I figured I’d give this thread a little love; seeing as I am spending a huge chunk of my time on the trainer at the moment due to having new little one (now 3months). I thought I would share a few of my favourite workouts.
Vo2 Max Lung Buster.
This workout albeit pretty short is solid, a lot of time spent at Vo2 Max with very short rest periods (1:30min) to induce some pretty serious oxygen debt. The hardest part is just going again, and again, and again; it’s tough not just on the legs / lungs but also psychologically as well. Intervals should be done at 106% to 120% of FTP (Z5) or >120% in the case of the Z6 intervals (very hard to achieve by now), in the case of working with heart rate by the 3[SUP]rd [/SUP]3min set your should be topping out near your Max HR. If you don’t fall off the trainer at the end, or collapse in the shower shortly after you are not going hard enough!
5 to 10mins Warm Up
3 x 3min Z5 Intervals w/ 1:30 Rest
2 x 2min Z5 Intervals w/1:30 Rest
3 x 1min Z6 Intervals w/1:30 Rest
2 x 2min Z5 Intervals w/ 1:30 Rest
3 x 3min Z5 Intervals w/ 1:30 Rest
5 to 10mins Cool Down.
Hit the shower, then slam down 500ml; of chocolate milk or your favourite recovery drink / foods.
Under/Over - Over/UnderIntervals
This is a workout I have been doing for a long time, it was originally featured in one of Lynda Wallenfels training plans I did years and years ago – I think it was originally devised by Chris Carmichael and has done the rounds in most “Time Crunched” type training plans; most recently it’s been brought to attention by Team Sky who claim it has been one of their keys to success on the mountains in the TDF. The interval consists of a an interval of riding at 95% FTP (or just below LTHR) followed by 105% FTP (or just above LTHR), repeated a few times. The durations can be whatever durations you like, I like to mix them up a little just to ease the boredom on the trainer. It’s a solid threshold workout, your legs should be burning by the end of it but your lungs should be fine.
5 to 10min Warm Up
8mins x [1min @ 95% FTP / 1min 105% FTP, repeat]
5min Easy Spin
8mins x [30sec @95% FTP / 1min 105%FTP, repeat] (alternativelytry 2mins/2mins)
5miins Easy Spin
8mins x [1min @ 95% FTP / 1min 105% FTP, repeat]
5 to 10min cool down
These are just two of many workouts you could do; some thing to keep in mind is being creative mixing it up a bit change intervals, change rest durations, listen to music and jump at the opportunity to hit the road or MTB a few times a week if you can even if it is just an easy 30min roll around – it will stop you going completely bananas!
Also someone mentioned earlier Trainer Road – when coupled with an ANT+ dongle and ANT+ Speed / Cadence it can show virtual power for supported trainers (there is a lot of them); Trainer Road is a fantastic poor man’s power meter, not only does it give you another metric but also allows you to track changes in your MAP/ FTP over time as you progress. The power might be a little off, but it’s pretty consistent (mine read 8w to 15w higher than my Powertap, but read consistent across a number of sessions).