gang, another question for you…
the guys that I trust at my LBS have told me that I do not need to do more than an hour at a time on the trainer this winter, and that all it’s supposed to be used for is to maintain muscle, and endurance.
this is def a different perspective, since I had a coach telling me to spend 90 minutes to 120 minutes, and sometimes more.
what do you think the right approach is?
(just one hour on the trainer seems too good to be true, but hey, I’m a newbie 
)
kitty
it depends what you do with that hour
you can do a 2x20 in an hour with warm up and recovery
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Invest in a couple of Spinervals DVD’s…Most range from 45 to 90 minutes (with a few brutally longer), and I’ve found them to be time & money well spent.
it depends what you do with that hour<<
And, what you might be training for and where you are in your training cycle.
clm
yes, that’s a good idea…I’ll have to score a tv in the basement (meaning, if I’m allowed to put one down there…it’s a very protected zone by a gear head husband)
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I think what they meant was “if you do more than an hour on the trainer, you will go insane”. Longest I can go is 90 minutes, then I reach the limit of my mental toughness.
During the winter I am doing 3 hour rides every weekend to maintain endurance.
2 hrs is OK, but build up to it
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I agree - I question the value in going longer than an hour. I guess it really depends on what your winter goals are and how early your big races come up in your season next year.
When I was training hard, I would run more and cross-country ski in the winter. I would do a couple of 45 min sessions on the trainer each week to maintain form. If I got in a solid winter of cross-country skiiing, I could jump back omn the bike in mid March and go out for 2 - 3 hour rides at moderate pace.
I’m going to stay outside as long as possible, and am trying not to let cold stop me. ice, obviously, I won’t mess with…if I had a cyclocross or a mountain bike I would try it in the snow, but don’t really have a bike for that now.
(isn’t that funny…just got a new bike, and now I’m already thinking about another one! LOL)
I am certainly no expert but agree that it depends on your goals. I did all of my IMFL training on my computrainer last year and all but 2 rides so far this year. Probably not optimum for different reasons, but enabled me to get the training I needed.
I think the Spinevals tapes are great. I also wear earphones while my kids watch inane garbage on the TV for hours…
on cold, rainy saturdays I do some 3 hour sessions while building base. late in the winter season, after base building, I’ll throw in some hard efforts during the 3 hours. action dvds, where you don’t have to put in a lot of effort to follow dialog or plot, help. spinnervals are great, too.