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GOT Fitness LOG

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sbbefc said:
Purchased a turbo and had a go this evening, did this work out which was pretty good.

http://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com...e-workout-indoor-cycling-hill-climb-training/

Does anyone know any similar videos where I can use my hr and cadence monitors?

A dvd came with it, l etApe du tour 2013, however its just a video with effort from 1-10 on the bottom right hand corner. Doesn't say what that effort relates to in terms of cadence and hr.
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Not quite like that, but the ex Italian ride Davide Cassani has done a load of videos of him climbing up some of the best mountains in the world. The one below is of the Stelvio but I think he's done 20-30 of them. I must say, I usually prefer race footage instead, but if you want full coverage of climbing a mountain at regular(ish) speed then they might do the trick.

 
Bruce Wayne said:
Not quite like that, but the ex Italian ride Davide Cassani has done a load of videos of him climbing up some of the best mountains in the world. The one below is of the Stelvio but I think he's done 20-30 of them. I must say, I usually prefer race footage instead, but if you want full coverage of climbing a mountain at regular(ish) speed then they might do the trick.

Click to expand...


what setting do you put it in? do you leave it in say 5 then shift up and down the gears?
 
sbbefc said:
what setting do you put it in? do you leave it in say 5 then shift up and down the gears?
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Yeah I don't tend to bother with the resistance setting as I've found it isn't all that reliable or stable so just use gears to make it harder or easier. The power reading on my Flow does seem consistent (if maybe not all that accurate) so I use that instead.

So if it's a 60 minute session I'll try and maintain threshold power for an hour. At the moment I'm doing more 90 minutes at around 80-85% of my threshold. That's as much a mental challenge as a physical one as it can get a bit dull.

Oh, and I usually stick a wine crate under the front wheel to elevate it as you would when climbing. Not sure if it helps or not, but probably can't do any harm.
 
Bruce Wayne said:
Yeah I don't tend to bother with the resistance setting as I've found it isn't all that reliable or stable so just use gears to make it harder or easier. The power reading on my Flow does seem consistent (if maybe not all that accurate) so I use that instead.

So if it's a 60 minute session I'll try and maintain threshold power for an hour. At the moment I'm doing more 90 minutes at around 80-85% of my threshold. That's as much a mental challenge as a physical one as it can get a bit dull.

Oh, and I usually stick a wine crate under the front wheel to elevate it as you would when climbing. Not sure if it helps or not, but probably can't do any harm.
Click to expand...

How do i determine threshold power? can I calculate power through cadence?

Thanks
 

sbbefc said:
How do i determine threshold power? can I calculate power through cadence?

Thanks
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I don't think so. It's usually the maximum you can produce for 1 hour so is a good measure for your typical Alpine climb. You might be able to use heart rate but there are one or two issues with that I believe (I think your heart rate is prone to drifting for instance).

I sent you a link to an ex display Tacx Flow on BikeRadar for £200. It sounds a decent chunk but I must have done 20,000km on mine since I bought it 4-5 years ago. It's been a smashing investment. Take the power reading itself with a pinch of salt, but in my experience it stays constant from one ride to the next so is ideal for ensuring your training is measured.
 
sbbefc said:
How do i determine threshold power? can I calculate power through cadence?

Thanks
Click to expand...

You can do an FTP (Functional threshold power) test if you have access to a gym bike or something else that can measure your power output (note that a gym bike is not likely to be 100% accurate, but it'll do).

Basically, warm up for as long as you need to, then do a 20 minute max-effort workout - try to keep it steady state as this is how you maximize your power output over the duration of the test. Your FTP is then 95% of your average power output. Typical Training zones by Friel and Coggan are then prescribed off your FTP.

Note that FTP and Power output is much more meaningful when taking your own weight into consideration, ie watts/kg.

Power taps are new technology and bloody expensive at the moment. I train all on the Turbo and then just do a MAF test on the gym bike every couple of weeks to track my progress.
 
evilwebby said:
You can do an FTP (Functional threshold power) test if you have access to a gym bike or something else that can measure your power output (note that a gym bike is not likely to be 100% accurate, but it'll do).

Basically, warm up for as long as you need to, then do a 20 minute max-effort workout - try to keep it steady state as this is how you maximize your power output over the duration of the test. Your FTP is then 95% of your average power output. Typical Training zones by Friel and Coggan are then prescribed off your FTP.

Note that FTP and Power output is much more meaningful when taking your own weight into consideration, ie watts/kg.

Power taps are new technology and bloody expensive at the moment. I train all on the Turbo and then just do a MAF test on the gym bike every couple of weeks to track my progress.
Click to expand...

I sometimes wonder why they recommend doing a 20 minute test and then extrapolating 95% of that as your FTP rather than just doing a full hour and using your reading from that? Sure they know what they're doing like, but still :)

Either way though, you really need the power available to you for your subsequent training so you can measure your effort accordingly on future sessions. It pays therefore to do your test on the same machine as you do your training.
 
Bruce Wayne said:
I sometimes wonder why they recommend doing a 20 minute test and then extrapolating 95% of that as your FTP rather than just doing a full hour and using your reading from that? Sure they know what they're doing like, but still :)

Either way though, you really need the power available to you for your subsequent training so you can measure your effort accordingly on future sessions. It pays therefore to do your test on the same machine as you do your training.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess extrapolating a best guess from a test that is only 1/3 as long is a lot more practical to do on a regular basis. I think they just prescribed the FTP test as something that would be easier for most people to do so that they can compare against each other, but if all you care about is tracking your own progress then ultimately you can devise any sort of a test protocol, so long as you are consistent with it each time.

I like quantification of course, so I'm happy to do sub-maximal testing on a frequent basis I initially started doing it for running, but I've applied it to skating and cycling also. I think it's a great way to objectively track your progress.
 

evilwebby said:
Yeah, I guess extrapolating a best guess from a test that is only 1/3 as long is a lot more practical to do on a regular basis. I think they just prescribed the FTP test as something that would be easier for most people to do so that they can compare against each other, but if all you care about is tracking your own progress then ultimately you can devise any sort of a test protocol, so long as you are consistent with it each time.

I like quantification of course, so I'm happy to do sub-maximal testing on a frequent basis I initially started doing it for running, but I've applied it to skating and cycling also. I think it's a great way to objectively track your progress.
Click to expand...

True, plus I'd imagine finding a bit of road to do a 20 minute test on is much easier than finding one to do an hour test on.
 
Hooked up the cadence/speed sensor and used an app on my phone to calculate the power. It takes account of the power curve of the turbo model.

Did the FTP and its pretty hard work. Even if its not that accurate I guess if the equipment is left on the same setting, improvements can be measured against it.
 

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