turbo trainer training
topcat
Posts: 6
in General Chat
hi just bought my first tracx turbo trainer and got a free training dvd of the alps thrown in. this was great for the first few rides but now bored stiff of it. anyone got any good training tips or programs to keep me motivated.
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Anyway, I've been looking for a good dvd for ages and haven't come across any - so would love it if anyone could recommend one!
Thanks [:)]
Barbs
Also there is a book out there with some cool workouts, a good variety, 60 workouts. It's called Workouts in a Binder For Indoor Cycling by Dirk Friel and Wes Hobson. What's nice about the book is that it coated so you can sweat on it and you don't have to worry about ruining the pages.
So I’m a fan of outdoor riding even through the winter. But there seems to be many many people on turbos. Can someone tell me the added benefit please. (As well as staying dry and warm)
S
Johnny
I think on the Spinnerval DVD's Coach Troy states somethign like this every so often, I'll have to ask my coach to make sure, but I think every hour on the trainer is like 2 hours on the road. Besides, staying warm, dry and away from cars is all worth it in the winter.
Starting in late Nov. or early Dec. I get together with some fellow triathletes here in Minnesota an we bike indoors on our trainers. We open the windows to stay cool, we watch the DVD on a huge tv and after we are done we have a beer or two.
CORRECTION: Our training plan called for a turbo training session tonight, so we did 1:40 minutes. I was asking one of my friends what the ratio was of time on the bike versus the road time. She corrected my but she wasn't 100% either, she thought it was more like 2 hours on the trainer is like 3 hours on the road. So, I was wrong in my previous statement above. When I get a chance I'll ask my coach.
But now I am all better I would mainly use the turrbo once they start salting the roads in winter- I really don't like the idea of getting salt all over my precious bike. (I can't afford 2!)
What's anyone's experience with salted roads? Am I just being paranoid?
This stuff really harms metals, it litterally eats it's way through them.(cars also suffer a lot by them, but without the salt, much more worse things could happen!).
I usea very cheap ATB to ride outside in winter times, just so i dont forget what biking outsideis.
The ways in which a turbo helps me are:
(1) I don't have lights on my racing bike and on the days that I can only schedule some training time when it's dark out (early morning or late night), it's good to know that I can just put the bike on the turbo and still get a good work-out.
(2) I have to ride about 30 minutes start-and-stop through traffic lights and East London traffic before I get to some nice open roads where I can really settle into a groove or practice the specific skills I choose, in an uninterrupted fashion. That's not so much of a problem if I am heading out at 8am on a Sunday morning. But, at other times, I like knowing that I can put the bike on the turbo, do 10-15 minutes' of progressive warm-ups and then get straight into my training routine.
(3) There are those occasional super-cold days of winter (and I would guess I only experience 2 or 3 of them each year in London) when my gloves and winter clothing still don't keep me warm in those crucial first 20 minutes of the ride - my body isn't warm yet, but the wind is cutting through all the clothing I've put on - that just don't seem to justify spending extra money on extra-warm gear becasue they happen so infrequently. But, it's nice to know that I can do the turbo training, get warm much faster (even thought I do my turbo training in the back garden, there is no wind cutting through my clothes when I am on the turbo and so I get warm within 5 minutes or so).
(4) Being on the road, at least the roads I train on on North and East London, means that I can't always do the training routines in exactly the time, speed and cadence that I want to. I mean, if I am supposed to be doing speed training where it says go at a time trial pace, at the anaerobic threshold for 3 to 5 miles, then it can be frustrating if I am frequently interrupted by roundabouts, hills, or potholes or other obstacles?
Yes, I know we have to deal with obstacles when we are racing on the roads, but when we are racing, it's usually under more ideal conditions, anyway. We often have the road to ourselves, or at least a lot more space to avoid potholes, etc.
Don't get me wrong, I still love being out on the road and I'll always choose road training over turbo training, but every now and then it's nice to know that I can sit on the turbo, train when I want to train, worry less about weather or safety issues, go at a specific pace for the specified time and not have any disruptions.
welcome here, and a good entrance that is; you just said some wise words.
So, i guess there are pros and contras to this turbo training. I guess that mixing it up, road and turbo practice, could benefit us all.(but i guess that is what most of us do.