Yes, absolute requirement if you are a short course athlete. Not so sure they are the best place to focus for long course, except the one that has extended tempo effort in it.

Used them all last winter.

Only difficulty I had with them was that I had to adjust my workout to what I needed to do - rather than what that Coach Troy was having his riders do.

I was on a very specific program though - long course stuff. (my intensities and HR's were kept in check by doing slight variations of the group workouts onthe DVD's)

For interval workouts - etc - I found them to be a great resource - also helped having a bunch of regular DVD's to work through

Definitely use them. Be careful though because many of them are not geared to the long course athlete.

---

__________________________________________________
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell

Use'm? I'm IN them!

---

--------------
Elivis needs boats.

I want them just for TT training

I saw you doing squats the other day. I use the tapes a lot, 3-4 times a week.

Yep - they are great for shorter (under 1 hour) very hard trainer workouts. Breaks up the boredom nicely. I'm usually in a pretty good pool of sweat after about any of them (I have 5)

---

____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

IMO the new Aero Base builder workouts are great for builder base, IE long course.

Last winter, with all the rains here (SoCal), I used them a lot. I have been using the 'Aero Base I' as a recovery tape after a really hard day, if I can't go a for a long road ride. I use the 'Recovery and Technique' to work on high cadence and one leg drills on some other weekdays before I leave home.

---

_________________
Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

Thanks - I thought about getting that one since I only have the shorter ones. I've heard it was good, but trust you guys as well :)

---

____________________________________
Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

not to hijack the thread but i have used the bodyzen.com strength training dvd's and stretching dvd's religiously and have not been injured this season. the spinervals are good as well and have used the TT one for prep for A races!

Used them all winter. Definately took away some of the boredom of being indoors on a trainer. As mentioned, they're geared for short course and TT's, which is fine with me since that's what I'm into.

they're a must.

I've used them all winter to train for IM Lanzarote and they sure help to stay motivated.

My favorites are 'Uphill gring' and 'Technique and recovery' for 45 min ride, 'Totally TT' for a hard 1h30 and tough love for 3h.

I started the winter long ride with 'tough love' and added 15 min every week untill I got to 5h30. When it started to last 3h45 and more, I simply added a video.

A lot of people are watching movies, tdf videos, etc but it doesn't work for me since I take it too ez when I do. Spinervals video makes the time fly and gives a great workout!

if you have any qst about the videos, just ask

---

Richard

"You're only young once, but you can be immature forever" - Larry Andersen

Joe Friel and Adam Coon produced a series of six video workout videos that follow the Training Bible principles. More information is available at www.OptimumFitnessResults.com These are good entertainment, like Spinervals, but the workouts also have a scientific basis. Each DVD has a number of different workouts (of the same type) that build on each other. Ken

---

Ken Mierke
Head Coach, Fitness Concepts
http://www.Fitness-Concepts.com
Author, The Triathlete's Guide to Run Training

Schwingding,

you to............I am in 2 of them #20 & #21

use them all winter long 3-4x a week building
my base for the spring roll out

I've been using them all year as part of my training for IMF. Base builders during the winter and I've had at least one in the schedule every week focusing on technique and cadence work. I think they're pretty versatile...long or short course training you'll get benefits from them. Of course it helps that he's coaching me and tells me which ones to do;O).

If you're looking for winter base stuff...Tough Love is one of my favorites due to the variety of the sets and length of the workout...you can chop it up for shorter workouts or do the whole thing.

The workouts past #13 (I think??) also have a music off option that lets you listen to Troy but play your own stuff..which makes 3+ hours on the bike a lot easier.

---

~~~~
Nancy
~~~~

I'm road testing the aero base builder tonight. I'll get back to you on how it went.

I used them consistently last winter for the first time. I really feel like they helped me stay on track, never growing too bored with the trainer. This resulted in me coming into the season with much more cycling fitness than I've ever had.

I used "Big Gear Strength" (55 min) the most, as one of my off-season goals was to improve my strength/power. I recently purchased "Bending Crank Arms" (50 min) as well, but I haven't tried it out yet.

When the weather was decent enough, I used "Zoot Challenge" (45 min) as the first part of a brick session.

In an effort to improve my climbing ability, I used "Uphill Grind" (45 min) alot as well. I spent the summer riding as many hills as I could find here on Long Island (which is not many!) - I don't think that this DVD does much to prepare you - only riding actual HILLS does that!

Towards the end of the winter/early spring I introduced "Totally Time Trial" (90 min) - this one always killed me - I find it quite a challenge.

I used "Have Mercy II" (2 hours) about a half-dozen times in the early spring. It's the hardest one I own, by far. When the weather warmed up, I was on my bike for 3-4 hours instantly, and I think this DVD helped prepare me for that.

My favorite all-around is "Mental Toughness" (90 min). Nice variety, some off the bike stuff - a good workout.

I only did a few races this summer, but my bike splits were improved in every one - some by a great margin. Is this due to some "magic" in the DVD's? Of course not. But the DVD's got me on the trainer more - which made all the difference.

I'll start using them again in a few weeks for sure!

---

Dan DeMaio
---------------------------------------------------------
Life is like riding a bicycle.
To keep your balance you must keep moving.
- Albert Einstein

They ROCK! And there's one specifically for TT. the rest are great, too - to round out your training. Uphill Grind rocks the house - wish it was a longer session!

Chris Carmichael also makes training DVDs. See Trainright.com

Well, I tried aero base builder 16.0. it wass pretty good (as much as 80 minutes on a turbo can be). The music was pretty cheesy though so it may be better to select their non music version and put your own tunes on in the background.

An ok training option.

This might sounds like a stupid question but do you have to have a specific trainer for these DVD's or can you use any trainer?

---

------------------------------------------------------------
Searching for the bliss of ultimate exertion.

Any turbo or static bike is fine.

Thanks. One more question: I'm assuming (never seen one of these videos) that the workout is intensity/gear based - so how do you match up the resistance/intensity/gearing that is required to the trainer you own?

I see on their webpage that a certain brand is recommended.



FYI I have a tacx swing which is a mag trainer. Could I use that?

---

------------------------------------------------------------
Searching for the bliss of ultimate exertion.

Yep. I use an Elite (not their brand) and they specifiy a gear ratio for you to use although I modified mine to suit the HR and cadence they were after in the sets.