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Winter can be a testing time for us cyclists and sometimes the weather is so miserable that the only choice is to forgo the usual Bigfoot club ride. The problem is all those lazy Saturday mornings looking out at the rain instead of riding can mount up and come spring time it can be pretty hard to get your fitness back and get going. Also with plenty of good early season rides in our area like the Hell of the Ashdown it only takes a few rainy days in the weeks before and you can go into a ride rather under prepared.
 It’s at times like these that a turbo trainer comes to the rescue. If you think of it as a way of supplementing the riding you do out on the road instead of replacing it then it can prove a real aid to keeping you fit and it needn’t be as boring as you might think.
The overriding benefit of a turbo trainer is it allows you to perform targeted training without all the usual issues of riding on the road to contend with. You’ll be able to ride as hard and as far as you need, perform intervals, even ride with one leg and not worry about crashing into a tree or a fellow club member.
The following sessions have been devised, gathered and cribbed from various sources and will each target different aspects of your fitness and hopefully help pass the time quicker. Most of the sessions can be completed within or around an hour which is probably about as long as you’d want to do at once unless you’ve a passion for boredom.
For those of you without a turbo and thinking of getting one then there are a few key points to note and tips on good turbos at the end of this article.
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Variety Turbo
(60 mins total)
This is a fun session if you’re new to using a turbo. It’s got lots of variety to keep you entertained although perhaps isn’t as tuned to a particular gain as some of the subsequent sessions.
Warm up for 10 minutes, starting real easy and gradually increasing the resistance so by the end you’re starting to get a bit of a sweat going. Perform a set of single leg drills. Unclip one foot and rest it on a chair or the frame of the turbo, spin with the one leg for 1 minute, try to keep the cadence up and the pedal stroke smooth. After 1 minute pedal normally with both legs for a minute before unclipping the other foot and working the other leg for 1 minute. Perform 5 repeats on each leg. Next work on spin ups; keeping the resistance low work on spinning your legs to just less than maximum cadence and sustain for a minute. Perform 5 repeats with 1 minute recovery between each effort. Next simulate a steady climb by increasing the resistance and work for 1 minute in the saddle and then 1 minute out of the saddle, alternate like this for 10 minutes. Finally lower the resistance but increase your cadence and speed to ride hard for the next 5 minutes. Include a few 100% efforts within this time for around 8-12 seconds ensuring you leave a good amount of time between each burst. Finally cool down as before until the hour is up!
Regular Intervals
(41-65 mins total)
This session is designed to raise your lactate threshold. Perform the 10 minute warm up as above. Shift to the big ring or increase the resistance on your trainer and work hard for 5 minutes. Change down and spin gently for 3 minutes to recover. Repeat this 5 minute - 3 minute cycle for three to six repetitions depending on ability. Finish with a 10 minute cool down.
Short, Power Intervals
(37-57 mins total)
This session helps to build explosive power for blasting up short climbs like Sundridge or racing back to the café at the end of a club ride.
Warm up for 10 minutes as above. Shift into a larger gear and sprint flat out for 1 minute – try not to go off too fast as a minute will feel like a long time, trust me! At the end of the minute easy back into a lower gear and spin gently for 3 minutes to recover. Repeat this 1 minute – 3 minute cycle for five to ten repetitions depending on your ability. Finish with a 10 minute cool down which should be the reverse of the warm up.
Tabata
(23 mins total)
The shortest session you could probably do but don’t be fooled, it’s not easy and it’s not pretty! Google Tabata and you’ll discover how this is supposed to work.
Perform the 10 minute warm up as above. Shift into a larger gear and go totally flat out, 100%, giving it your all for 20 seconds. Shift down and recover for 10 seconds. Repeat this tourture of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for a further 5 times until you’ve done 6 reps in total. Finish with a 10 minute cool down.
2x20
(64 mins total)
This is a great session for building the sort of fitness you need for those long summer Sportives as it’s designed to raise your functional threshold power (FTP). There are whole books on FTP so I won’t write too much here but for those of you interested there’s a great easy to understand website called Flamme Rouge which explains things in more detail and tells you how to calculate your own FTP.
Perform the usual 10 minute warm up described above. Increase the resistance and perform 20 minutes of steady riding at 85% your FTP. For those of you without a power reading on your turbo this is roughly a level where you can’t string a whole sentence together. If I’m listening to music then my test is to try and sing along, if I can’t get more than a line out without pausing for breathe then I know I’m in roughly the right zone. At the end of the 20 minutes easy off the resistance and spin lightly for 4 minutes to recover. Perform a second 20 minutes at 85% FTP as before. Finish with a 10 minute cool down which should be the reverse of the warm up.
Turbo training advice
 You will sweat an awful lot on the turbo so ensure you’ve a big fan set up in front of the bike and a small towel to hand to protect your bike and mop your brow.
Turbo trainers are noisy so consider this when thinking where to set one up. Upstairs, on wooden floors or in a small flat is perhaps not ideal but you can use a camping or yoga mat to help minimise the noise.
Make sure you've some form of entertainment or you will get mind-numbingly bored very quickly. An Mp3 player, radio or movies on the laptop all help.
There are lots of different turbo trainers on the market catering for different needs and at a wide range of prices. A couple of favourite among club members are the Tacx Flow
and the Elite Crono Wireless. There are good detailed reviews on a variety of trainers on Bike Radar.
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If you know if any other great turbo sessions then please share them with other members of the club by posting your comments below.
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| The comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for its content.
Turbo Trainers
Posted on: 2009-11-18 16:16:26
By: Hugh
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Edited By: Hugh
On: 2009-11-18 16:17:02
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Just to echo Mike Ward's comments on the Forum - excellent article (by Paul N, well-known Turbo fiend?). It has inspired me to buy a TT after thinking about it for 12 months. Now all I need to do is empty the garage.
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Re: Turbo Trainers
Posted on: 2009-11-18 20:55:08
By: pauls
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Edited By: pauls
On: 2009-11-18 20:57:50
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Actually the article was by me (Paul S) so close :-) Those looking closely might recognise my trusty old Specialized in the photos! Credit should also go to Cycling Plus as the source for a fair few of the sessions.
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Bigfoot Bikes of Hayes near Bromley, Kent are proud to sponsor the Bigfoot Bike Club.
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