GreenKLR

OK so how do you use your trianer? For how long and how do much do you vary your speeds/intensity?
Biggest question is how do you not get bored out of your skull??
Lee

CliftonGK1

I've got a stationary 'bent and I ride it when I feel like I need a few extra miles for the day, or when the weather really sucks and I don't feel like getting cold/soaked on a ride.
I'll ride anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 or 4 hours, and I use multiple resistance settings. My trainer has a "hills" setting which varies the resistance automatically.
To keep from being bored I watch TV, or if I'm just doing a long easy spin, I'll play video games.

late

I did 45 minutes today while watching Star Trek: Insurrection.

I also do a Spinervals once a week.

flip18436572

I ride on rollers instead of a trainer, so I try not to fall off and that keeps my brain active to work on better form to make me a better rider. I think the biggest problem is trying to keep myself motivated over an hour. So I change gears and cadence. I watch my Heart Rate Monitor (HRM), and then I work hard at getting my heart rate up to a percentage that I want and then I slow down and change gearing to reduce my heart rate. My interval times will change depending upon my "attitude" that day. Sometimes I do 5 minutes of hard work with a higher heart rate, then I will slow down for two minutes to reduce my heart rate and then back hard for 5 minutes. I will do this for an hour, or sometimes I will ride slow and easy for 10 minutes and then work my butt off for 3 minutes and then slow for 10 and then hard for 5 and then easy for 10 and then back to 3 hard.

If I am just putting in miles like I did today on my rollers, it was 2 hours at a 21 and higher pace and I have the TV on just for noise. I was watching the weather any time it came on because of snow that was in the forecast. Other times I will throw in a DVD and watch that movie.

NzAndy

My trainer gets used as a backup for riding when I want to stay out of the bad weather. It gets used a lot more over winter because of the spin classes the local multisport club runs. I like to use it to work to maintain my base fitness.

Workouts are typically 1 hour, although if I really needed a workout but the weather was hopeless I've done up to 2.5 hours. A 1 hour is usually based around the 2x20 interval idea. A warm up of 4 mins, a faster 4 mins at a fast cadence, 2 mins easy, then some combination of efforts that require high cadence or high resistance for roughly 20 mins. Another easy 4 mins to recover then another 20 minute effort. One more short recovery and if I'm up to it one last push then warm down. The 2x20 is a great method to build up overall endurance. Being on a trainer allows me to tailor the efforts more than being out on the road. Search around for 2x20 interval threads, you'll find heaps.

As for entertainment, I have lots of music to keep me going. On my own I need to keep watching times which helps to pass the time. In spin class there are lots of sweaty ladies to watch which really helps to pass the time....

DynamicD74

Any recommendations for a entry level, reasonably priced trainer?

GreenKLR

2 hours? Holy crap, I would be bored out of my skull. I have been able to do it for 45 minutes to an hour and that was hard for me. Thanks for info.
Lee

troutbreath

I have used a trainer a lot this winter. An hour is pretty tough, IMHO. I usually do a routine like was mentioned earlier, increasing my heartrate for 3-5 minutes, and then backing off for a few. Doing that can make the time really fly by.

For entertainment, I usually have on my ipod, and listen to a variety of podcasts. I'm attempting to learn spanish on one of them. Ole!

Tom Stormcrowe

Define your max budget and we'll be glad to

v1k1ng1001

Yeah, I download seasons of shows and watch them while on the trainer. If you're not allowed to set up in front of an old TV, just use a laptop or something similar. DVRs are great for this sort of thing. Just remember that you have to turn the volume up or use headphones because even quiet trainers are generally loud.

Another idea is to download podcasts, audio books or audio lectures and listen them while spinning. I've even spent time learning foreign languages while on the bike.

troutbreath

Great minds think alike (although I still mostly think in English).

GreenKLR

I took your advice and set up in front of the TV and played Call of Duty 4 on line. I set te trainer up at a resonable tension (for me) and a pace of 70 rpm or so and then rode for 35 minutes untill my butt got sore. Differnt position then riding over the bars. I found my self speeding up and slowing down as the action of the game increased......
Tomorrow I will shoot for 45 min.

Thanks for all the great sugggestions.
Lee

flip18436572

Post an ad on craigslist.org for your area. There are always trainers and rollers that are just gathering dust somewhere.

JohnKScott

I use my inside trainer time to target my workouts more than I would if I were riding outside (although now that I have got an Edge 305 for Christmas I will likely be trying to do more disciplined workouts on outside rides when the weather and daylight turns nicer).

What I try to do each week is this...

Sunday - Recovery/Leisure ride (outside if possible) for about one hour

Monday - Hill climb course on trainer (35-45 min depending on course) trying to keep my heartate in my roughly defined HR zone 3 or zone 4. I usually race my prior best time

Tuesday - Recovery pace (zone 2) for 40-45 minutes

Wednesday - rest

Thursday - Sprint Intervals, Hill Intervals or TT test. The idea is to keep hold zone 4 or zone 5 HR for periods of time and then recover, rinse, repeat. On the sprint intervals where I try to hold zone 5 for one minute I usually feel sick to my stomach when I finish .

Friday - Recovery pace for 40-45 minutes or rest day (depending on how much sleep I've been getting and how tired I feel).

Saturday - long ride. 2 hour minimum. Most rides in the 2-3.5 hour range and between 35 and 50 miles (although I'll throw in longer rides if I have time). I do these on the trainer if weather is bad (those are usually closer to the 2 hour mark than the 3 hour mark ). I guess this would be considered a tempo ride? Not sure on the terminology. But I try to stay in zone 3 and some zone 4 and out of zone 5 as much as possible on the hills. This usually means moving along at a pretty good clip (for me) on the flats & rollers and pacing myself up the hills.

My trainer, via the computer, automatically adjusts tension for the grade. But you can accomplish the same thing on a standard trainer or rollers by using your gears. It jus may not be quite as fun .

My weekday workouts are all at 5 AM and are limited to under an hour as I have to take my daughter to school an then go to work. That's why those are in the 30-45 min range. I try to use that time as well as possible. I may miss a day here or there. I try to get 5 days on the bike, but often end up with an extra rest day . I have had to watch the amount of sleep I get. If I go more than a couple nights with less than 7 hours I start to feel it.

What the trainer has done for me this winter is added a lot of consistency to my training. I really have come to enjoy it. When it gets light enough I am going to try to adapt this consistency out on the road as well. But it seems easier for me to get distracted and go too fast or too slow out on the road depending on the external stimuli (chasing another cyclist, enjoying the scenery etc )

Wow...I've used my words up for the day...