How do you keep sane on your trainer?

[JackRabbitSlims]

Good Option.......

PORN is a good option for a bit of variety - just sayin

Spring is well upon us here in NZ - longer, warmer days are starting to blossom with more regularity - Bring it!!

I wish all you northern hemisphere folks a long, dark, cold, miserable, nasty, crusty, sh!tty, bleak, wet, damp, wild, windy, bitter winter.

That way you can get some quality time on your trainers / rollers and try out all these suggestions for losing your sanity.

PORN is the way forward!

 

[elapid]

You make me glad that I live on the Gold Coast. Sure it gets cold (by our standards, and yes it does drop below 5 degrees ), but you can still get out and ride, you may need some warm clothing, but that is about it.

I lived in Brisbane for 18 months. I loved winter: beautiful days and crisp nights. But having lived in Canada for a while now, nothing gets quite as cold as -20C with wind chill taking this down to -40C. Not as bad as Winnipeg where they don't even bother with weather forecasts ... they measure how cold it is by how many minutes it will take to develop frostbite!

For those that keep saying ride outside, even on a trainer ... -5C and above is doable, at least for me, but it is neither fun nor effective if it is colder, it is not as safe with snow and ice on the road, and I find I am more prone to injuries as well because I can never warm up.

 

[shouldawouldacoulda]

-5C and above is doable, at least for me, but it is neither fun nor effective if it is colder

That was my cut-off too! Agree it gets hard when it is colder - especially if you are in a real winter zone where there will be snow and ice at sub zero temps.

Indoors I :

+ setup the trainer near a big window so you can see outside.

+ have an industrial fan for cooling.

+ really good headphones to cancel background noise and zone into both the music and your effort.

+ have a ride-plan that breaks up the session into small chunks (even if you aren't doing intervals and just going easy).

I couldn't ever get into watching videos... I dunno why. Maybe it was because I always chunked up the ride even if it was easy. The trainer is boring - so breaking it up into small chunks really helps. If you're going easy you can do simple things like vary your cadence, isolated leg exercises, work on how you carry your upper body etc. There is always something with your riding form - or an interval you can focus on for 1-20mins stretches to break up the ride. That and the music makes the time pass ok.

I can't just jump on the trainer in the fall and start banging off big rides. I work into it by starting with 20-30min sessions 2-3 times a week. If you just jump on and bang out 90mins you can drive yourself crazy... but you can work up to 90-120mins in smaller bits without it always feeling that it is so mind-numbingly boring.

I had a coach who once told me to finish a winter cross training workout with a ride on the trainer. I found that to be a really effective work out. I'm lucky to have xc ski trails or bushwacking ski/snow shoeing really close to home. I'd setup the trainer so when I got in from a 2-3hr ski or snow shoe I could change and be on the trainer in 5mins--then tap out a 60-90min trainer ride. I can literally ski or snow shoe right from home, so I could get in a near continuous workout. If I want to skate ski or classic ski on groomed trails I'm just a 7 min car drive from a trail-head.

If you need to (or god forbid want to do) a long trainer workout - 120min or more -- I find it helpful to get off in the middle and take a short break, drink, stretch and CHANGE YOUR SHORTS (especially if you sweat alot). Its amazing how putting on a fresh pair of shorts makes you feel ... totally fresh again.

 

[oldborn]

Hi there!
I also started a thread about it, all i can do is listening some music, watching some training videos, and try not to fall (have old rollers). It is boring and i cut my session 45min-1h max.

 

[chas5131]

Don't fight insanity, it helps one survive in this world.

I have not bought an interactive trainer because I don't want it laughing at my lack of speed and power.

 

[jrolaf]

I just got a Tacx Fortius VR trainer, and that has really made a difference. I used to manage about 30 mins on the trainer before i physically wanted to put a gun to my head and pull the trigger..boring as hell. Now I've done a couple of 2-hour sessions without problems. Can't see 3 hours being a problem either.

It's expensive, but well worth it!

 

[Michielveedeebee]

i once survived 2.30 hours alone on the trainer

 

[DirtyWorks]

Cruel and Unusual?

Wow. I cannot spend more than 30 minutes on a trainer. I don't know how anyone can. I actually spend most of my cycling time at the gym right now. 20-minute world championships are paying off when I can actually ride outside.

Trainermic.com is brilliant. Simple, effective use of physics and computers connected to a bike. I'm a tech guy for a living, so I know what he's doing/done. As simple as possible and no simpler. It is not everyday that someone can take all that theoretical stuff and turn it into something simple, effective, and useful. Bonus points for avoiding hardware dev entirely and using an audio signal as input.

If I had to use my rollers again, I'd definitely slap something together and buy his kit.

 

[Martin318is]

Another vote for Tacx Fortius. I bought mine in 2007 and have used it a lot. Have most of the major videos so for me a trainer session frequently consists of riding around Majorca, Milan-San Remo near sunset, Through the Alpes and over Huez, Galibier, etc.

