Indoor Trainer Workouts The Trainer Workouts in this document are really tough. Be certain to get a thorough medical checkup before attempting any portion of this series. The set of workouts address the training needs of serious fitness cyclists and racers. They range in effort and intensity from very hard to simply over the top. However, if you are looking to develop early season fitness, power and speed, indoor workouts similar to these are necessary. There are basically three types of indoor training setups. The most popular is a road or mountain bike on a stationary trainer. The second is using a set of rollers. Lastly, there is a studio or spinner bike. With rollers, you can use a fixed gear bike very effectively as well. Trainers work best with multiple geared bikes. Rollers are superior for developing balance and a really smooth spin. Just don t try standing up. Trainers allow for more and different kinds of workout exercises. Plus. Since the bike is supported, it is a lot safer for most folks. Trainers are a lot more portable than rollers in case you want to go to someone s house for a session. Trainers really eat up rear tires. Get a cheap tire that can be discarded after a few months of indoor work. Invest in a front wheel holder, it will keep the bike level and stable. The gearing indications in the workouts were developed while using Kurt Kinetic Road Machine trainers. Fluid trainers will require different gears from wind or magnetic units, due to the great increase in their resistance. It will take some experimentation no matter what setup you have. Do both an anerobic threshold and VO maximum test to see what your individual levels really are. That way you can start the training series with the correct data. Use a heartrate monitor to gauge your level in order to determine the right effort. If you are using a trainer, choose a computer with cadence and a rear wheel pickup. Set the computer to display cadence and elapsed time. That is really all of the data you will need. Spending very much more than an hour on a stationary trainer is not too productive. The key is to do a compressed workout with all of the right kinds of intervals in an order that will cause gain. The VO interval is the most productive exercise on the trainer for both speed and power that there is. Too many of the studio cycling or spin classes do not address the VO interval correctly. In order to produce a proper VO, you need a minimum of three minutes. Four minutes is better, but many people have to work up to it. Four minutes of recovery seems to work best for most riders. Hence the x pattern, repeated or more times is a nearly ideal workout.
If you choose to compile your own music CDs, look for cuts of minutes in length (times don t have to be exact). Find appropriate music for the type of intervals or recoveries. Music can be extremely beneficial for doing indoor workouts. Doing workouts of this type with their difficulty and intensity is best done indoors. Remember, these are some of the hardest workouts you may ever do. Many times people get really light-headed from the intense efforts. That could be a serious safety problem if you are on the road with traffic and all of the other potential hazards. Also, people have been known to vomit after very hard efforts. Having a bathroom close to the workout area can be a real plus. Don t forget to drink at least one large bottle of water during a workout. Consume about half of the bottle before the warmup. Drink the rest during the recovery periods. It is generally a very good idea to do trainer workouts in groups. Even one other person goes a long way toward cutting through the monotony and pain. Training in groups is the most effective way to keep interested and engaged. Have one member of the group take responsibility for calling out the timing of each interval, along with the start and stop. Many groups will have the leader use a simple handlebar bell instead of their voice. In a smaller room, use a fan to cool the riders. There can be a lage difference in performance with a good circulation of air against the body. During the recovery portions of workouts, check to be certain that the heart rate declines appropriately after each interval. If it stays high, there could be a problem and you should seek immediate medical help. That is another reason why a heart rate monitor is essential. There are gear combinations in each workout. The first is for the older / chainring setup and the second is for the more modern compact system that uses 0/.
