squeegy200

Since I've committed myself to increasing my saddle time regardless of weather or schedule, I've spent a lot of that time on the stationary trainer. I've acquired partial sets of both the Carmicheal Training systems DVDs and the Spinervals DVDs. No one I knew had used them so I had no point of reference when I first started. So hopefully my experience will benefit anyone who is interested in using these for their indoor training sessions. I've tried each of the following at least 2x and this is my overall impressions of them.

Spinervals - No Slackers allowed 1.0 45 Minutes
Spinervals - Suffer-O-Rama 3.0 45 minutes
CTS - Climbing 60 minutes
CTS - Time Trial 60 Minutes
CTS - Mountain Biking

My impression of Spinvervals is they are very similar to spinning classes. They are very intense concentrated workouts. At my first attempt, I could not keep myself in the gears indicated in the video. On the next attempt, I noticed I was becoming stronger and could get into the suggested gearing and complete the workout. Presentation is very lively and cohesive. Troy is a very good coach. I was very tired after each workout. However, the next day I was fully recovered and ready to do another.

My impression of the CTS videos is that they are more cerebral. The presentors are very monotone and some of the dialogue is weak. However, the techniques are sound and the instructors will discuss why the intervals are beneficial. The Mountain Biking DVD is impressive because the video participants include World Champ Alyson Sydor and Roland Green and World Cup Champ Travis Brown. Its somewhat demoralizing to suffer keeping their pace and see they aren't even breathing heavily. I dont' "feel" quite as exhausted after using the CTS workouts BUT that is deceptive as I find my legs still recovering days after using one of their DVDs.

I don't have a preference of one over the other. But they're both very good at breaking up the boredom often associated with stationary trainers. Completing these DVDs makes me anxious to complete my commitments at the end of each day and jump on the trainer. That alone is worth the purchase price.

92degrees

I didn't care for the CTS series. I have both the Spinervals you describe and enjoy them. Not sure what I'll get next, maybe Recovery and Technique or Recharge. I find the trainer to be a little draining if I do it every day so maybe one of the lighter tapes would help break it up.

ZackJones

I recently bought the CTS TT video and just couldn't get over Chris' "Lance this", "Lance that" so I sold it on Ebay. I've done the Spinervals 7.0 Uphill Grind and my coworker has Have Mercy, "The Sequel" though I haven't tried that one yet. I recently ordered the Spinervals Aero Base Builder series (I, II, and III) and hope they're waiting in the mailbox for me when I get home. I'll stick with Spinervals from now on.

Tree Trunk

I have the Spinervals 7.0 "Uphill Grind" and 8.0 "Recovery & Technique" at my desk at this very moment. A friend loaned them to me. They look great but I am trying to decide if I am ready to do these workouts while on my rollers. It looks like a mag trainer or fluid trainer is more appropriate.

mnutini

I just bought the first disc of Cycling Fitness Results - Pedaling Technique.

There are three workouts on the disc, roughly 40-45 minutes each plus a stretching section. There are six discs in the library, broken out into base, build and race cycles.

This is a base level workout so it's not going to be intense. The focus is on building technique. The video is shot in the same manner as most, a handful of riders in a room with a intensity and cadence meter on screen. Joe Friel makes an appearence to describe proper technique. I kind of wished that they would have followed up with some images of a foot on a crank in the various positions to help re-enforce the topic.

The quality is good, not as polished as the CTS. They really made an effort to find some good background music. The only problem I have is that they start to roll credits several minutes before the cool down ends. I would have preferred some footage of people riding and maybe some suggestions on how to include the workout into my base plan (other than to suggest that I download the plan from the website - only to find that the plan isn't linked anymore).

Those gripes aside, I do enjoy the disc and plan to buy more (along with CTS). At some point I could forsee just transcribing the workout and putting on a TDF video and cranking my own music selection.

ronan

I have never used the CTS tapes but I have been alternating between the Spinervals DVDs Aero base III and The uphill grind for the past few months. Although the music is pretty cheesy and I found the credit thing annoying as well, overall these are great sources to break up the monotony. I recently did some mountain biking in the southern US and was impressed by the improved stamina and power that these have provided. With the colder weather up here in Canada I have spent the past few months indoors and can't wait to get out on the road again.

Ronan

barleyrocket

I just purchased Spinnervals 7.0 uphill grind (45min) and 14.0 Totally Time Trial (90min). I tried uphill grind over the weekend and found that I could be in the gear for all of the sets but was not really able to push because I was too tired. I got a pretty good workout, and though that this might be a case of you get out of it what you put into it. When they say 90-95% and you're not pushing that hard then you won't get out of it what you might otherwise. I had fun. but I agree with mnutini that they should have something else to show while they do the cool down, credits suck.

squeegy200

Rollers may not work because the exercises often require off the saddle efforts. The workouts assume you have some resistance and unless your rollers are equipped with a resistence feature, then it might be more appropriate with a stationary trainer.

For what its worth: I did purchase a fluid trainer so that my wife can join in on my stationary fun. I purchased a TravelTrac from www.performancebike.com for $129. It is either the same unit or an exact replica of the more expensive Elite fluid trainer which sells for about $100 more. It also came with a steel skewer so that you don't chew up your existing skewer when mounted in the trainer.

Shoe Thrower

Since this is my first winter on a trainer, I only own Spinervals 1.0. I dig it, although I'm ready to mix it up a bit with another one. The best part is being able to get a great workout in a short time. They push you a lot more than you would just watching a movie or TV. I do it before work and then feel great the whole day.

