Turbo Training

z1ppy

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Posting here but not sure i will get too many replies....

I have to be honest and say i think i have been on my bike for about 50 miles since the ride finished and i don't like it! feel massively overweight and unfit and it needs to change.

not sure what rides i will be doing next year but i am skiing in april and need to get rid of this spare tyre i am carrying too....

so my bike is set up in the conservatory on my new turbo trainer. i have the kinetic inride app on my phone and the trainer transmits data to my phone but what i don't know yet is how to interpret the data and i want to make use of some training videos to make the rides more interesting....

any suggestions from the forum on where to start?
 

7htas

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Endurance cyclist/fatty here.

I can't advise you on the app, but can with regards to training, I usually put a DVD or something on.

You'd be better getting some decent base layers, and getting out on the bike. Miles, miles, and more miles!

Good luck with your training, and remember

If it ain't hurtin'...I ain't workin'

*Consults is New Year training plan*
 

z1ppy

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Nothing better than road miles but its very dark round my way and aside from weekends, no chance to get out.

couple of sessions in and starting to realise why everyone says they are items of torture! done a fair few spin classes but Turbo trainer is a different level all together!
 

7htas

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Most guys in my club buy the trainers with good intentions....


You have to have real commitment to use them! I do use mine a few time a month!

We have one guy in our club, who does not come out on the bike, he just uses his turbo in his garage all the time, and actually buys videos to assist him (Suffer fest)
 

Murv

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I really would echo the above, get yourself some decent lights and get outside!
I used the turbo quite extensively when I was training for a team time trial event, they're very effective.
I dumped it last Year because it's just too painful. Off road riding at night is far more fun and very good training.
The main problem I found is it was a case of get your head down, ride for what felt like at least an Hour, then check the clock and discover that it was actually about 4 minutes... torture!
Interval training is a little better, but you'll need a big fan set-up to keep you cool and it still falls well outside of any sort of description of "fun."
Watching a film is a good idea, but difficult to do if you're following a structured training plan on the turbo.

Friend of mine bought a Tacx set-up, linked to his TV and he can ride virtual races on it. He likes it, but I'd personally never buy one again.

Is off-road riding a possibility for you? I used to go out with a small group one evening a week and thrash round the woods. Only problem with that is it would be a very late evening by the time I'd loaded the bike on the car, driven down there, completed the ride then driven back and showered etc... but still way preferable to the turbo!
 

P4Paul

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I am also suffering from lack of motivation although I have started intermittently jogging again. Perhaps the answer is that we find an cycling app we can all log into and have a weekly league competition for distance travelled, agree a day/time for head to head racing, etc, etc to keep up the motivation. A friend keeps on about Zwift, not used it yet but happy to try it if there is other interest.

Still want some company to join Kerry and I when we cycle round the island next year so don't stop the training completely!!!!
 

z1ppy

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I'm up for round the island with you and Kerry. let me know dates. sure gary will be up for it as he has stayed super active.

Used the trainer a few times and the comments above are pretty accurate. felt like i had been going for hours and was only 41 minutes in! when i finished i did feel like i had done some hard work for sure! i actually like the hour of pain / torture as at the moment i just don't have the time to get on the road for 3 hours at a time. an hour on the turbo at 80% effort + and it really works you hard.

night time riding just doesn't appeal to me. when its dark its pitch black in the forest here and having seen how some drive round here i don't fancy taking my chances.

Strava is a pretty good app for keeping up with friends, (few of us from the ride last year are on it). haven't started with Zwift yet but thats mostly because our internet is so bad here its not worth it!

its tough at this time of year, if its any consolation, last year i started training in january, went to the US for 3 weeks and ate and drank my weight in beer and wine, then came back and started in march. by the ride day i was pretty comfortable doing 60+ miles. it does come back fairly quickly, the biggest thing i found was getting time in the seat to stop the pain in the backside!
 

Dab

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Hello z1ppy

I have just googled the inrin app and the one I found measures power. If that's the one you've got, then I would use your trainer in a structured way to raise your power output. Cycling in doors can be pretty booring but because of the controlled environment you can improve you performance with less time on the bike that if outside. The trick is not to try to replicate what you would normally do outside, but do shorter structured training sessions. 30mins to 45 minutes max.

If your trainer measures power and you have a heart rate monitor as well then then you will be will set. If you interested I can suggest some example sessions. They are based on knowing some information about some of your existing training heart rates and power output. If you understand the terms Functional Threshold Power and Lactate Threshold Heart Rate you will know what I mean. If not I can help you to estimate them closely enough to start putting together some workouts.

If you are wondering why I was looking at this thread, I followed the charity ride thread a bit last year, but was away on the date so never joined in. Afterwards one of the riders suggested doing a ride this year, but just as a ride. I expressed an interest but it all went quiet.
 

alteredoutlook

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I use the Zwift program (www.zwift.com) and think its pretty cool - you enter a 'game' whereby you are riding on courses in fictitious places and can interact (if you want to) with other riders. You can spend your time just riding or doing a structured workout by yourself or doing a race or group ride. You can buy 'smart' turbo trainers which automatically apply resistance to mimic gradients etc which improve the experience. if you are 'time poor' its a thoroughly good way to train - a bit like going to the gym. An added bonus is that you dont have to go cycling in the rain:)
Try it out -you can just watch other riders if you want - also, i think you get 2 weeks/50 miles free before you have to sign up...
 
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