How to use a home bike trainer?

Hello,

I have a bike trainer that I can attach to the rear wheel of my bike and I have a few questions. How should I use it? It is OK to ride for 1 hour at 90 RPM? Would that be harder than riding 1 hour outdoors? I ask because when riding on the road there you are not pedalling all the time non-stop (unless you are climbing) there are always moments when you can stop pedalling and take some breath, but on the home trainer you one usually pedals 100% of the time.

thanks.

That depends on your goals, your available time, your favorite training philosophy, etc. Are you trying to lose weight, retain or build general cycling fitness, maybe build race fitness or build winter base in preparation for riding outdoors. It's hard to tell you exactly what you should do with your trainer without knowing what you hope to accomplish, your experience level and level of commitment to cycling.

Having said that, I generally use an indoor trainer for focused moderate to high end work or for prerace warmups. I don't ride long easy rides on the trainer, it's just too mind numbing and uncomfortable. If I'm going to get on my indoor torture machine then I'm going to do at least Tempo work and typically higher than that with the total ride time in the hour to hour and a half range.

That limit on time (I just find it too difficult mentally and from a comfort standpoint to stay on the trainer much longer than that) leads to an SST approach to indoor trainer work. Search these forums for many many discussions on SST (Sweet Spot Training) as a means to build aerobic base. I also use the trainer for high end VO2 Max and Anaerobic Capacity intervals and occasionally for some full out sprint work. But the vast majority of my trainer time is spent doing SST or L4 (Threshold) work.
Yeah, sure it's OK to ride at 90 rpm or 110 rpm or 70 rpm if that floats your boat but that doesn't really say anything about what you're training. Again I tend to an SST/Lydiard/Coggan approach to indoor training since I want to make the most of shorter indoor sessions. That means a lot of work that's hard enough to get me breathing deeply and steadily, requires concentration to avoid getting lazy, makes me sweat profusely even when cooled with a very large fan, and is pretty uncomfortable for the final minutes of 20, 30, 45 minute or even hour long efforts. I use a power meter to roughly set my work level and help me choose gearing, but the key is steady deep breathing at a level that's tolerable but just barely for the durations of interest.

But all that is said from the perspective of someone laying down winter base "miles" on the trainer in preparation for outdoor riding in the spring and a busy racing calendar. Your goals may be quite different. It also reflects my choice of training philosophies, other folks might tend towards LSD base training with longer easier sessions or subscribe to the HIT school of thought with much shorter much more intense efforts. Any advice is meaningless without knowing what the goals are and what training methods you believe in.
Most folks find it much harder to ride indoors for the same duration as they would outdoors. The lack of momentum, lack of cooling, lack of general bike feel, tendency to sit in one position without moving while riding the trainer all add up to a less pleasant riding experience. It's really good very focused training, but it's not as much fun.

Good luck,
-Dave

Wow! What can I say my friend!! Thank you very much for your great reply.

I starting cycling on June 2008 to improve my fitness, but before that I used to swimm and run so I was in pretty good shape when I started cycling. I am 33 years old and my goal is to get in the best shape I can. I know I'm not a boy anymore but would like to participate maybe in senior races maybe in the future. I live in Madrid, SPAIN, 1,85 cm tall, 75 kilograms, 45 hart rate.

I usually go out with my bike and ride about 2 hours a day, 4 days a week. I dont follow any "profesional" schedule or anything. I just practice a little bit of everything depending how I feel. ONe day I may do 10 sprints, other day climb a mountain, or just ride in the flat. I am also lucky to have a 10-km long mountain with 8 and 9% slopes about 30 km from my home. I usually ride alone or with 2-3 other people that I find on the road.

The thing is that now is too cold to go outside and I just wanted to do something indoors so that's what I asked for advice on how to use a home trainer. About the duration of the exercise I wonder from what would my body get more benefit from in the home trainer or outdoors. I agree that on the home trainer is harder, but it is also better?

What do you suggest?

It sounds like you have a good fitness base from swimming and general riding alone and with groups. There's certainly no reason you have to start structured training if you don't intend to compete, but based on what you described you have plenty of background to start a more structured program if you so choose.

The indoor trainer lends itself to some level of structured training as it's mentally difficult to ride in place week in and week out over the winter if you don't have some goals and direction. Just spinning away with no particular purpose is very hard for me to sustain. I absolutely hated trainer time until I added some structure and goals to my training. Now I know exactly what I'm trying to accomplish during my indoor sessions. I also have a power meter that helps me track progress and lets me know the time invested is actually paying off. But as long as you use the same trainer you can track sustainable speed, or distance covered during your workouts to keep track of your progress.
That ride almost certainly would qualify as an SST workout. Unless you have extremely low gearing on your bike (like a touring triple crankset paired with large rear cogs) it's likely that a 10km climb with 8-9% grades forces you to ride somewhere in the Tempo/SST range. IOW, without trying too hard you end up putting out a good solid effort to climb that mountain. Long steady climbs are my easiest SST days at least mentally. I don't have to stay on top of my gears and stay focused to put out the power, I simply have to ride steady bottom to top.

Think about holding that sort of effort while riding the indoor trainer. Not killing yourself everytime you try to ride indoors, but good solid work near the top end of your sustainable aerobic range in blocks of 20, 30 or more minutes.

Popular and productive sessions on the indoor trainer include 2x20 minute efforts where you warmup for 5-10 minutes, ride 20 minutes at a steady pace that gets you breathing deeply and requires focus to finish, 5 minutes of easy spinning, another 20 minute effort at similar intensity to the first and a cooldown. That takes approximately an hour and is a very good solid workout that leads to a very powerful aerobic engine.

