I have recently purchased a Tacx turbo trainer and don't want to just sit on it and churn out 100's of pointless miles.

I normally ride between 60 and 100 miles a week but as the days have been getting shorter I am only amble to get covered in mud and cold twice a week racking up only 25 miles.

Does anyone have or can point me in the direction of some quality training plans that will boost my riding speed and stamina over the dark nights please?

Cheers

Do you the pc tacx? or basic unit?

Basic-loads of dvd training vidss to buy.

Tacxmagic software for serious buffs.

there has to be free stuff out there?

It's only a cheap Tacx Sirius so I am using my own computers.

There are a few half decent sites but am unable to find any quality and just wanted some help.

warm up , intervals (preferably with a heart rate monitor) – say 10 x 30 secs at max sustainable with 1 min rest in between, warm down. Intensity of reps is the imporatnt thing apparently, not number of reps
its hard, but it works!

This is the plan I'm starting to use

20 mins warm up to include;
15 mins progressive warm up until struggling to hold conversation
Followed by 3 x 20 sec sprints followed by 2 mins recovery after
each, then;
3 mins effort at 95 – 100rpm
Intensity should be such that you shouldn’t be able to carry on much
beyond the 3 mins
10 mins warm down

Complete over 3/4 weeks by adding an additional 3 minute effort each
week, taking 5 mins recovery between efforts.

I should add though that I try to get out on the road or off road a reasonable amount and try to still get 100 miles or so in to mainatin a base level of fitness

Do Russian Steps! remember as being 10minute warm up then 30secs max effort then 30secs recovery build this up in time to 5mins max 5mins recovery and work your way back down to 30secs!

If you want to improve your stamina then you will need to do longer intervals. 5 minutes at least, as anything below you are working different energy systems.

Pyramid intervals can be good.

I work offshore, so am stuck on a turbo trainer for half of the year. I have a few routines that i use. The main one that seems to do some good is an interval routine that you push yourself to 90-95% of max effort. I start with 10 minutes warm up, steadily increasing resistance then put in 7 minutes at 90% effort, followed by 2 minutes rest/easy pace, then 5 minutes at 90%, 2 minutes rest, 3 minutes at 90% and 2 minutes easy. I then do 2 minutes at as close to 100% effort as possible, aiming to have to reduce resistance over the last thirty seconds. Finish off with either 5 or 10 minutes warm down. I do this three times a week and on the seventh day do a work out with five two minute sections at 100% with five minute rests in-between.
This seems to keep some semblance of fitness. I will also try and do two hour and a half spins at 70 or 80% – that is if I can withstand the boredom and sore arse.

2×20's

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12555444&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=a561705b7f221c1261bf15aec8419d55

Hour of power (very hard – best saved for when you get used to the trainer and have tried 'easier' intervals first)

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12606125

Then there is here

http://www.turbotraining.co.uk/turbo_trainer_sessions.php

Loads of Spinerval torrents if you look around (free) and a CTS Criteium torrent too.

If you want to watch road racing when doing it, this site is excellent.

http://cyclingtorrents.nl/login.php?returnto=%2F

there's another thread similar to this recently where a book from amazon, under 7 quid, is recomended.

personally i like the spinervals dvds, whether i will come the end of the winter is another matter but for now they make the session fly by.

my plan would be to chuck the ruddy thing in the canal and go for a bike ride…

There certainly used to be lots of training sessions on the Tacx website…not been there for a while but worth a look?

Yeah check out the Tacx website. Look for the coach bit. Loads and loads of PDF's with training plans on, endurance, strength, sprinting ability etc. I've been using that one on Bikeradar, said 3-6 reps, managed 2! So i guess thats fine for my current state of fitness. I think the Tacx stuff is a bit more hardcore.

This is my plan. Its pretty ruddy hard when done properly. It looks pretty complex but is basically an inverted pyramid with some sprints thrown in on the way back down the pyramid. You should be aiming to be on the rivet for the 5 min intervals, so either adjust your resistence or your gearing to achieve this. I think this is a good program for an all round workout, and the only one I use. Using different, specific programs may be more benficial, but Im a creature of habit!

http://www.turbotraining.co.uk/indoor_cycling_workout.php?id=269

I bought this to keep me on track whilst i'm on tour in Afghanistan, just done the 5 week programme and have now started the 12 week base one, it keeps it interesting (as a turbo can be) is easy to follow and cost just over a tenner. Apparently the guys that wrote it know there stuff! It also sweat proof which is a real bonus as I had several soggy pieces of paper when I'd printed off work outs from the Taxc website in the past. Only upgrade I made other than that was a computer with a cadence sensor on it.
LINK

If you don't mind the £5ish cost then these aren't bad

http://www.thesufferfest.com/

Thanks for all the help, the Tacx website only has plans for Endurance Aerobic as the rest are empty.

phyncra, yours looks good. Any idea what resistance you used?

erm my turbo is pretty shagged and has the resitence disk duck taped on! I guess as a rule of thumb, when your doing your 5 min in the biggest gear you want it to feel pretty damn hard – not 'I need to get out the saddle to turn this bugger hard' but you want to be able to turn it at 80-100rpm but only with considerable effort – if your not dying after 5 mins noch it up a few clicks!