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Summer on the turbo while my collarbone heals, got my Edge 25 paired to a speed sensor but other than that the set up is pretty basic, can only adjust resistance at the back wheel so it's basically fixed.
First session today was pretty good, tried 4 x 4min intervals at 85% effort although obviously couldn't measure effort very accurately, just found a speed which I could (barely) manage for four minutes at a time and tried to maintain it.
Didn't have a clock or watch to time intervals with, so based it on track lengths on my stereo, turns out Surrender by the Chemical Brothers is the ideal length for a session!
Felt like I could maintain a higher pace in the last interval, did I read that resistance can drop as things heat up?
Going to fit some spanky tan-walls to the CX bike and put it in front of the trainer for motivation...
Anyone else got a favourite hour long workout that can be done on a basic setup?
Cheers
Try the week free on sufferfest, well structured and funny too
is your speed sensor ANT+ compatible? If so, you might be able to use trainerroad and follow one of their plans. You'd need and ANT+ dongle and a laptop (or one of the andriod phones that has ANT+).
IF you have none of those things then one of the workouts on the GCN youtube channel might tickle your fancy.
Hope you heal well.
Yeah, good tips but I'm not sure I'll be using any video assistance, my lap top screen is tiny and the only plug socket in the garage is buried behind all our garden furniture, a minor obstacle normally but a deal breaker with only one arm!
Hoping that having the trainer just inside the garage door means I can at least enjoy the view outside while suffering
I have an ANT+ USB dongle available for sale
Is the laptop battery still in good nick, could you get an hour out of it?
If not it’s worth making the effort to gain access to the plug...or getting someone else to do it!
Turbo time can be very dull without distractions or proper objectives.
I use the GCN hiit videos on you tube. I have a phone holder for the handlebars and use this for my turbo.
Yeah, might give it a go, sure I could persuade my wife to set foot in the garage long enough to find *the* plug socket (curse you Barratt!) and plug in an extension lead. Doubt the battery has 5 minutes tbh, I've been really bad leaving the laptop plugged in all the time and I think it's fried the battery.
How do the various videos work in terms of speed/power etc. If I've only got a speed sensor do I just need to try and figure out where my various % efforts lie in km/h? What do they actually tell you to do, power, perceived effort, speed etc?
If you've a "dumb" turbo then TrainerRoad and the like have charts that map wheel speed to power output and they then work out the various levels using this.
I've only used TrainerRoad, not Sufferfest or Zwift, so this just applies to TR. Basically each turbo session is part of a plan. The intensity for the plan is set by yourself by undertaking one of the FTP tests. TR then adjusts the level of each session according to that test. The session will start off with a warm up then depending on what plan you are following provides a series of target power outputs. So you might do five minutes at 80% FTP followed by 1 minute at 110%, etc. After a month you do another FTP test, hopefully you've improved and TR will increase the level of effort for each session in the next cycle.
Hmm yeah, those GCN videos seem good, based on effort level so I'll just need to figure out what I can sustain, on my trainer sustaining 36km/h over 4 or 5 minutes was tough, but given that I could have done more of them, I think that means it was about an 8 or 8.5 in terms of effort.
The GCN video I'm watching suggests sustaining that for 20 or 30 minutes!
The GCN video I’m watching suggests sustaining that for 20 or 30 minutes!
That's the "magic" of turbo training - you (or, rather, I) find out that what you thought was hard effort was actually a brief burst followed by a period of slacking but with slightly tired legs
Wahay, found a GCN video on the Sa Calobra, I'm just back from riding that so can try and pretend I'm there again.
Anyone know of a similar style of video using CX footage?
Worth noting also that TrainerRoad works on iPhone and Android too. So if your speed sensor does Bluetooth or if you have an Android phone that does ANT+ then you might be able to just use that. I think I have a free month to give away if it's of use to you - PM me if so.
gray beat me to it. I started off with a cheapo Bluetooth speed and cadence sensor and my iPhone with TrainerRoad.
I have a free month for you when Gray's expires!
How do the various videos work in terms of speed/power etc. If I’ve only got a speed sensor do I just need to try and figure out where my various % efforts lie in km/h? What do they actually tell you to do, power, perceived effort, speed etc?
At a dumb level Sufferfest gives you a structure, a perceived effort to aim at some music and motivation, you don't need to fancy feedback to get a good workout but it knocks the boredom out of the session and makes you work harder as the "pressure" makes you want to finish it.
Stick the free trial on and have a go at butter