T*rb*!
Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2010 2:11 pmAs always I'll start this with "I'm not a coach, but...."
I've noticed on the last couple of training rides I've ended up having very similar conversations with different people, which basically start along the lines of "well I got the turbo out and did an hour but I've no idea really what's best to do on it..."
As a veteran turbo user I've pretty much explored all avenues (if that's possible without going anywhere) and have come to the conclusion that time on the turbo is much more tolerable if you're there for a purpose, rather than just pretending you're out on a ride with very slow-moving scenery. Any of you who are using Joe Friel will already have some suggestions of his; for the rest of you there are useful resources on the web. Probably the most useful I've found is at http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-5-Cycling-Workouts&id=3252462
The article kind of assumes you may have a powermeter but if you haven't, just try to set bike/turbo up identically each session and note the gear/cadence that you settle at, so you can note improvements and convince yourself it's worthwhile. You don't want it to feel any easier, you just want to get quicker.
Bear in mind that different workouts are best at different stages of the training season; I've been doing threshold intervals and muscular endurance intervals each week but won't head up into the intensity level of the others until around the New Year. But it depends what you're after - if you're doing cyclocross or duathlons your needs will be different.
All these sessions are around an hour maximium, including warm-up / warm-down. You shouldn't need DVD's or a magazine across the handlebars because you'll be so focussed on what you're doing that the time will fly by. Honest!
I've noticed on the last couple of training rides I've ended up having very similar conversations with different people, which basically start along the lines of "well I got the turbo out and did an hour but I've no idea really what's best to do on it..."
As a veteran turbo user I've pretty much explored all avenues (if that's possible without going anywhere) and have come to the conclusion that time on the turbo is much more tolerable if you're there for a purpose, rather than just pretending you're out on a ride with very slow-moving scenery. Any of you who are using Joe Friel will already have some suggestions of his; for the rest of you there are useful resources on the web. Probably the most useful I've found is at http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-5-Cycling-Workouts&id=3252462
The article kind of assumes you may have a powermeter but if you haven't, just try to set bike/turbo up identically each session and note the gear/cadence that you settle at, so you can note improvements and convince yourself it's worthwhile. You don't want it to feel any easier, you just want to get quicker.
Bear in mind that different workouts are best at different stages of the training season; I've been doing threshold intervals and muscular endurance intervals each week but won't head up into the intensity level of the others until around the New Year. But it depends what you're after - if you're doing cyclocross or duathlons your needs will be different.
All these sessions are around an hour maximium, including warm-up / warm-down. You shouldn't need DVD's or a magazine across the handlebars because you'll be so focussed on what you're doing that the time will fly by. Honest!