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Training Indoors......
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I would like to have the option of traing on my bike in my house if the weather outside is bad. I have heard of many options from rollers to computer trainers to power cranks and so on. I have seen rollers before, however what is the difference with all these others? Should I go with a computer trainer or is there a system other than rollers that will work?




"You're guaranteed to miss 100% of the shots you never take" - Wayne Gretzky
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Re: Training Indoors...... [iseliw] [ In reply to ]
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I have a Computrainer and think it is one of the best training tools available. I ride mine year round. Yes, even when the weather is nice. I mostly do interval work on it. I can hop in it in the morning, warm up, hammer out a workout, and be in the shower in a little over an hour. CT's are great for quality workouts, you can target HR or wattage, adjust the incline/resistance easily and get visual feedback.

I have a wind trainer also, noisy, but very progressive. Great for Spinerval type workouts. Low cost.

I have tried rollers on a couple of occations, but haven't gotten the hang of it. Supposed to be good for your pedal stroke. Requires more concentration. Actual risk of falling. Also, relatively low cost.
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Re: Training Indoors...... [efernand] [ In reply to ]
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I do a lot of indoor cycling, too, because of time contraints.

I use a cycleops trainer, becuase it is less noisy. The noise from a wind trainer doesn't seem like a big deal until you get it home.

I use cycling video tapes, too. The cycleops trainer comes with a video tape that is good. Troy Jacobsen makes good training videotapes as well.

There are two benefits to using the tapes:

Mentally it is more palatable. Coach Troy goads you on; no wimping out!

The routine is pre-ordained. No cutting the workout short mid-way. And if your HR monitor records, because the tapes are consistent, it makes for some interesting time series.

I am wary of the benefits of computrainer. It has pedal stroke analysis that is valuable, that canot be replicated, but are not the utility of the workout function the same as indoor trainer?

If you are only going to use the CT for intervals, etc., isn't an indoor trainer just as good?

wmh

iambigkahunatony.com
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Re: Training Indoors...... [wmh] [ In reply to ]
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For intervals, yes, and indoor trainer is pretty good and a CT is a little overkill. But the feedback from the CT is very valuable also. The SpinScan pedal stroke anaysis is very helpfull, and being able to target a specific wattage for the interval is great. Your actual output will vary quite a bit if you don't concentrate. You can also use the course feature to do hill intervals.
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Re: Training Indoors...... [efernand] [ In reply to ]
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Does it go to 11?

iambigkahunatony.com
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Re: Training Indoors...... [iseliw] [ In reply to ]
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I too use the CT almost exclusively including my saturday ride of 3hrs. What's great is the constant pedaling. If i go outside, I'm dealing with traffic, stoplights, etc. For entertainment, I watch old IM or Tour De France videos. I also have a Cyclops but it's not nearly as entertaining so I can't stay on nearly as long, plus it doesn't feel like the road to me like the CT does.
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Re: Training Indoors...... [Herschel34] [ In reply to ]
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I picked up a trainer from 1up USA (1upusa.com) and it is a centrifugal force trainer. It sets up just like a magnetic or wind resistance trainer, but is almost silent. I worked on it all winter doing low HR and interval workouts and my drivetrain was louder than the trainer. The Spinerval workout videos are good, but if you're cheap, like me, you can go to their website and print out their workout of the week. It changes every week and is pretty challenging. It's geared around time intervals in various gear combinations so you don't have to try to stick with keeping yourself in a HR zone if that's too much trouble.

Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)
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Re: Training Indoors...... [efernand] [ In reply to ]
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how about some examples of your CT interval workouts? I bought one this winter, but haven't used it much in the good weather. Gotta time crunch coming up at work and I'm looking for some big time efficiency in my workout schedule the next 4-6 weeks.
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Re: Training Indoors...... [mr. mike] [ In reply to ]
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Disclaimer: I am coached by Michael Mccormack, www.triathloncoach.com, and this workout comes from him.

I did my base work in the winter spring getting ready for Eagleman. Now I am working on building speed for local sprint and Olympic races. I have been doing this workout for a number of weeks, decreasing the duration of the intervals each week.

