Flat land for bike intervals is a pain in the arse to get to during the week… how much less effective are doing intervals on the trainer vs doing on the road?
Just as good if you can do them for the same duration. I don’t know if it’s mental, but I can’t sustain the effort indoors as long as I can outdoors. I end up doing 6x4min inside whereas 4x8min outside is doable. Maybe I need a bigger fan for indoors?
Unless you can find a road that has no stop lights, stop signs, and traffic, I would stay indoors. When your eyes are bugging out of your head and your heart rate hurts your ear drums, the only place I want to be is on the trainer. I would be a danger to myself if I did intervals outside.
I’d say doing intervals on a trainer indoors can be very effective - esp. if you run a PT or use a Computrainer. By removing outdoor-sy variables like changes in terrain, wind, etc. you can compare efforts on an apples to apples basis better, for one. Downside is that its not riding in real life conditions (with hills, wind, etc.) and if the weather’s nice I want to be riding outdoors…
i think the intervals outside are partially easier b/c it is so difficult to stay in your higher power zones with constantly changing conditions–even a flat has some grade at times and changing winds, etc. that being said, i do my intervals outside on the trail whenever i can.
Better man (woman) than me to ride indoors during the summer, but there is no doubt in my mind that intervals indoors are better than intervals outdoors. You gain mental toughness on top of fitness too.
Short and sweet I think most coaches will say (if they dont have to worry about your state of mind and burnout) do those long intervals on the trainer.
Me? I am pretty dedicated and train pretty hard, but I wont go in the basement unless its been pouring rain and will continue for days. Besides, rest is good too!!
Ray
I do one hard indoor trainer ride per week…rain or shine. The trainer is the best way to do intervals…my opinion. Check out this article:
http://www.computrainer.com/html/coaching_corner/what_is_the_key_to_killer_ironma.htm
Have you tried any of the Spinervals DVDs?? I think they are pretty good and can make the time go by pretty quick.
cycling is my weakest event. i dont think i generate much power on the bike.
which of the spinerval dvds do you think i could most benefit from? from the looks of it, i could probably pick about any of them.
I started out with the one that came with my Kurt Kinetic trainer which was just a basic get started DVD. The next one I bought was Competition 15.0 “Have Mercy, The Sequel.” It is a full two hours and is pretty hard core. If it is too much for you at first, you can do part of it at a time and work up to the full workout. I like it because it has several different types of intervals that are excellent for time trial and building power. If you want to improve your cycling, this is probably one of the most effective ways to do it in my opinion.
I use my Computrainer year round. Of course, lots more in our snowy and cold winter, but at least 1 or 2 interval sessions per week in spring/summer/fall. I control all the factors, and just pump out the watts…
Do you find the computrainer allows for smooth pedaling? It seems that some trainers slip a bit when the watts start going up, especially so if you aren’t applying power smoothly around the stroke, but more spikey on the downstroke.
Am looking at getting one, but this is one of my hesitations in doing so.
No issues whatsoever with the CT. I always do the same calibration process and report zero problems in the one year I have owned it. Even some hard pushes standing up had zero “slip” issues.
But then again, that’s just me…
Not to hijack this thread but what is the difference between riding a computrainer versus riding an indoor trainer with a PowerTap on it? Does the CompuTrainer allow you to program in a specific course? I did my VO2 Max test on a CompuTrainer and it seemed like it took awhile for the bike to respond to the manual adjustments.
The main benefit from my standpoint is that when I use the CT in ergo mode (actually the only way I use it), you set a wattage which has to be maintained irregardless of cadence. There is no sluffing, varying effort, etc.
I would say that intervals on the road are better for the sole reason that you have to “learn” to fight the wind and hills/turns while maintaining your goal effort. Keeping effort steady indoors is easier…but makes me want to shoot myself in the head after 8x5’s! (even with ipod…)
I find intervals more effective on the trainer. Fewer variables to deal with. I do have a mile and a half section of road with only a few private drives. It dead-ends into a parking lot so I can easily do a 3 mile course. Even with a clear course, the trainer gives you a lot more flexibility about time or distance. I’m planning to hit the trainer in my basement tonight, heat index is 106. What a Friday night, intervals in my basement, my life rocks.