Strangely though I still find that the vast majority of my rides are done doing intervals on the catalyst program (which just shows you the resistance and your various numbers + graphs.

either way there is no way you will see me back on a normal trainer (although back when I used one I would just set it up in front of the TV and watch movies or sports etc)

 

[krishna]

Pretty much what everybody else said.

I personally can get through about 30 minutes with nothing but my thoughts
> 30 but < 90 I need music
> 90 but <= 180 need music + DVD. I'll often break it up by having thoughts + music carry me up to the typical movie duration time (not many 300 min movies out there)

+1 to old TDF/Giro/Classic videos. I can't do _just_ those, however. Sometimes I need a true movie to carry me through.

>180 -- break it into morning/afternoon sessions

Wish I could do rollers but wife has banned me since I used to wake up the whole house if I fell...

- K

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Sounds really painfull to fall of:s I'm on rollers now checking the
CN forum.. Only makes my insanity worse

 

[ApplemanBicycles]

The Jens Factor is great!
I stay sane listening to some tunes & Tour de France DVD's!
Try not to think about your position too much... it's easy to nit pick little stuff while on the trainer.

 

[lalorm]

Try training with a Tacx i-magic Fortius trainer with real life video. It's great. It's winter and there is snow outside, but you can't beat climbing Alpe d'Huez in a pool of sweat. Seriously, it's the best way to train indoors.

 

[cawright1375]

I used to ride outside through the winter, weekends only as it gets dark by 4 here in New England, but then the wife & I bought a house on a dirt road and once the snow flies, the road becomes impassable for road tires. Next year I plan on getting a cross bike and I could use my mt bike, but it's too slow on the road.

During the week (and weekends now) I ride the trainer for about an hour. I take a 15 sec break every 15 minutes to give the **** some relief. I find that sitting in the same position for awhile such as on the trainer tends to make my rear a bit uncomfortable. Cycling dvds keep me company and on rare occassions I'll watch a movie if I plan on doing anything more than an hour. I just got done watch the 2009 Milan San Remo and am almost finished with the '09 Paris-Tours. After the first of the year I'll work up towards an hour and a half on the weekends until sometime in March when the road starts to clear.

 

[Oldman]

I'd grown accustomed to long winter hours indoors and had the basics covered: Blackburn Magstand (simple, quiet, related well to real world efforts), a big fan, DVDs, music, etc.
My wife recently bought the new Lemond trainer and it has added a new level of reality to my workouts- having a large truck with compression brakes applied right next to my ear. This mo-fo is so loud the TV volume can't compete with it.
My only hope is my wife gets tired of training indoors....

 

[TrainerMic]

Anyone else used this? Does it work?

T

Yes it works! If you have any questions about TrainerMic just ask me. I'm the guy that wrote it. Not to be a schill or anything like that but it does make riding the trainer much more fun. You can program in challenging work out profiles, link up with your buddies and race or train with them, and you can set the screen to transparent and watch race videos or dvds while training.

 

[SirLes]

I have recently established a new session which certainly livens up turbo sessions. I call it the "takeaway timetrial"

Basically warm up thoroughly first. Then, whilst continuing to cycle, order a chinese for delivery or similar over the phone. (Take care not to sound like an obscene caller)

Now try and see how far you can cycle before it arrives.

It takes between 40mins to an hour most times for my chinese to arrive but the uncertanty adds to the excitement and mental strength required.

For a nice little finish you can try and complete the Km you've started when they knock on the door as fast as you can.

The warm down can be done whilst eating is you want. This helps to burn of a few more calories to make up for the fact you are just about to consume a weeks worth in the next few minutes.

You can obviously tailor your sessions/effort to the delivery times for the different types of takeout or perhaps even request a certain time for delivery, although there is bound to be that all important element of uncertainty there!

 

[oldborn]

That s what i call real sport spirit and enthusiasm SirLes

 

[richwagmn]

Hello,

It's that time of the year again in most places for everyone to be on their trainers again.

So my question is how much does everyone use theirs in the off season?

And

What are some tips for keeping motivated that you use?

So far I've found that having a fan blowing in front of me helps so I can pretend I'm leading the peleton of imaginary cyclists. Also keeps me cool of course.

The thing is you can fall asleep (well, almost) on a trainer. Rollers will certainly keep your attention but I'll be damned if I can watch TV and ride rollers.

It is torture though. I don't even understand how people go to gyms and use treadmills and such. I feel a cow in a feed lot.

 

[maltiv]

I just got a Tacx Fortius VR trainer, and that has really made a difference. I used to manage about 30 mins on the trainer before i physically wanted to put a gun to my head and pull the trigger..boring as hell. Now I've done a couple of 2-hour sessions without problems. Can't see 3 hours being a problem either.

It's expensive, but well worth it!

This. Buying the Fortius was the best thing I've done for my fitness. If you're the competitive type, you can also get the racing feel by doing the multiplayer races. I've had some insanely hard sessions on it which I just can't do without competition.

 

[marathon marke]

The thing is you can fall asleep (well, almost) on a trainer. Rollers will certainly keep your attention but I'll be damned if I can watch TV and ride rollers.

That's the only way I can ride rollers! I pop in a good race video and start rolling. Granted, you have to learn how not to get too emotional.