Turbo Trainer Advice

Well if you rode with me it would be a 24Hr.

Getting slightly back on track. I bought a 2 hour endurance training vid and plan to use it with a 25min TT vid as a warm up.

I've never lasted more than 1:15 on the turbo. So I'll be doubling my time. I wont so much need a towel under me, but have the turbo 'n' bike in a bath tub.

Don't drink. That way you'll run out of sweat before flooding your house.

3rd session yesterday. Sticking at 45 minutes for the time being.

Dropped the warm up and warm down to 3 minutes each because they were boring.

i'm now alternating 30 seconds hard/ 30 seconds recover and 20 seconds hard/ 20 seconds recover.. looking forward to getting a heart monitor and building a better routine around this.

hoping by documenting it on this thread i'll keep myself motivated a little.

Pyramids are good.

90s at 75% - 45s recovery
75s at 80% - 45s recovery
60s at 85% - 45s recovery
45s at 90% - 45s recovery
30s at 95% - 45s recovery
15s at 100% - 45s recovery

Do a minute or so fast spinning then reverse the order. You need to decide yourself what the percentages refoer to.

Don't be stupid - do a proper warm up and warm down.

If you want to get off after 5 mins of easy spinning at the end, then spend the next 5 mins stretching.

Well if you rode with me it would be a 24Hr.

Getting slightly back on track. I bought a 2 hour endurance training vid and plan to use it with a 25min TT vid as a warm up.

I've never lasted more than 1:15 on the turbo. So I'll be doubling my time. I wont so much need a towel under me, but have the turbo 'n' bike in a bath tub.

I do roller sessions in the hallway on a laminated 'wood' floor.. afterwards I need a bucket and mop to handle the small pond underneath.

I now have 3 sufferfest videos on the go.
HR monitor is on its way so I can objectively measure my effort levels, as I worry about being a lazy person.

Also Tui is not a nice beer.

Fuck doing 20/40s.

I've done 4h+ rides on the rollers. Get some mental grit you lot. It's not that hard, just zone out.

I find the best thing is the radio. It's ever changing but not distracting, so you can zone out. Watching videos/films you're aware of the time. You need to dissapear inside your head and time will fly.

That said, intervals, or breaking a ride up into sexctions will make time go quicker. Too will having a plan and sticking to it. And not letting yourself do any different.

So 20min warmup at endurance pace.
Then 3 x 20min efforts at 2h TT pace. With 5min at low endurance.
Then 20min warmdown. Good endurance pace into low endurance pace.

With a set plan, you'll stick to it. Get on the turbo thinking I'll do an hour of endurance and you'll buckle after 25mins.
Also, if you say you'll do 60min then do 60min. 55min isn't 60min, as much as you wish to convince yourself.

That said, if i weren't racing. I'd rather shoot myself than ride indoors. I'll go out doors in the snow than ride the rollers. If it were conductive to speed. And not living in a city.

I edited to add some helpful stuff.

I've done 4h+ rides on the rollers. Get some mental grit you lot. It's not that hard, just zone out.

We all struggle to 'stop thinking' like you. :P

lol.

+1 for radio/podcasts. I need music for higher intensity stuff though.

I can't really watch films or telly like some people can - but leaving a football game or video of Paris Roubaix / track champs / tour stage or whatever on an ipad or TV seems to help me with the "just keep pedalling" bit.

Phone in jersey pocket + headphones when outside.
Or, stereo/laptop when inside.
Shorter/higher intensity, less need for distractions.

I do roller sessions in the hallway on a laminated 'wood' floor.. afterwards I need a bucket and mop to handle the small pond underneath.

60 mins on turbo = 2 bath towels.
Its 10C in the workroom. I can do roller work there. So thats not so bad.

I now have 3 sufferfest videos on the go.
HR monitor is on its way so I can objectively measure my effort levels, as I worry about being a lazy person.

Also Tui is not a nice beer.

Which ones?
Also Tui was pretty nice AFAIR.

I've done 4h+ rides on the rollers. Get some mental grit you lot. It's not that hard, just zone out.

---

I find the best thing is the radio. It's ever changing but not distracting, so you can zone out. Watching videos/films you're aware of the time. You need to dissapear inside your head and time will fly.

