How Much Time Spinning Indoors?
- Thread starter toseley
- Start date
Well, due to the temp, and the fact that the roads are covered in ice (yeah, not just snow, but ice), I just did 3.5 hrs indoors. I find if i do it at the gym, all the people serve as a distraction. Also, music is a must. So is food. Things to pass the time are watching people come and go, time your water intake (countdown till the next time you can drink water), time food intake, do intervals, bring a HRM and try to keep your HR within certain narrow zones (ex. 145-148), change the zones frequently, but not by much (unless doing interval), if the gym has tv, watch that. With all of that, its still very very mind numbingly boring. My best advice, split your ride into smaller chuncks, do 45 min, then lift, then do another 45 min. Or, an hour in the morning, and another hour in the afternoon. I know its not as good as doing long sessions, but when the weathers bad, its sometimes the only solution. If youre just working on cadence, i dont see needing to do anymore that 45min to 1 hr. Spinning classes are the best for that. Make sure your instructor is a cyclist, and he/she will tailor it to the needs of cyclists.
I usually spend 45 minutes on the trainer at home. I warm up for 5 to 10 minutes increasing cadence by 5 every minute. then I do 5 intervals at a watt i can hold for 2 minutes. then a 5 minute recovery. I work my way up until i'm doing this interval for 4 minutes and recovering for 1 minute. After that i iincrease the watt
You know whats interesting is that on days when its a little bad outside or just a little chilly or I just don't have time to ride outdoors I do 2 spinning sessions at the gym and if there isn't a class going on you can tailor your own training and do it for as long as you want sometimes 2 to 3 hours.
I max out at 1 hour. Even watching a movie, I'm going stir-crazy at 40 minutes and the remaining time is bloody torture. I don't have any problem with comfort - it's just the mind-games. Even without the bike, I'd actually have trouble sitting down and watching TV for an hour.
My unfortunate ability to break time frames into nano-seconds adds a new dimension to the torture! It sure does make the road look good.
Have fun.
i've just started getting serious on the rollers, im doing 40-45 minutes when i get in from work. I really want to make it more like and hour to and hour and 30 minutes. as it is though, i am getting about 12 miles done in the 40-45 minutes that im training.
Mind numbing is right, i train in the garage or the back yard with a radio and it takes a lot, stressing A LOT, of mental dedication to stick it out. Mad props to the 3.5 hours on the trainer, thats nuts
Mind numbing is right, i train in the garage or the back yard with a radio and it takes a lot, stressing A LOT, of mental dedication to stick it out. Mad props to the 3.5 hours on the trainer, thats nuts
Guys, If it wasn't for indoor training I wouldn't be a cyclist. I work a regular 8 hour job, I teach a course in College, I am in the board of directors for an athletics club, and I am married with 3 children. The only time I have to train outdoors is weekends, and that is limited as well during the winter, especially this year since we've had a lot of rain, sometimes snow and generally chilly weather here in Thessaloniki, Greece.
The way I've managed to stay in shape for the past 3 years is by following some great workouts based on two British coaches Auriel Forrester and Dave LeGrys. They give you a workout manual with a tape or CD, of music broken up into intervals. You follow the mannual for different workouts that work on your spin or strength or whatever. The workouts last for 47 min. plus warm up and warm down, so you get an hourly workout without even realizing you did it because you always concentrate on finishing a particular song working on something specific.
I managed to be in good enough shape to average over 25 mph (40+ kph) in 30 and 40 km time trials and hold my own in hard group rides, by combining different workouts 2 to 3 times a week plus one outdoor ride.
It certainly isn't like riding outdoors, but it sure keeps things fun and the music intervals give you a motivation to complete your workouts. Check out their sites for more info. www.spindoctor-training.com or have a dj make you a tape with your favorite time intervals, for example 3 min work 1.5 min easy, etc.