4-5 x 1’ ST (Strength) intervals @ L3 cadence 70-80 grade 4% RI 2’

Followed by Speed Transfers:

3’ 2’ 1’30” 1’ @ L3 cadence 90-95 grade 0% RI 2’ after each interval



Important: sustain wattage throughout as opposed to seeing it drift down

The speed transfers are meant to help you transfer the strength you are building in the low cadence intervals to a longer higher cadence/higher speed interval.

My CT workouts always start with 20' of warm up. I start in my little ring/19 (3rd gear) and go up a gear every 2'. After the first 10', I calibrate the CT, then continue my warm up. Once I get into a tough gear, I'll go down a gear for 2', then back up, until 20' This warm up, the workout, and a short (how short depends on how late for work I am) cool down takes about an hour.
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Re: Training Indoors...... [efernand] [ In reply to ]
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L3 = zone 3 intensity measured by heartrate or what?
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Re: Training Indoors...... [iseliw] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
I have seen rollers before, however what is the difference with all these others? Should I go with a computer trainer or is there a system other than rollers that will work?


After demo-ing friends various trainers and researching on-line, I went with rollers 6 months ago and am very happy I did not go with a stationary trainer. While a bit hair-raising at first, rollers force you to smooth your spin and sharpen your sense of balance. I have found the balance improvement part is particularly noticable now when out on the road.

I got the Minouras with the extra wide alumi drums and detachable mag unit which allows for resistance training like a stationary trainer but when the mag unit is clipped off, you can work on speeding up your cadance. A disadvantage with the stationary trainers is that they require you to mess with the back QR and I have heard they can also stress your frame. With rollers, you simply take your bike and plop it on and you are ready to go. Be sure to start in a doorway!
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Re: Training Indoors...... [efernand] [ In reply to ]
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I used Mccormack several years ago too.
Are you improving with his program?
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Re: Training Indoors...... [wmh] [ In reply to ]
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Mine goes to 11. You see, it's 1 harder than 10. So when I need that little extra resistance.......11!
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Re: Training Indoors...... [iseliw] [ In reply to ]
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Look at an indoor trainer of any time as a great training tool. It allows you to perform specific training that is nearly impossible to perform on the road. For example: If you are trying to do specific short intervals, try finding a flat, traffic free, stop sign/light free stretch of road that takes you 5 minutes to ride. The trainer is that road.

Also, the trainer allows you to very specifically adjust your level of effort from extremely easy for recovery, to extremely hard for power and strength and anaerobic threshold work. Again, this is very difficult on the road because of traffic, hills, wind, etc.

The trainer is the best place to do drills like single leg pedalling.

Rollers are a great option, but can be a bit precarious at first. A fluid or wind trainer is the best option as it allows for "progressive" resistance. This means that the resistance increases as the speed increases. This is most like riding on the road.

One thing that the trainer cannot do is replace the road completely. Those with computrainers may argue this point. However, you do need to do your long rides on the road if at all possible.

If you want to work on smoothing out your pedal stroke on the road, consider a fixed gear bike. This may do the trick!!

Craig
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Re: Training Indoors...... [Herschel34] [ In reply to ]
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I have been using MMC for a couple years now and have seen a lot of improvement. I was doing pretty well beforehand, but this year has been a breakthrough year for me.

His quality vs. quantity approach fits well with my schedule also. His workout schedules follow a logical progression and includes different types of workouts, strength, speed, aerobic, etc.
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Re: Training Indoors...... [mr. mike] [ In reply to ]
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Level 1 (L1): 8-12 beats below AT

Level 2 (L2): 5-7 beats below AT

Level 3 (L3): 4+- relative to AT

Level 4 (L4): 5-10 beats above AT
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Re: Training Indoors...... [efernand] [ In reply to ]
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Other than a computer trainer, what type of idoor trainer would you guy's recomend? I am interested in buying one. Thanks for all the info also.....




"You're guaranteed to miss 100% of the shots you never take" - Wayne Gretzky
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Re: Training Indoors...... [iseliw] [ In reply to ]
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I took Tom D's advise from bikesport and bought a Cyclops 2 fluid trainer, works well.

Thanks Tom,




"You're guaranteed to miss 100% of the shots you never take" - Wayne Gretzky
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