That said, intervals, or breaking a ride up into sexctions will make time go quicker. Too will having a plan and sticking to it. And not letting yourself do any different.

So 20min warmup at endurance pace.
Then 3 x 20min efforts at 2h TT pace. With 5min at low endurance.
Then 20min warmdown. Good endurance pace into low endurance pace.

With a set plan, you'll stick to it. Get on the turbo thinking I'll do an hour of endurance and you'll buckle after 25mins.
Also, if you say you'll do 60min then do 60min. 55min isn't 60min, as much as you wish to convince yourself.

I used to do massive tread mill sessions at the gym. But for some reason I get more bored on an indoor bike.

For rollers. Watching low cal TV helps. Spent a lot of time watching timbersports last winter. Some poor bastard desperatly sawing a massive log, merely for the sake of sawing. Me desperatly peddling away, merely for the sake of peddling.
I agree with the last bit. I never cut a session short, indoors or outdoors. I dont want to sound all hardarse. But quiting is not something I train. If I'm having a shit day I slow if I really must.

timbersports? This exists? Fuckinell.

That said, if i weren't racing. I'd rather shoot myself than ride indoors. I'll go out doors in the snow than ride the rollers. If it were conductive to speed. And not living in a city.

I cycle outdoors all winter. Hereas its very difficult to do proper interval stuff (I just cant cant) outdoors during the summer. Its impossible during the winter. I get huge endurance/fitness benefit fighting through the snow. But no real increase in performance.

Yeah, I don't really need to stop thinking. More start thinking, when needed. Simples.

Hippy, I just got a nokia 105. It does FM radio via headphones. Battery life is meant to be days, even with radio on. I'll let you know what it's like. Has a tinny, but okay, loudspeaker too. You might be keen on it, due to battery life.

I cycle outdoors all winter. Hereas its very difficult to do proper interval stuff (I just cant cant) outdoors during the summer. Its impossible during the winter. I get huge endurance/fitness benefit fighting through the snow. But no real increase in performance.

And that's why I ride indoors too. Riding outdoors is fun, but no conductive to performance. Unless you live at the bottom of a mountain.

timbersports? This exists? Fuckinell.

...where the men are men...etc.

And that's why I ride indoors too. Riding outdoors is fun, but no conductive to performance. Unless you live at the bottom of a mountain.

Well I have mountains all around. Infact hill repeats are the only type of interval training that I'm far better at outdoors.

This is a 1.5km, 6:00min climb, which makes a perfect hill repeat.
http://www.strava.com/activities/83708541#1710876314

Cant think of better climbing training then that. Not for me at least. 3mins in you realise you're going too fast, hold on for 1:30 mins more, then mash out the last min or so. Recover, and repeat.

Its 4km from my house, and 1km from my mate house, who has 3rd (hes 20sec faster than me up there).

 I'm not sure why people are comparing trainers to going for a ride.      It's cold, wet and I need to look after a sleeping kid.  My choice     is not lovely cycle or boring trainer it is TV or TV whilst burning  some     calories and improving fitness.  As for frontal area, surely the  fatter you are the more air is guided around your belly as opposed to  hitting a washboard square on?

I think a lot of us are stuck indoors for reasons other than the weather. Its worth looking at turbo time as an uber focused training session. Involving intervals, and carefully selected efforts. That way when you do get some time off, and get outside. You dont worry about what sort of training you need, just enjoying the ride. Well thats me anyway.

I'd try cleaning the roller with a little white spirit or similar. It might have become greasy. I'd also grab a training tyre. They are little quiter, and designed to grip the roller.

As for frontal area. Its all about getting low. Losing 20kg isnt going to reduce your frontal area as much as lowering your stem a chunk. Eat cake, do stretches.

^^ I've not found trainer-specific tyres to be any grippier than normal road tyres. In fact, they should have less grip due to the high plastic (?) content. Sounds like you need to adjust the roller so it's putting more pressure on the tyre.

Also, don't jump into hard efforts, wind it up. Mind you, I would've killed myself if I ever tried to do sprint training on a turbo.

I think I can press the roller harder against the tyre with a turbo tyre. That might be it. But then I havent really had slipping issues.

Sprint training is fine if the stand is solid, and level. Its the low cadence, steep climbing, that makes me rock about occasionally.