A coach's thoughtful ponderings about trainer usage
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A coach's thoughtful ponderings about trainer usage
I read this short article about the effective usage of trainers and liked it well enough to post it. Here ya go:
LINK
LINK
Last edited by Clipped_in; 12-19-19 at 11:51 AM.
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Did my first SST workout yesterday in the cycle gym that I have access to (Stages cycles w/powermeters). Gonna do that 3 times a week, while still getting outside as much as possible. Should make for a good balance and hopefully build some speed/strength over the winter.
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Very reasonable. Shockingly so. And it makes feel better about not shelling out big bucks for a smart trainer if I was just going to have to put it on a dumb setting anyway.
Last edited by caloso; 12-17-19 at 12:52 PM.
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#7
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I read this short article about the effective usage of trainers and liked it well enough to post it. Here ya go:
Link
Link
Good article, though, thanks for sharing it.
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#8
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I would be very surprised if the decision whether to use erg mode or not had any significant effect on one's fitness.
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My wife was just given an old CompuTrainer and she loves it. Finally, she can ride with power, whoo whoo. However it's not connected to any device, so she can't record TSS, too bad, but oh well, she still records hrTSS. She only uses it in erg mode. It has made a difference for her, being able to dial in just the right power for steady-state or intervals. Very useful. She keeps it spinning at around 90 cadence and 16 mph and just hits the buttons for resistance. So simple. I admit to giving her workouts based on her FTP measured on the trainer. She likes that, so it's all good.
Rather than virtual training, we get outside on the tandem year-round and do some damage..
Rather than virtual training, we get outside on the tandem year-round and do some damage..
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Last edited by Carbonfiberboy; 12-17-19 at 07:29 PM.
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Yeah, I just use my resistance rollers for all inside riding. I gotta say that they've more useful to me now that I have a Powertap hub on my single. There's enough resistance that I can do anything I want on them. Don't need an erg mode to hold the power steady, nope. I'm only bored during cool-down. I do have to pay attention, which is good. A friend once walked in during a roller session. I looked up, said Hi, and was on the floor. Just got little pedal cut on my calf.
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#14
I disagree on erg mode. Unless you are basically going to failure you are not going to go in to "death spiral". It helps to keep you in right zone. Personally I like erg mode. I think it makes me do work outs more consistently and higher quality.
Also you can drive zwift or whatever with your PM, and not trainer PM. So you get same numbers inside or outside. That being said it helps if your PM supports bluetooth. ANT+ is kind of finicky. Specially for short intervals. Although it could be just my environment is super noisy.
Also you can drive zwift or whatever with your PM, and not trainer PM. So you get same numbers inside or outside. That being said it helps if your PM supports bluetooth. ANT+ is kind of finicky. Specially for short intervals. Although it could be just my environment is super noisy.
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#15
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I'm an ERG mode junky and have used it to good effect for about 3 years. It keeps me honest, and with an 8 speed road bike the thing I hated about training previously was how tough it was to dial in a good power/cadence combo. With ERG I can just keep a steady cadence and my Hammer keeps me on power. It's not without its downside though, I think mentally it's tougher for me to do any steady intervals outside on more rolling terrain because of the mental focus it takes to stay in the zone and shifting. But that might just be a me problem, since it was tough before I got the smart trainer!
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I hate erg mode as it "feels" really unnatural, but I like resistance mode or simply climbing up one of the mountains. It feels easier to self-select a good cadence than in erg mode, which always feels like it's trying to get me to slow cadence down.
#17
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I like erg mode for intervals that are in the sweet spot range or lower. For higher short intensity stuff, I feel like erg mode can restrict your potential.
#18
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I go back and forth between structured workouts in ERG mode and free form riding. There's a place for both.
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I like erg for a couple of canned workouts a week. It allows me to ignore power and concentrate on cadence and I think it’s good for working on those parts of the power-cadence-duration space that I might otherwise tend to avoid because they’re uncomfortable.
#20
Uber Goober
One issue I never see addressed in these kind of articles is motivation. You can get a wonderful workout in all kinds of ways, but if it doesn't incorporate some degree of fun, you're a lot less likely to continue it. I know some people who just love going to a gym and doing a spin class, but that's got very little appeal to me, and if that kind of thing was what cycling was all about, i'd find a different hobby.
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#21
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I will do sweet spot intervals with my track bike. Erg mode allows me to not have to change gears and like you, just focus on cadence.
#22
Newbie racer
One issue I never see addressed in these kind of articles is motivation. You can get a wonderful workout in all kinds of ways, but if it doesn't incorporate some degree of fun, you're a lot less likely to continue it. I know some people who just love going to a gym and doing a spin class, but that's got very little appeal to me, and if that kind of thing was what cycling was all about, i'd find a different hobby.
There have been a few confusing and sad forum topics about that over there.
I get living crap places or being afraid, but take up another hobby if you’re cutting the off all the good parts. Be happier.
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#23
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I will direct your attention to the Slowtwitch triathlon forums. Where people only train indoors period, then go do one outdoors race per year. Some even run indoors all year. Zero outdoors. Some of them not even with the visual stimulation of Zwift.
There have been a few confusing and sad forum topics about that over there.
I get living crap places or being afraid, but take up another hobby if you’re cutting the off all the good parts. Be happier.
There have been a few confusing and sad forum topics about that over there.
I get living crap places or being afraid, but take up another hobby if you’re cutting the off all the good parts. Be happier.
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"be careful this rando stuff is addictive and dan's the 'pusher'."
"be careful this rando stuff is addictive and dan's the 'pusher'."
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