...and about 40 minutes available. What's the best/least boring way of using that time and that stuff to get a bit fitter?
I would download some of the GCN videos, possibly 'Get Fit Fast 40 minute Sweetspot workout'.
Experiment the first few times to find the right pace so you can complete all the intervals. On my rollers, with an FTP of somewhere between 250 and 280W and 25c tyres pumped up to 100psi, I think I can hold 40km/h relatively easily for the duration of the sweetspot intervals.
Find some tunes you like.
Go for it. Spend the first few sessions finding your pace then add 1km/h and try to maintain that.
Once I'm allowed to start working out again (as opposed to endless low intensity stuff) this is pretty much the workout I'll start with.
You mean this kinda thing?
How's the 'effort level' work?
to get a bit fitter?
In what way, better endurance? faster sprinting? more power? increase watts?
I know this sounds lame, but 'just generally fitter and faster'.
That's exactly the one, I downloaded it using 4k video downloaded, saved me relying on WiFi in garage.
I ignored the effort level after the first couple of efforts, you just need to try it a few times, the idea being you find a pace that you can just maintain for the duration of the workout, should be rubber legged at the end!
In truth I haven't tried it in earnest on the rollers, it's usually been on my turbo, if it's too easy on the rollers just pick a bigger gear or let a bit of air out of your tyres, the difference between 80psi and 100psi is really noticeable on rollers!
I've been mucking about with rollers during lockdown. A few simple workouts that I've tried:
1. My favourite is the Desert Island Disc workout. Put on a podcast of DID (the music choices are shorter for rights reasons) and pedal at a nice easy pace. When the music plays go like crazy. Really get your HR up into Z5. The music will typically be 30-45s and by the 8th time this happens you'll be pretty bushed. The whole thing will last about 35 minutes.
2. 5 minute warm up in an easy gear then for 1 minute ride at an elevated cadence (I find ~100 works for me). Then change up a gear, 1 minute same cadence, up a gear, and so on. You should be able to manage a few changes until you can't hold the cadence. Your options now are either all the way back to where you started, or down a gear at a time. 5 minutes at easy pace and repeat, and then again. So it might look like
5 mins easy (say cadence ~70) lets call it gear A
1 min A 100rpm
1 min B 100
1 min C 100
1 min D 100
1 min E 100 (by this point I'm probably doing 30mph)
5 mins A 70
and so on. 3 reps takes 35 mins.
3. Increasing Z5 intervals. The other day I did
5 mins warm up
3 mins Z5
5 mins easy
4 mins Z5
5 mins easy
5 mins Z5
5 mins easy.
Took 32 mins.
There are lots of variations. When I upload to Strava I'm looking to see whether I can make out the patter (in my HR) of what it is I was trying to achieve.
LR
I like that Dessert Island Disc one, what a great idea!
Be wary of trying to do too many things in one workout by which I mean a bit of Z3, a bit of Z4, some Z5 and maybe some Z6 if you feel like it. To get to and from say Z5 you'll have to cross the intermediate zones from Z1 but that's acceptable. @littlerob's DID workout is hitting just one zone for example as are his Z5 intervals, that's the kind of thing you need to do to improve.
One phrase I heard in a recent podcast is "Acquisition vs application" - to acquire fitness you have to be specific in targeting the various systems in the body, there's generally some overlap, whereas applying fitness you can be more race oriented so workouts close to an event/race can mimic those demands.
Getting on rollers/turbo "to get fitter and faster" is a bit vague and likely to mean you give up. Give yourself a target, doesn't have to be a race, it could be a PB up a climb or for a lap of your local trail centre, keeping up with your mates on a ride. You decide, but it should follow the SMART acronym - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. So "I want to improve my average speed from 15mph to 17mph in four months" something like that.