The way I've managed to stay in shape for the past 3 years is by following some great workouts based on two British coaches Auriel Forrester and Dave LeGrys. They give you a workout manual with a tape or CD, of music broken up into intervals. You follow the mannual for different workouts that work on your spin or strength or whatever. The workouts last for 47 min. plus warm up and warm down, so you get an hourly workout without even realizing you did it because you always concentrate on finishing a particular song working on something specific.
I managed to be in good enough shape to average over 25 mph (40+ kph) in 30 and 40 km time trials and hold my own in hard group rides, by combining different workouts 2 to 3 times a week plus one outdoor ride.
It certainly isn't like riding outdoors, but it sure keeps things fun and the music intervals give you a motivation to complete your workouts. Check out their sites for more info. www.spindoctor-training.com or have a dj make you a tape with your favorite time intervals, for example 3 min work 1.5 min easy, etc.
I fall into a similar camp. I work a 7 day week, being in the office before 6 each morning and, Monday to Friday I usually don't leave until 7 or 8 in the evening. On Saturdays and Sundays I can get out earlier and get a ride in while it's daylight.
I got myself a trainer (I have a set of rollers back in Australia) because riding at night in Kuala Lumpur has a few pitfalls.
I ride the same fixed wheel on the trainer as I do on the road. i don't need the trainer to improve my cadence - the fixed wheel forces the issue on the road, but I use the trainer because of the other constraints.
1 hour on the road passes without notice - 1 hour on the trainer is worse than a day in the life of Ivan Ivanovich. It does the job, though. So far I haven't experienced any full-on lock-up traffic jams on the trainer, and I have neither been cut-off nor knocked off whilst in the living room.
I've got to agree with you - the indoor stuff is mindnumbing !
I can manage one hour per day - maximum.
But the weather here (in Ireland) is freezing : it's hovering around 2-3 celsius but there's an east wind that's blowing at force
4-5, so the temp feels colder.
Went out yesterday and did three hours - I thought I'd died with the cold.
Only an acorn showing (!!!!!!!!!!) by the time I came back.
So i went on the indoor trainer today - cause it's warmer than freezing ones nuts off.
But it is boring.
I train five and three quarter hours a week indoors, one of those sessions is 2 hours, another is 1.5 hour the others are 45min. as well as a 2 hour road ride once a week. The problem in Australia, is that cars and trucks keep killing cyclists. So the law of averages is helping me be less bored with the indoor stuff.
....Oh and I teach these classes at a gym and they pay me which is also a very big positive.
You need to specify the indoor work, short intense stuff and long moderate stuff. Music, good music, is a must, training partners a blessing. If you have a training agenda with set routines then time becomes secondary to completing the entire routine.
I find the 2 hour base rides are the most beneficial for me as base aerobic conditioning is what I need and being able to sustain a constant 70% of max HR for 2 hours uninterrupted is something you can do easier indoors
The short sprint repetitions are also easier to duplicate then on the road.
Hill climbing is something you need to do out on the road, every Saturday morning we go out on the road bike looking for challenging hills....
....Oh and I teach these classes at a gym and they pay me which is also a very big positive.
You need to specify the indoor work, short intense stuff and long moderate stuff. Music, good music, is a must, training partners a blessing. If you have a training agenda with set routines then time becomes secondary to completing the entire routine.
I find the 2 hour base rides are the most beneficial for me as base aerobic conditioning is what I need and being able to sustain a constant 70% of max HR for 2 hours uninterrupted is something you can do easier indoors
The short sprint repetitions are also easier to duplicate then on the road.
Hill climbing is something you need to do out on the road, every Saturday morning we go out on the road bike looking for challenging hills....
At this time I am on the trainer working at cadence (among other things) both in and out of saddle on average 1.5 hours a day. TV in front with a movie or a TDF tape/DVD in and the sound turned down, Stereo blaring in the back with LOUD music.
Reading a book or magazine works too but gets tricky when you get out of the saddle.
Recommended movies: American Flyers
Recommended music: Linkin Park, AC/DC, KISS
Recommended reading: Uphill Battle (O. Mulholland) or any cycling mag will do
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