For the time being, I can only “ride” on stationary bikes.
Should I favor shorter workouts with more resistance / lower cadence? Or, longer workouts with less resistance / higher cadence? The former would seem to increase power (and allow me to ride in a higher gear), while the latter would increase endurance by not stressing the muscles as much, right?
I’ve heard of the “watts” metric. But, I can’t quite yet relate that to my immediate need of, this afternoon, I must decide how long to ride and how much resistance to use. Any guidance?
For the time being, I can only “ride” on stationary bikes.
Should I favor shorter workouts with more resistance / lower cadence? Or, longer workouts with less resistance / higher cadence? The former would seem to increase power (and allow me to ride in a higher gear), while the latter would increase endurance by not stressing the muscles as much, right?
I’ve heard of the “watts” metric. But, I can’t quite yet relate that to my immediate need of, this afternoon, I must decide how long to ride and how much resistance to use. Any guidance?
Without any knowledge of you or your goals, it’s not possible to answer your question as to what type of training would be most beneficial.
A Watt is unit of power - a measure of the rate you are doing work.
On a loose assumption that you are a triathlete, then the sort of fitness improvement most desirable is the ability to sustain a higher wattage, for longer.
Even so, the training that elicits such an improvement is wide and varied and includes longer sustainable efforts as well as shorter more intense efforts. The rate you are turning the pedals isn’t particularly important, provided it’s close enough to the rate you are riding/racing at. What’s important is the power (wattage) you can sustain.
I would focus on riding as frequently as you can, and mix up the efforts so that it keeps things interesting for you / maintains motivation level to keep training.
Both actually increase your power and it depends on what point in your season you are in for what you focus on more. Force x velocity(distance/time) = power. You need to be able to put force into the pedals, that is a given. However, a higher cadence in a given range, say 53/14 for example, will increase your power output as well as being more efficient.
I know you said that you have no use for watts as of this afternoon. Nevertheless, I highly recommend you read “The Power Meter Handbook” by Joe Friel. Even if you don’t have a power meter right now, it is a quick read and will clear up a lot of your questions thoroughly.
Do whatever hurts as much as you can stand for the time you have.
you can use speed as a proxy for power on the trainer. So whatever is faster.
For the time being, I can only “ride” on stationary bikes.
Should I favor shorter workouts with more resistance / lower cadence? Or, longer workouts with less resistance / higher cadence? The former would seem to increase power (and allow me to ride in a higher gear), while the latter would increase endurance by not stressing the muscles as much, right?
I’ve heard of the “watts” metric. But, I can’t quite yet relate that to my immediate need of, this afternoon, I must decide how long to ride and how much resistance to use. Any guidance?