Turbo related question

[Darren Jeffrey]

Just bought my first turbo trainer last night and need to ask a few questions regarding the use.

1. If I was tyo follow a video of say a 30 minute spin class on youtube what setting on the trainer would I set it to (goes from 1 to 5, 1 being easiest) and what gear on the bike should I be in?

2. If following a longer training video should I change gears as it goes uphill in the video to simulate harder effort going up hill or just use the trainers setting 1-5

Very confused so some help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Yellow Saddle]

If no-one's watching, setting no 1.

It all depends on what you are trying to achieve. A stationary trainer can be used for many types of training, from leg speed, to speed endurance to strength to interval. If you are not training at that level, do what you want to improve, which is usually endurance to ride a bit further.

 

[ushills]

Depends on the heart rate or perceived effort you are trying to meet on the video, there are many good ones by CTX and GCN on youtube.

 

[Danny B]

As a beginner with a turbo trainer last winter I set the resistance to mid way and then used the gears to increase and decrease the work load. As I got fitter I then increased the resistance on the turbo but kept the same gearing during the session. I used the CTX 45 min video on YouTube as one of my sessions each week, and used the bike gears when the level increase on the video. My fitness and endurance improved no end, although this was from starting at a reasonably low fitness level.

 

[Danny B]

Just read the above back and might be confusing. When I got fitter I upped the resistance on the turbo but kept doing the same gear changes on the bike during the session so working harder in general but doing the same intensity changes during the ride.

 

[Darren Jeffrey]

As a beginner with a turbo trainer last winter I set the resistance to mid way and then used the gears to increase and decrease the work load. As I got fitter I then increased the resistance on the turbo but kept the same gearing during the session. I used the CTX 45 min video on YouTube as one of my sessions each week, and used the bike gears when the level increase on the video. My fitness and endurance improved no end, although this was from starting at a reasonably low fitness level.

As in, if the ascent on the video increased you changed gears to mirror this to make it harder to pedal?

 

[Danny B]

On the CTX video there is an effort level insert on the screen so when it tells you to up the level, change gear to work harder for that duration and then drop back to a comfortable gear for the recovery.
You will need to find your recovery level. Level 3 on the insert is meant to be a pace you can maintain with ease so you can work harder in level 5 and then get to 90% your max for level 6.
Do you have a heart rate monitor? as this helps set the levels to work at using % of maximum heart rate for levels.
If not just work at level 3 where you can hold a conversation with out being out of breath.
Another workout I did to build leg muscle was 15 mins at a constant pace in one gear then 15 mins in the next harder gear then 15 mins in the next harder gear and finally 15 mins back down one easier gear.
This is very hard work and you might not manage the complete 15 min sections but as you get fitter / stronger you can extend the time up to the full 15 minutes and then once you can do the full hour then start at a higher gear. I ended up working two of the top gear on my 105 11 speed cassette for the third 15 minute slot, mind you I nearly fell of the bike at the end of the sessions.