dnuzzomueller

So the thread title may be a little missleading but as I am just starting to really start some quasi structured training I was hoping for some input on time vs. intensity, more specifically on the trainer.

Because I am in Boston at the moment my out door riding options are limited and probably will remain limited when I head back to Worcester come the middle of January.

I have been doing Sufferfest videos for a little while now mixed with a few Les Mills RPM videos (These are sort of like 42 minute spin classes, very few if any recoveries). Now I have been either doing a Sufferfest video and a Les Mills video every day or I have been doing a spin class and a Les Mills video. Certain days when I am really burned I will only do a Sufferfest video so I am totalling maybe 1-1.75 hours on the trainer every day.

My question is this: Would I be alright doing 1.5 hours of more moderate trainer riding every day? Should I do some moderate riding and only one high intensity video every day? Should I alternate days? Do a high intensity 2 times a week?

My biggest issue is just sheer boredom on the trainer, after getting a Garmin unit for Christmas I have my first cadence monitor and HRM so that is making things atleast a little more interesting but I find that my cadence and heart rate begin to slip when I am watching videos because I can just get bored during any slow sections of the video.

Can anyone give me some idea on the best way to go about this winter training? Should I be pushing for 2 hours every day on the trainer or can I keep it to a shorter but higher intensity amount?

I really am open to any suggestion here.

late

Every day?

Consider a structured program, preferably periodised.

If you go with a coach service they will do that for you.
Alternatively you can get a book that talks about setting up a
program, but I found that to be pretty tough.

For the time being, I'd cut back to every other day.

You really don't want to be totally burned out in April

Pat

Well 90 minutes of "moderate" training per day should be fine depending on what you mean by "moderate". High intensity work is not supposed to be an every day sort of thing. You should take at least a couple of days between really hard sessions.

ericm979

What are your goals? When is your 'A' race? What is your previous training history?

Without that information you won't get any useful input.

dnuzzomueller

Pat:
What HR zone would be considered moderate? My workouts tend to hover an average in the upper 4s (Now that I have a HRM) and can very occassionally push to 5. This is straining it for me though and I cant personally seem to reach the max (188 for my age) that is pre-calculated so my zones could also be a little off (I seem to max out at around 170, although this could be due to either not enough oxygen in my small, no windowed kitchen, or overtraining since biking is not my only form of exercise and I have been working out consistently every day for atleast 2 months)

ericm: Good point, this is the first year I will be trying out competitive races and it is my last year of college. I have no 'A' race I am just hoping to be ready for the season. I have no previous training history for biking specifically but I am no stranger to exercise. For the past 3 years I have cross trained nearly every day doing atleast an hour of moderate to high intensity cardio and atleast 30-45 mins of strength training 5-3 days a week.

On the cycling front I have been a commuter since half way through highschool (6 years) and would enjoy the occasional long ride but no kind of structured or rigorous bicycle specific training. Over the summer I started to focus far more on cycling and moved almost all of my cardio over into cycling and since the summer do atleast an hour a day if not more (time permitting, jobs and school have not made it easy along with my location in Boston and a lack of a car it is not exactly easy for me to get to nice routes that would allow me several hours of good riding, I need to actually ride out of the city in order to really "start" a ride).

My main goal is to just get into good general racing shape by the time the season comes around. I know I have had the recommendation of taking long rides to build up base fitness and I am fine with that but during the winter outside riding is pretty limited with snow and I dread spending like 3 hours on the trainer. I am one of those higher intensity people in my cardio workouts and I like to really feel my blood pumping. But I defer to the training wisdom that is located here.

Pat

dnuzzomueller,

I would say moderate is a level 3 to a low 4. If you are doing high fours, I would think you would be better served to push that really hard one day and the next two go no higher than low 4.

Pat

dnuzzomueller

That is good to know, thanks Pat.

How long would you say push those zones for out of curiosity?

late

https://en.wordpress.com/tag/creating...rcise-program/

jsutkeepspining

i would say one to two sufferfest a week, after a nice base. read some books on training and build a good plan. this plan will lead to you killing yourself by mid march seriously. you really should only do one to two really hard rides a week, that should be followed by an EASY ride like zone 1 and low 2!