You can't and shouldn't try to do every day at that intensity. It can easily lead to burnout and you can start to dread the trainer if you work so hard every day. So folks do other workouts including 2x30 minutes with similar format but backed off in intensity enough to complete both efforts. Late in my training week I like to do a solid block of at least an hour after warmup but backed off again so it isn't mentally or physically too tough. The point is that you trade intensity and sustained duration, shorter efforts are harder and longer efforts are backed off. It's a combination of intensity and time at that intensity that leads to fitness gains so mix them up a bit to match your schedule and your motivation.

In the summer I'll take a day or two each week to ride a short very easy recovery ride. In the winter I don't get on the trainer at all for recovery days. The trainer just isn't very pleasant and I want to save my motivation for workouts that matter. If I want complete recovery I just take a day off, if I want some longer mellow exercise I'll cross country ski or head into the mountains on backcountry skis or do some other activity. Winter is long, you don't want to start dreading the trainer long before spring rolls around.
Well, I'd say it's definitely more efficient from a time on the bike standpoint. IOW, I get a better workout per hour invested than I do outdoors with traffic, stops, coasting on descents, etc. But that doesn't mean the trainer is "better". Riding outdoors has varied terrain, much longer rides are not only possible but far more enjoyable and after all most of us don't ride bikes for the time spent grunting away in front of a fan The trainer is a great way to maintain or build fitness during the winter but I only get on it during summer months to warmup for races regardless of its time efficiency. I know some very strong racers that continue to use a trainer during the season it can definitely provide a very good workout, but I tend to ride outside when I can.
Start riding the trainer, try some block intervals in the 20 to 30 minute range and find the intensity that requires concentration, gets you breathing deeply but isn't so brutal you have to quit early or can't finish more than one. When you find that level (probably easiest to see as a certain speed if you have a rear wheel speed sensor or a certain cadence and gear combo if you don't) make a note of it. See if you can stretch the duration of those efforts at the same intensity and over time see if you can bump up the intensity. Don't feel the need to chase records all the time, do some easier days, some harder days, and take days off just like you do in the summer. 4 to 5 days per week of various workouts is a solid schedule just make sure the time on the trainer isn't ridiculously easy. If you could easily chat with another rider and don't notice your breathing or effort and the pedals feel like there's no resistance than it's probably not the best use of your indoor time.

Good luck and let us know how it goes....
-Dave

Dave's advice is very sound, Sopas.

With regard to 90rpm for 1 hour - when I raced we used what was then called "the method".

The method basically involved us pedalling to a certain cadence (pedal revolutions per minute, using a specific gear ie 42x13, for a specific length of time).
This training was drilled in to us and as fittness improved, we made the cadence more difficult (increase pedal revolutions per minute or use a higher gear 42x11, or lengthen the time pedalling a gear ; or a combination of all three).

I would suggest that pedalling 90rpm for 60 minutes is a good test anyhow if you want to improve general fittness.
But like Dave says, if you have a specific target, then you can put that target to the experts who and then can advise accordingly.

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it" - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

Hello again,

Well today was really cold outside so I decided to use the home trainer. My goal was to stay on the bike for an hour using the 53 x 17 at 90 RPM. I failed.
When the clock hit 30 minutes I was so tired that I had to slow down and did the last 30 minutes at a slower cadence switching from time to time to 39 x 17. It was really much harder that 1 hour outside on the road, but anyway, I was really happy about the workout.

Another thing. I have noticed that the bike frame suffers a lot of tension on the home trainer. Getting out of the saddle is out of the question for me as I am afraid to damage the frame. Are there any cases of broken frames because of the use of a home trainer?

THanks to all for the time you put on this thread.

Yeah indoor training isn't much fun and it takes me some time to adjust to riding the trainer every winter. A very large fan helps quite a bit, as does some good music and headphones but it definitely takes more motivation to ride indoors than outdoors.

Don't worry about frame stress, yes it feels different but a well built frame in good shape won't be damaged by riding the trainer even with hard out of the saddle sprints. I've spent hundreds of hours each winter riding both steel and carbon fiber frames on the trainer including hard intervals and sprints and my frames are just fine. Tires wear out very fast on the trainer, but don't worry about the frame.

The gear and cadence information doesn't really mean much to anyone that doesn't own your same make and model trainer. The real question is how hard you were working, did you break a solid sweat, get into deep and steady breathing? Did it take focused effort to keep from downshifting?

Stick with it on days you can't go outside, it's not fun but you'll get used to the trainer in time and the time spent on the trainer can be really high quality.

-Dave

have a trainer - hate it with a passion. Cant beat wind in the face, the sound of sand crunchin under your tyres, the bumpin over small road imperfections, the mad sprint to the lights... no matter whats on your DVD player, it gets boring and my member goes numb !

__________________
"...too old to be riding a bike..." my former workmates used to say. Screw them. I don't judge people for their lack of interest in exercise. So don't judge me.

Some suggestions:

Buy a big fan - the bigger the better. Staying cool with make things seem a bit easier. A large fan on a low setting is better than a small one on high.

Don't forget to drink.

Big towels are handy - drape them over your bars and top tube to catch sweat as well as being handy to wipe yourself down inbetween intervals.

As for the frame question - I've put countless hours on my bike on the trainer and I've never broken a frame on there. Stay with the training, it won't be long before you manage that 1 hour. It's amazing how much freewheeling around corners etc can make a ride seem that much easier when you're out on the road and that's something that you don't get on the trainer.

The something in the saddle area is wrong. Maybe its the saddle, your position on the saddle or your bars are a little too far away... but things shouldn't get numb.

+1
Fix your position. Weight should be on the sit bones and nothing should be going numb.

__________________
Custom Training Plans -- cyclecoach.com -- My Blog -- Power Meter Hire in Australia