Are turbo trainers any good for general fitness?

tangled_metal

If you're not training for an event and your only goal is to gain and maintain fitness for general health only, is a turbo trainer worth getting?

I'm thinking when I'm short of time for a ride I can just set up and use the turbo. It would allow me to tailor my without with control of the resistance or through cadence for example. It's kind of like a more compact exercise bike I think.

Also, how best to use one to get the most from it?

I guess any turbo recommendations would be good too.

mobilekat

We find them great for general fitness- and when the weather is bloody foul/short of time
We have a Tacx Blue Matic- fairly basic but does what we want

I tend to do 5-10 minutes warm up, and then increase the resistance and speed depending upon how fit I am!
Then 5- 10 minutes easy at the end as a cool down- depending upon how hard I have worked.

If you have a warm house you will want a fan blowing to cool yourself down- or cover the area with towels to catch the sweat!

There are plenty of people who can suggest more refined programs, and plenty of posher ways to do it, but for me when I only have 20-30 mins free is a quick way of burning some energy off!

Also you can try using light weights on your upper arms as you cycle- 2 in one for exercise!

have fun!

Dave_P1

They will help in keeping you ticking over during the winter months and it's definitely better than doing nothing at all.

diy

It depends what you mean by general fitness. Doing 3 sessions a week with a mix of High Intensity Interval Training will provide possible increases in your FTP and Vo2 Max etc (effectively improving your cardio fitness) and this will help you climb better and ride harder longer for example, but its not going to give you an all over workout.

Its not about time in the saddle though - intensity is key. 3x30 minute sessions a week with intervals will do much more for you than a 2x1 hour sessions at a constant pace. Don't forget to warm-up and do cool down stretching.

If you want something that gives a good all over body work-out then there are plenty of videos on youtube if you search for Insanity Workout, les mills body pump and les mills grit for example, you will probably find something that will help with your whole body fitness.

You don't need to spend much on a turbo. then just use youtube and follow spin classes or races as your motivation.

kinioo

I was going to say same thing as DIY just said.

I used my turbo trainer when we were preparing for our 10day trip to France/Spain - I was doing about 40km each day on it when watching TV.

However, for general fitness / cardio /HIIT - I am doing insanity - cant beat it. I know, I know its a US thing and I also couldn't believe when I was watching the adverts but its very good.

Anyway, turbo trainer is better than sitting on the sofa...but you can always go for a quick interval run - 25min will do.

Chris

njee20

Agree that if time is tight and all you want is general fitness then other activities are better than cycling/turbo training. I'd say running and swimming would be a better bet, plus all the fad insanity, P90X, kettle bell whatever workouts are going to 'tone' you more. However if you want general cycling fitness, then there's no substitute for cycling.

diy

One difference between Road training and MTB training - is the need for a little more upper body functional strength and back strength. I find it helps to reduce shoulder pain on longer rides - High reps, low resistance is good unless you are a tart like me and don't mind a few useless kilos of posing muscle

njee20

Upper body strength very marginally, but core is still important on the road, assuming you have even a mildly aggressive position. The lack of movement will hugely exaggerate any weaknesses and leave you with back/neck/shoulder problems.