rolla102

I have just started having a go on the turbo so I can have a good winter, last winter I did pretty much nothing but made some good performance gains during the summer so i want to start next summer in a better position, so far I have juat done a couple tabata sessions of 10 min warm up then 10 rounds of 20secs hard effort with 10secs reat followed by 5-10 min warm down.

In your opinion/from your experience what are the most effective sessions or training plans to see you through winter starting next season in a better position?

Carbonfiberboy 

It all depends on how much time you have available and your ability to use the trainer without going nuts. There are people on here who've done centuries on their trainer in the winter. Other folks start to crack in 30 minutes. Some folks need a cycling video for stimulation. Some folks really like subscribing to trainerroad and using a laptop. I just use loud rock music.

If you just absolutely hate it, then HIIT is the way to go. Many routines to choose from, so mix it up. Google "cycling hiit"

I use rollers so I don't get so bored. In winter, I focus on the fundamentals: pedaling circles and endurance. I don't start doing intense intervals until maybe February. For me, winter is the time to lay a strong foundation. So I don't get sick of riding the rollers, I also go to the gym and work the Stairway To Hell, better known as the StepMill, and lift weights. I have the advantage of living somewhere that it rains a lot in winter but seldom snows or freezes, so I get out once a week for a 3 hour hard group ride. I don't think that not having that ride would change my approach to winter training, though.

What I do on a sample week (gotta have a computer with cadence):
Monday: off

Tuesday: hour or more of rollers, zone 1, containing 15'-45' of high cadence drill staying in zone 2, 115-120 cadence continuously. It takes time to build the ability to do this. It's difficult, but that's why I do it. Then go to the gym and lift weights. I'll do this until February, then I'll switch and have 15'-45' of 2' one-legged pedaling intervals. 2' right, 2' left, 2' legs together, repeat until the time's up or my legs don't work anymore. I alternate 50-55 cadence and 80-85 cadence and use as much gear as my legs will allow. HR not important.

Wednesday: hour on the StepMill, zone 3. About December, I'll move my hour of zone 2 on the rollers to this day.

Thursday: Hour on the rollers, zone 2. About December, I'll start doing zone 3 intervals this day, starting with 2 X 15' and gradually increasing to 2 X 30', 70 cadence, warming up and cooling down in zone 2 at 85+ cadence. Lift weights at the gym after.

Friday: 30'-45' zone 2 on the Stepmill. All winter.

Saturday: I might do a 3 hour group ride or take off, depending on the weather and how I feel. If I didn't have a group ride on Sunday, I'd do 1-1.5 hours of zone 2 on the rollers, and lift weights at the gym after if I wasn't too tired.

Sunday: 3+ hour group ride. If I didn't have that, I'd repeat the Thursday workout.

Sometimes I can get out to ski during the day on Thursday. If I ski, I come home and still do my usual workouts.

If I feel like I need more work, I'll get up early and do 30' of zone 1 on the rollers before breakfast every day.

Faves? I need them all, but the Tuesday workouts and the Thursday zone 3 interval workouts are really stimulating.

Machka 

Personally, I like spinning classes. Not all spinning classes are created equal, and you can occasionally end up with poor instructors, but for the most part they are what you make of them ... and you don't have to do everything they say, you can do your own thing now and then if you prefer.

That said, I like them because they get me out of the house and into the gym. I've got an instructor taking a room full of people through a training session ... and I can make it as hard or as easy as I want. The time passes quickly and I usually feel like I've had quite a workout. The instructor also takes us through some stretching at the end which is something I need.

Then, because I'm at the gym, I can use the treadmill, rowing machine and/or weights to add to the workout.


When I'm on the trainer at home, my favourite workout are commercial intervals ... I watch a show I like on a channel that has commercials. I ride easy during the show, and when the commericial comes on, I ride as hard as I can for the duration of the commerical break. 30 or 60 minutes goes by in no time.

rolla102

Ok cool some good ideas there. I just tried a youtube cycling video where it gives you effort levels to give for intervals which was good and i managed to not get too bored! As for gym workouts i do have a gym membership(money wasted at the moment) anr used to do alot of body building and strength programs and saw a surge in explosive power but with that comes a fair bot of weight gain so I think i'm gonna go back soon for roughly 2 days a week and just do a full body workout finished up with a full core routine.

My rough plan at the moment is keep doing sessions on the turbo to lose a bit of weight and then do a more tailored routine after christmas which should hopefully put me in a good place next summer. All this will be with rides out on the bike aswell when i have time

DaveLeeNC

I have to admit that getting up off the ground and remounting rollers maybe once every 90 seconds is not boring

I do around half my cycling on an indoor spinner bike. I like it better for speed work than a real bike, but otherwise (beyond weather implications) a real bike is better. Typically 90 minutes is the most that I want to do indoors. I mix in music, all kinds of stuff on television, occasional cycling or Youtube videos, etc.

Years ago I ran through 2 hours of a U of Kentucky/Florida basketball game on a treadmill. UK won :-)

dave

Carbonfiberboy 

I've fallen off three times in 15+ years. I like that thing about having to pay attention. Focuses the mind on the business at hand. And you get way smooth.

Our gym used to have a spin class at a convenient time, so we did that and lifted afterwards. That was something different to do once a week. However, a spin bike is a fixie that's always on the flat. Anyway, it encourages poor pedaling technique. Try standing on a spin bike, then go home and stand on your trainer or rollers with your freewheel bike. Try OLP with both bikes. Not the same.

I found I don't gain muscle weight at the gym if I limit full body workouts to less than 1/2 hour, twice a week, and do the same workout both days. I do however get stronger.

sprince

For indoor I tend to use the treadmill at a 30% incline, sometimes with a weighted backpack. It's difficult enough to keep the workout short and I can use the built-in heart rate monitor to make sure I don't over cook. I can't say that it does much more than keep me from loosing cardio fitness when the weather is crap, but it's much better than nothing. Have had better cycling specific results on a spinning bike for 40 minutes at a pop, but it's just too boring for me to keep it up on a consistent basis, even with tv.

Carbonfiberboy 

I use the StepMill with sort of the same idea. Unfortunately, I have acquired a fairly high pain tolerance and have done 75 minutes of zone 3 on the Stairway to Hell. I always swear I'll never do that again. I look like I've showered with my clothes on. Or maybe went to the demonstration and got my prescription filled. Good times.

hobkirk

CFB -
It's absolutely amazing! I do the exact same thing! Talk about a small world.

Well, maybe not the whole week, but Monday for sure!

I can feel my conditioning improving just by reading your post.

PS - Skiing is sinful, you know. If you ski, you should do your regular workout before skiing. And afterward, also. Make it a day to remember.

PPS - Excuse me if I've hit you on a rare ill-temper day. I just couldn't resist. Reading your post made me sweat...

Carbonfiberboy 

Well . . . last winter I skied on Thursday, quit about 2:30, came back and did a spin class and then if I still had it, I lifted weights but didn't do legs.