F1_Fan

I like the CTS climbing one. The porno music isn't great but I like the workout. I've ripped the tape to MPEG so if it really starts bugging me I'll edit in my own soundtrack right over top of Carmichael and the cheesy music.

Jakey

I have two spinervals dvds... no slackers allowed, and one of the other pretty tough ones...and they friggin KILL me. I love it.

iowarose

I haven't used any of the CTS DVDs, but I have 7 of the spinervals and really like them. I can tell a big difference after using them systematically for about 1 month - I'm much stronger overall, my cadence is higher and more consistent, and my pedal stroke is a lot smoother. I have No Slackers Allowed, Mental Toughness, Recovery and Technique, Tough Love, and the ABB series.

ultra-g

I did the CTS Time Trial workout on my LeMond last night, the first time I did the video on a bike with gears (usually used my track bike)...

I started cramping after 40 minutes and although the workout didn't seem as hard I felt it in the morning when I woke up, I was still feeling the exhaustion.

ZackJones

Have you viewed the "Recovery & Technique" DVD yet? If so what all does it cover? I've been considering getting it.

iowarose

8.0 has you work on cadence - one-leg drills, superspins, that sort of thing. If you're doing it for the first time, and haven't done much cadence work before, I'd bet it would seem harder than the 7.5 difficulty rating on the sleeve. There's another recovery DVD in the series, but I don't have it.

Bontrager

I do the CTS TT DVD that came with my CycleOps Fluid 2. I wish they would check their video's for errors/inconsistencies. In the beginning it talks about the PowerIntervals and says they're 3 minutes. They're 5. During the SteadyState intervals Chris goes from telling you to go 80-85 and then 95-100 but then sometimes he says 90-95 instead?

It would be nice if they put everything on the screen at all times (cadence, effort, time) so that you can mute the dumb music and his talking when he's telling you to concentrate when doing the grueling PowerIntervals.

I don't mind the Lance clips at all. I don't know why anyone would. In fact I sometimes watch stages of the 04 TDF while on my trainer. Nothing like pretending your're in a peloton of a bunch of world class riders to get you motivated to work harder.

F1_Fan

LOL, agreed.

ggg300

I got it. It is good. I have two trainright and 4 spiner dvds. I like them all and it is better than book training that I was doing...

ccharles

I have a few of the CTS videos, and I agree with the posters above that they are not up to much. All the Lance references get annoying (I like watching the clips, just not all the "Lance loves these intervals, these are what make Lance strong, Lance says, etc. references). There are also inconsistencies in the instructions, as one other poster mentioned above. Also, the workouts are pretty simple, you would be able to do the same thing without the video if someone wrote down a paragraph of instructions and handed it to you along with a stopwatch. Finally, for the warm down part when nothing more is going on, it would be way better if they showed some race footage to make the time go by a bit faster, instead of still just showing the room full of cyclists on trainers. Overall, highly unrecommended. If you still want to buy them, e-mail me and I will sell you mine.

Metro

I have the CTS "Time Trialing" DVD also. I found Chris Carmichael to be more "layed back" in his training approach, while Troy Jacobson is more of a "Cheer Leader" on the Spinnervals series. I have "No Slackers Allowed", and "Buckets of Sweat". Yes, I got a more intense aerobic workout from the Spinnerval tapes, but I think I get more value from the CTS Series. Chris explains the "mindset" I should retain during workouts. He works on concentration and form on the bicycle. These are very important factors that can be abandoned easily in a hammerfest on a trainer. You won't notice that you are thrashing on the bike until you leave the trainer and get on the road. Besides, in the long run, the man with the cool head can carefully dole out his efforts better over the long haul.

Here's an illustration from real life:
I began weight training a while back and took a series of 5 sessions with a personal trainer. The trainer's approach was more line with the CTS approach than Spinnervals. The object is to develop good form,good exercise habits, and a cool head in the midst of stress. The intensity can come latter, so the CTS method actually makes the most sense to me. (I imagine, if you already have that foundation, you would prefer the Spinnervals approach).

That said, both series' are very good. I just got more value from CTS.

uctke283

I have 2 spinervals tapes - no slackers allowed and sweating buckets. I find both to be a good woorkout, only 45 minutes however. I also have a tape from cycleops called cyclerobix that is decent but mre for beginners?/

bravo106

I have Spinervals Suffer-O-Rama, Time Saver, & Bending Crank Arms. The first time I did the former, my legs were so toasted I had trouble climbing the steps out of my basement. Doing S-O-R without 'cheating' hurts.

Time Saver is good because there are 3 quick & varied workouts. Technique (spinning & OLP), Tempo/TT, and Sprint/Power.

I also threw Robbie Ventura's Race Day into the mix. Got it w/ my Fluid2. More of a race simulation than instructional.

No experience with CTS.

Hope not to use any of them until November/December rolls around.

jrobe

I have virtually all the Spinervals DVD and CTS DVD's. I generally like the Spinervals best.

This winter I bought the CTS Propressive Power Series. This is the best of all of them. It is a 2 month organized power building class. Unlike the other DVD's, there is some rhythm or reason to the series of training. It includes 15 one hour workouts that are done twice a week with a test before and after the series. It is based on a powermeter but you could do it with a HR monitor alone. It is a great class - I did it twice this winter. I really enjoyed it and added about 30 watts of power on my Powertap on the test.

Dubbayoo

Both of those are very old. They get a lot better around 14 and up. I've got about 8, too many too similar. I should sell a few. I do like them.

K-S2

I have the DVD, love it. I agree with another poster that Chris doesn't quite stop talking about lance (there's even a point where one of the people doing the workout look at him like "shut the h** up about lance for a minute). But I certainly can feel it when done well.