advice on planning my indoor training for fall winter etc
 

plan on as usual getting out on weekends and as much as i can through week during winter. i want to get a trainer. my goal is to be very strong and ready to race in spring. should i buy a cheap trainer and intervals dvd's? or a expensive trainer tacx flow etc with watts.

That old coach troy kicks my A$$ every time. I still want a computrainer or a tacx.

I bought the cyclo-core / cyclo-zen combo a while back. I haven't started doing the off-season training, but I have been doing some of the core workouts, and it's good stuff...

Usually people work on their base during winter. So low intensity, long rides. Not intervals.

Last poster was correct.

Low intensity, long rides. If you have to do a video, I suggest the Chris Carmichael (CTS) Tme Trial Video. Lots of sitting in the saddle, cranking away.

Also, you should add some strength training into your winter workout.

If you are jonesing for some some interval work, and you belong to a gym, see if they have Spin classes. Do that class once a week and you'll get your fill for intervals.

The problem with doing intervals and speedwork over the winter is that you never build your base, and you'll burn yourself out by the early spring.

Your first couple of spring races should be training races really. You probably wont get your "legs" until late spring/ early summer. Any sooner than that I fear you'll be toasted by mid summer.

Yes, but....

Even Carmichael says you can/should do one high-intensity ride a week during your foundation phase.

So, here's my suggestion:

1. Read Carmichael's book, The Ultimate Ride, and Friel's book, The Cyclist's Training Bible, to get an idea of how "periodization" works, and how to build an annual training plan that has you peaking at the right time of your racing season.

2. During the winter do long, steady, distance rides on the weekends. Do "power" work on the trainer one weekday (high-resistance, low cadence); Do interval work on the trainer one weekday (Carmichael CTS, or Spinervals DVD); do leg-strength and core work off the bike 2 other weekdays.

3. Increase intensity and decrease distance as you approach race season.

Start off with a cheapo entry-level trainer. After a year or two, if you discover that riding a trainer consistently over the winter is something you can actually tolerate, then get yourself a Cyclops or other higher-end trainer. I would venture to guess that most trainers actually see very little use (like most excercise equipment, in general). The more expensive the trainer, the bigger the waste of $ if it doesn't get used regularly.

Bob

Have you DONE the Carmichael TT video? There's nothing "base" or "low intensity" about it. Lots of SteadyState/PowerInterval work. Hardly an aerobic base workout. It even says in the video that it's intended to optimize performance at or above LT.

I'm guessing if that workout is your idea of low intensity, you're doing it wrong.

Go cheap on the trainer. I have an earlier version of this one: http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...egory_ID=4120# and it works just fine. It has 5 levels of resistance. Add in the gears on your bike and you can always find the level of resistance you need. The highest level is high enough that it will never become too easy, so you don't have to worry about that.

Buy an expensive trainer and you're spending a lot of extra money on something that's a little more quiet and has more of a "realistic" feel. My trainer isn't waking up the neighbors or anything (and you're probably going to be pumping up some music anyway) and no matter how "realistic" they claim to make it, it's still a trainer and you're never going to mistake it for an open road.

Buy the cheap trainer and spend the extra money on books and/or DVDs.

Ugh....I don't want to think about this topic yet. All the "Back to School" stuff has put me in a slump. Summer is almost over :cry:

Since our winters go kind of long, and one of my first goals is (my own) race series which takes place with snow on the ground, I try to do some intense training indoors. Okay, I also go to CA for a couple weeks, but that's different.

For the most part I can't motivate to go hard, not on my own, so it's hard for me to go hard on the trainer. I usually do steady state stuff.

I did a few winters on a VeloDyne, sort of like a computrainer. It really helps motivate, chasing virtual riders and such. A networkable trainer would be nice (Tacx) so you have live opponents. Computrainer lets you do that too.

Two caveats:
1. If you're new to the sport, I'd get rollers too, and swap between them. Trainers tend to teach very poor pedaling style. Rollers teaches good pedaling technique. I find rollers with resistance to be unrealistic (no inertia, either too hard or too easy).
2. Try a cheap trainer first. Some folks can't deal with trainer riding.

btw I have all the CTS videos and they're so hard that I've never gotten through one. I told this to the friend who got them for me (he went to a boatload of CTS camps), and he said that even the good riders won't make it initially. They're that hard. Of course, if you dial down the efforts then it's not so hard, but if you go by the numbers, wowsers. It would be good to have a powermeter or heartrate monitor for those things.

cdr

We have one of these and its great. Its, inexpensive (relative), well built, quiet, provides lots of resistance when needed, easy to take the bike off and put it on

CycleOps Mag Turbo Trainer

http://www.probikekit.com/_img_500x640/T9034.jpg

If you have the cash, get a powertap and learn how to use it. Winter is a great time to do that, because you can control lots of variables on a trainer.

As for the trainer itself, get a Kurt Kinetic or CycleOps fluid trainer. You won't regret either purchase.

Tunnel vision and vomiting will be provided by "Race Day," available at www.realrides.tv. This is especially fun with a powertap.

Enjoy. :beer:

(edit) Holy thread resurrection!

I live in northern WI and need to do a lot of indoor training. I have both a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine with virtually all the Spinervals DVD's and CTS DVD's. I also have a Tacx Fortius virtual trainer with about 12 Real Life Video DVD's and Ergovideos.

I like them both and usually alternate from one to the other every other day. They are different but both have their place.

The KK Road Machine is the only trainer I would ever buy again. I wasted money on cheap trainers in the past and learned my lesson. The KK is very realistic and will last the rest of my life (for only a small amount more than the cheap ones). I use this trainer for most of my harder interval work (always with the DVD's). My favorite DVD series of all in the new CTS Progressive Power series - a 2 month class that includes 15 one hour interval workouts with a test before and after. It is great - mostly because it is an organized series (there is some rhythm and reason to the training). I added about 30 watts to my power output on my powertap with the class - don't give me this bs about not doing interval work in the winter. I also use the Spinervals DVD's a lot and enjoy them. If I didn't have the DVD's, I would sell my trainer (training to music or TV is worthless for me).

I also use my Tacx Fortius a lot. It is great to spend a winter afternoon riding in the Alps on one of the Tour de France courses (playing on my flat panel TV). I use this more for my longer workouts. I frequently do 3-4 hour rides on the Tacx and still keep my sanity. It is hard to do this on the KK trainer. I have the Spinervals Hardcore Hundred - indoor century ride - 5 1/2 hours on the KK trainer but it is terrible compared to a long ride on the Tacx. I also frequently do the Ergovideos on the Tacx (riding for 1 hour with Rabobank) and these really kick my butt. The one problem with the Tacx is that it needs a higher end computer - basically a gaming computer. I had to buy a used computer on Ebay ($325) to run the videos. This option is clearly more expensive than a regular trainer but it sure has some advantages.

If I could only have one system, I would probably choose the KK trainer with the DVD's. This would still allow me to do the harder interval workouts in the winter which help me the most. It would be a hard decision though and I would hate to give up my climbs up Alp d'Huez on a snowy wintery day on the Tacx.