I do a ridiculous amount of the 2x20 @ 90% workout on trainerroad called Eichorn. In the fall/winter i aim for 3-4 times a week then a long ride on the weekends.
It came from this post from kevin metcalfe back in 2012.... then watching him do it every day on his trainer in the winter via strava... every .. single.. day.
if you're unfamiliar with him, read this:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/...r_with_age_3693.html I do more vo2 stuff now and mix things up, but that was my main build over the offseason.
nslckevin wrote:
Tempo, tempo, tempo and more tempo. ~85% of FTP is where I usually land.
When the time changes I go indoors M-F (and on rainy weekend days because I'm a wuss).
1 hour each day.
10' warm up
20' @ Tempo
5' easy
20' @ Tempo
5' cool down and done.
During the 20' sets I pop it up a couple of gears and stand for about 10-15 seconds. Gives your butt a break and make the workout into easy 5' bite sized chunks.
If you are feeling good, ramp it up just a bit to sweet spot.
This is the shit that kills. Do this 5 days a week and get out for longer rides on the weekend and you will crush dreams on the bike come spring.
I don't bother with FTP intervals, VO2 max, sprints etc. on the trainer. It is too much mentally. It's going to be a long winter on the trainer and it's important to stay fresh mentally.
This should not be a killer workout. It might take a week or two to get into it, but you should be able to do this day after day after day. After I broke my collar bone at the end of December I did this workout 7 days a week for about 8 weeks. Coming off of this I rode a 51:32 40km in late April on a double out and back course at sea level. On about my 4th ride outside after the collar bone I did an FTP test. 375W for 20 minutes. Most of the trainer workouts were around 300-310W, once in a while as much as 320.
This is the shit that kills.
Important things for being on the trainer.
Fans. As many as you can reasonably use. I'm outside in the garage with the door open. Even when the outside temp is around 30 degrees F, I've got two fans on my when I'm working and still get pretty soaked in sweat. Ironically, there have been a few days where I wore shoe covers because my feet were really cold while my core was soaking in sweat.
I don't have a TV in the garage, I listen to music. I like to listen to podcasts most of the time, but on the bike when it's time to actually work it has to be music. Preferably 80's hair metal. :-) I like to visualize races that I want to win. On my trainer with a good Night Ranger song going, even Eddy Merckx fears me. :-) One of those Motorola blue tooth headsets is a nice touch. I can set my phone on the work bench next to me and control the volume and skip controls by pushing a button on the headset.
I broke my other collar bone in a crit on Aug 5th, 4.5 weeks before nationals. 3 weeks on the trainer, 1.5 on the road before I went to Bend. 2nd in the TT and I won the RR solo. The week after nationals I did the Mt. Tam hillclimb and won the 45+ group. It's about a 45 minute race depending on how fast your group goes on the flat section. On the main climb? 20' @ 400W.
Why are you still reading this? Get on your freaking trainer and do some Tempo!!!
There may be better indoor schedules and workouts, but you have to be willing to do them day in and day out. 7 days of tempo is better than 4 days of FTP and 3 days of "I can't face getting on my bike".
Good luck.