Hi All
I’m currently rehabing my ACL reconstruction and as of next Friday I am allowed to start cycling but it needs to be in a controlled environment i.e static bike.
My next door neighbour has a turbo trainer I can borrow (hooray) but I just wanted some advice on how to make it interesting rather then just getting on it and pedalling until either my knee or boredom stops me…..
I do not have a heart rate monitor and I don’t really want to have to buy one if I can avoid it.
Thanks for any help/suggestions

The cheapest way is just to follow the GCN videos on YouTube, set up an iPad or laptop in front of the turbo and follow from there. They can be done on perceived effort which, whilst not perfect, will give you a good and challenging workout.
I find short, sharp efforts best, 20 minutes is good, 30 to 40 is fine if you’re in the mood, maybe up to an hour if you’re feeling good.

That sounds about perfect, I’ll have to start at 20 mins. At the moment a less than 10 min walk to town results in a very swollen knee.

You can always adjust the effort to how you feel. If you don’t want to smash it then just take 1 or 2 points of the effort level to 9/10 becomes 7/10, you’ll still get a sweat on.

CTXC training videos (on YouTube) are very good. from 20 mins upwarrds

Another vote fot GCN videos, the Sweetspot workout saw me through my broken collarbone. Idea is to find a pace you can sustain for the whole workout, so you can make the first few workouts deliberately cautious, spare your knee.

The sweetspot workout is 40min but you could just skip halfway through, still get the satisfaction of finishing at the snowy summit!

Don’t underestimate the power of the personal stereo, I look forward to my little session with The Chemical Brothers ‘Surrender’ every week…

Oh, and you can download youtube videos using 4k video downloader, it’s a free download, super simple to use and spares you any annoying buffering and streaming issues if the wifi doesn’t quite reach the garage!

Another vote fot GCN videos, the Sweetspot workout saw me through my broken collarbone. Idea is to find a pace you can sustain for the whole workout, so you can make the first few workouts deliberately cautious, spare your knee.

The sweetspot workout is 40min but you could just skip halfway through, still get the satisfaction of finishing at the snowy summit!

Don’t underestimate the power of the personal stereo, I look forward to my little session with The Chemical Brothers ‘Surrender’ every week…

I’d agree with all of this, there’s a 20 minute threshold session too which is good.

My turbo music of choice is hard house, which does not endear me to the neighbors when I do early morning session!

While you will no doubt need to take it easy early on, modern two-way interactive turbos have made turbo training far less tedious, where the turbo reacts as best it can to gradient changes in “free ride mode” or adjusts the resistance in “ERG mode” when a training program wants you to ride at x Watts for y seconds.

You don’t need a heart rate monitor, but in the absence of a power meter or simply to augment a power meter, they can help monitor your efforts. They don’t have to cost a fortune, I’ve been using a Coospo H6 ANT+/Bluetooth model for ~18 months, currently can be had for £22.50 with the 10% promo code https://www.amazon.co.uk/TAOPE-Bluetooth-Wireless-Monitor-Android/dp/B01M8QD9Z4/ref=sr_1_7

If the turbo is “smart” then you might be able to get it working in Zwift, there’s an unlimited 7-day trial available through British Cycling membership, plus you can then use the standard Zwift free 25Km trial afterwards.