Turbo training advice

[Kies]

Having talked to Andy_G via IM, i have ordered a turbo trainer this morning ... YES YES YES - totally his fault!!!

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-fluid-elastogel-trainer/
and it arrives tommorow

rather than starting another thread on the same subject - i will ask here

what type of cycling computer should i attach to the bike when training - i can't see the need for HRM, and power at my age, but it would be nice to measure distance and cadence.

 

[Rob3rt]

Distance on a turbo is pretty much useless, duration at intensity is what you want to be measuring. You would quantify intensity using HR, RPE or if your turbo has a repeatable resistance curve and you can be bothered to treat every turbo session like a laboratory experiment, speed (personally I would say speed is a poor measure, given that very few people bother to go to the lengths required to get repeatable data).

Whatever you use, should be mounted on the rear wheel!

 

[Kies]

I see where you are coming from, so what would be a basic device to do all of the above .... not sure i will, but nice to look into it.

 

[Andy_G]

I see where you are coming from, so what would be a basic device to do all of the above .... not sure i will, but nice to look into it.

Seeing that money isnt a prob to you lol id get a garmin, i have the 800 and i love it but a 200 or 500 would do i guess.
On my Trek i have a cut out for a Duotrap(Cadence sensor) which is a nice touch.

 

[400bhp]

I see where you are coming from, so what would be a basic device to do all of the above .... not sure i will, but nice to look into it.

I think a sensible thing to do is get a heart rate monitor and something that measures either speed/distance/[ideally] power.

Have a rough idea of what your maximum heart rate (MHR) is and initially work from that

Then, on a particular trainer resistance setting use the average heart rate and either (average speed/total distance travelled/average watts) over a set time (or distance). Keep a note of the records and see how you improve.

For example on a particular turbo trainer load setting (assuming it has different resistance as not all do) do, say 20 minute sessions at aerobic capacity (which I think is about 75-85% of MHR but do a bit of internet searching to find out) and record the average heart rate and the [ average speed / distance/wattage].

Then see how things improve.

Mix things up, for example do some lower intensity (lower heart rate) workouts for longer periods. You could also do some interval training. Say, over 20 minutes, go balls out for 1 minute, easy pace for 1 minute, then repeat. This is more difficult to measure session on session without proper breakdowns of the intervals.

If you can manage it (and it's a big if-don't do this if you aren't up to it), have a go at going as hard as you can for 20 minutes. As above record the results. This kind of stuff, along with interval training, should show some results after a few weeks.

 

[Ningishzidda]

I think a sensible thing to do is get a heart rate monitor and something that measures either speed/distance/[ideally] power.

Have a rough idea of what your maximum heart rate (MHR) is and initially work from that

Then, on a particular trainer resistance setting use the average heart rate and either (average speed/total distance travelled/average watts) over a set time (or distance). Keep a note of the records and see how you improve.

For example on a particular turbo trainer load setting (assuming it has different resistance as not all do) do, say 20 minute sessions at aerobic capacity (which I think is about 75-85% of MHR but do a bit of internet searching to find out) and record the average heart rate and the [ average speed / distance/wattage].

Then see how things improve.

Mix things up, for example do some lower intensity (lower heart rate) workouts for longer periods. You could also do some interval training. Say, over 20 minutes, go balls out for 1 minute, easy pace for 1 minute, then repeat. This is more difficult to measure session on session without proper breakdowns of the intervals.

If you can manage it (and it's a big if-don't do this if you aren't up to it), have a go at going as hard as you can for 20 minutes. As above record the results. This kind of stuff, along with interval training, should show some results after a few weeks.

"have a go at going as hard as you can for 20 minutes" sounds suspiciously like a CT20.

 

[Ningishzidda]

Today im going to be a proud owner of my first trainer, and i want to start on in straight away and after searching the web i found this.
http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/fitness-basics-turbo-training-24170/
Being a total newbie i only understand the basics atm and this seems ok to me, but is it. ?

I have seen others but they seem so complicated or im just dense.

Did anyone ask? What make and model turbo did you get?

 

[Andy_G]

I got this one.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-novo-force-trainer/

 

[Kies]

And i got this one

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-fluid-elastogel-trainer/

 

[400bhp]

"have a go at going as hard as you can for 20 minutes" sounds suspiciously like a CT20.

Which means what in English?
.

 

[Rob3rt]

I think he means CP-20 (CP = critical power), and it is basically one method for approximating your FTP (functional threshold power, i.e. the maximum power you can maintain for 60 minutes).

 

[400bhp]

Well, that's what I was suggesting really, but didn't see the point of explaining it like that given it's unlikely either have a power meter.

Not for the faint hearted though!

 

[Kies]

Can you guys put your revolvers away please ;-)

I don't understand your vocabulary yet, but with time (and lots of reading) i will.

Right now, i'm like a child in a toy shop, waiting for my latest toy. Only this toy should allow me to train better, which means ride longer and faster :thumbsup

 

[Andy_G]

Can you guys put your revolvers away please ;-)

I don't understand your vocabulary yet, but with time (and lots of reading) i will.

Right now, i'm like a child in a toy shop, waiting for my latest toy. Only this toy should allow me to train better, which means ride longer and faster :thumbsup

+1 lol.
They should do a dictionary for cyclist lingo

 

[Rob3rt]

Don't worry about it, don't worry too much about metrics, of course you will need something to gauge intensity and progress, but you probably do not want to spend lots of time analysing and worrying about numbers at this stage. Also, IMO, the training benefit of decimating yourself like that vs the fatigue resulting from it is not worth the bother unless you need the data.

Over the winter I did them on a monthly basis, because I was not racing, so had to find out if and by how much my FTP had changed as it would affect all of my workouts. Now, I doubt I will bother testing it until next winter, (unless curiosity gets the better of me and I just have to have a number to satiate my ego, or quash self doubt etc). I would just ride a 25 mile TT, if my intensity factor was greater than 1, I would increase the FTP value entered in my analysis software to the normalised power for this race effort and adjust my zones accordingly.

Now all of this is helpful, for me, having built up to it over years, but for you, you would spend more time reading than riding trying to figure it all out in a short space of time! I recommend riding over reading! I still spend a lot of time reading and trying to figure out what information I can get out of the numbers kit gives me, quite frankly I have barely scratched the surface and sometimes I wonder if I even want/need to know any more, I am a numbers and information obsessive though. See how much I managed to garble on in this single post....... you don't want to end up like that do you!