that point 15 miles was certain death, i did a solo 50 last week and averaged just short of 16mph.

I like watching racing on the tv but i have no interest in doing any, but i do want to start doing a few sportives, i have an entry into one of the policini events on the 8th of june and it's 68 miles, the most i have done before is 62 but that had a lot less hills.

i guess what i am trying to say is that i just want to be generally better on the bike.

If you want to burn calories, combining long endurance rides on the road with interval sessions at threshhold or near indoors will work quite well. You can burn 1000 calories in a little over an hour on the turbo if you keep the effort up the whole time. Working on threshhold is probably also the best way to get generally faster on the bike at your stage, although you want to be spending most of your time out of doors doing longer rides and "getting the miles in".

Threshold (functional threshold) is basically just the maximum level of constant effort you can sustain for an hour.

MattC59

+1 for Sufferfest. I use 'Angels' and 'The Hunted', I've also got 'There is no try' which is a biatch !!!
I shall probably try Trainer Road next winter; as It's subscription based I think it a waste of money for me over the summer.

big_p

i did another session tonight but didn't feel as strong and couldn't go as hard, still, i got some miles in eh.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/295705446