Stationary Trainer Workout # in+ Total : :00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first -0 RPM, x x x :00 High Zone RPM, x x x :00 Stand Up 0-0 RPM, x 0x :00 High Zone RPM, x x x :00 Stand Up 0-0 RPM, x 0x :00 High Zone RPM, x x x 0:00 0 RPM, x x x Stationary Trainer Workout # Leg Speed Total : :00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first Warm up -0 RPM Climbing - out of the saddle RPM, x 0x :00 0-00 RPM, x x High 00-0 RPM+, x x Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x :00 Zone Trial Pace 0 RPM, x 0x RPM, x x One Leg Pedaling 0 RPM, x (min, each leg) High 00-0 RPM+, x x RPM, x x 0 High 00-0 RPM+, x x 0 RPM Stationary Trainer Workout # VO Capacity Total : :00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first -0 RPM Resistance Up 0 RPM, + gear every 0 sec. :00 Power Starts 0-00 RPM, x 0x, reps RPM, x 0x 00 RPM, x x :00 00 RPM, x x 0 Spin-Up 0 RPM, x, +RPM / 0 sec 0 RPM, x x
Stationary Trainer Workout # Power Builder Total : Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first -0 RPM, x x Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x 0:00 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x 0:00 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x 0:00 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x 0:00 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x 0:00 0 0 RPM, x x Stationary Trainer Workout #A Power Builder Total : :00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first -0 RPM, x x :00 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x 0:00 Stand Up 0-0 RPM, x 0x :00 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x 0:00 Stand Up 0-0 RPM, x 0x :00 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x 0:00 0 RPM, x x Stationary Trainer Workout # Strength & Power Total : :00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first -0 RPM, x x RPM, x 0x Climbing out of saddle RPM, x 0x RPM, x 0x RPM, x 0x Climbing out of saddle RPM, x 0x RPM, x 0x Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x 0 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x 0 RPM, x x
Stationary Trainer Workout # imum Total : :00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first -0 RPM, x x Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x 0 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x 0 RPM, x x Stationary Trainer Workout # Crit Practice Total : :00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first -0 RPM, x x Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x w/jumps RPM, x 0x w/jumps Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x 0 Off my wheel! -00 RPM x 0x- w/ jumps :00 0 RPM, x x :00 Stationary Trainer Workout # Road Race Test Total : :00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first Roll Out -0 RPM, x x :00 Spin-Up 0 RPM, x, +RPM / 0 sec Climbing out of saddle RPM, x 0x :00 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x w/jumps :00 :00 Climbing out of saddle RPM, x 0x 0 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x :00 w/jumps 0 RPM, x x
Stationary Trainer Workout # Pace and Jump Total : 0:00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first Warm up -0 RPM Fast Spin 00-0 RPM+, x x Climbing - out of the saddle RPM, x 0x :0 Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x 0 sec. Jumps RPM, x 0x up to Max x 0x 0-00 RPM, x 0x 0-00 RPM, x x 0 sec. Jumps RPM, x 0x up to Max x 0x Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x :00 0 RPM, x x Stationary Trainer Workout # TT Concentration Total : :00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first Warm up -0 RPM Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x :00 0-00 RPM, x x Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x Fast Spin 00-0 RPM+, x x :00 0 RPM, x x Stationary Trainer Workout #0 Hill Climb Hell Total : 0:00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first Warm up -0 RPM x x, x Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x, 0x Climbing - out of the saddle 0 RPM, x 0x 0x 0 RPM, x 0x 0x Climbing - out of the saddle 0 RPM, x 0x 0x(in the drops) 0-00 RPM, x x x Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x 0x Zone Trial Pace RPM, x 0x 0x Climbing - out of the saddle 0 RPM, x 0x 0x 0 RPM, x 0x 0x 0 Climbing - out of the saddle 0 RPM, x 0x 0x Climbing Summit Sprint 0+ RPM, x 0x 0x(in the drops) 0 RPM, x x x If you have compact gearing, use the second set of numbers :00
Stationary Trainer Workout # Summit Attack Total : Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first -0 RPM, x x RPM, x 0x Climbing standing RPM, x 0x RPM, x 0x RPM, x 0x Fast Climbing standing RPM, x 0x Down the mountain 0 RPM x x :00 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x 0 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x Final attack to max RPM x - repeats :00 0 RPM, x x :00 Stationary Trainer Workout # Off My Wheel! Total : :00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first -0 RPM, x x Off my wheel! -00 RPM x 0x- Off my wheel! -00 RPM x 0x- 0 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x Final attack to max RPM x - repeats :00 0 RPM, x x :00 Stationary Trainer Workout # 0K TT Event Total : :00 Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first -0 RPM, x x Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x (in drops) Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x (in drops) Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x (in drops) Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x (in drops) Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x (in drops) Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x (in drops) Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM, x 0x (in drops) 0 Fast Spin 00-0 RPM+, x x 0 RPM, x x
Stationary Trainer Workout min. imum Total : Test the gearing selection and resistance with your trainer first -0 RPM, x x :00 :00 :00 :00 Anaerobic Threshold Zone RPM x 0x 0 0 RPM, x x This is used for the first - VO workouts of the season. Bike Medicine Cycling Coaching & Performance Resources 0A Windsor Lane Suite 0 Houston, Texas 0 -- Office Visit us on the web: www.bikemedicine.org