When winter draws in and the weather gets less inspiring, going outside on the bike seems less appealing and sometimes, not possible due to floods, ice or snow. Turbo training is a great way to keep your fitness ticking over without battling the weather... and if you get them right, they are tough too!
Just because you're indoors, doesn't mean fuelling and keeping hydrated are any less important, with no air resistance you will be sweating a lot! The below sessions are all around an hour long so refuelling with carbohydrates isn't essential but taking an electrolyte drink like HIGH5 ZERO will keep you hydrated.
For additional focus and extra kick you can take a caffeinated ZERO, ZERO Caffeine Hit or a caffeine gel like Energy Gel Aqua Caffeine.
Don’t forget to take a Recovery Drink straight after your session. Why not keep made up and sitting in the fridge nice and cold for your recovery!
We’ve prepared 4 sessions to get you sweating…
Session 1
This session is designed to raise your lactate threshold and help you perform near it.
Warm-up: 5 minutes spinning while increasing gearing/resistance, followed by 5 minutes of 10 seconds sprint and 50 seconds recovery.
Main set: 3-6 x 5min with 3min recovery:
Shift to the big chain ring and work hard for 5 minutes. Aim for a heart rate 15-25 beats below your maximum or, if using power, your FTP. The trick is not to go out too hard at the start so that you can maintain the pace for the full 5 minutes.
At the end of 5 minutes, drop back to the small chain ring, drop the resistance and spin easy for 3 minutes.
Depending on your ability/fitness, repeat this work/recovery cycle for three to six reps.
Cool-down: 10 minutes easy spinning.
Session 2
This session is designed for building hill strength, as well as mental toughness!
Warm-up: 10 minutes easy spinning, including some 10-20 second seated sprints in the second 5 minutes.
Main set: 3 x 6min of ascending difficulty with 2min recovery:
Select the big ring but with a moderate sprocket (for example, 22t) the resistance should be at about a third of your turbo’s maximum. Ride moderately hard. After 3 minutes, shift up two gears and try to maintain the same cadence for a further 2 minutes. Finally, shift up another two gears and ride hard for a minute out of the saddle.
Drop to the small chain ring, drop the resistance and recover with easy spinning for two minutes. Shift back to the big ring but this time perform the ‘3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute sequence with two more clicks of resistance.
Recover for two minutes again and then work through the ‘3, 2,1, again cranking it up by two clicks/gears.
Cool-down: 10 minutes easy spinning.
Session 3
This session is designed to develop climbing strength and pacing.
Warm-up: 10 minutes easy spinning.
Main set – Up & down the gear block in 1min intervals
Zero your trip computer and select a fairly heavy resistance on the turbo along with your bottom gear (for example, 39 x 25). Ride sustainably hard, remembering you’ve got a long drag ahead and it’s going to get harder before it gets easier. Every minute shift up one gear all the way through the block. By the time you’re at the 11t or 12t, you should barely be turning the cranks. Keep going until you’ve been up and down the entire block twice.
The workout should take 33, 37 or 41 minutes depending whether you have a 9, 10 or 11 speed groupset. How far did you cover? Try to beat it next time!
Cool-down: 10 minutes easy spinning.
Session 4
This session is designed to do a bit of everything! Pedalling technique, leg speed, strength, power and sustained effort.
Warm-up: 10 minutes easy spinning.
Main Set
10min spin-ups
With resistance and gear fairly low, stay seated and spin up to maximum cadence. Hold the cadence up to 30 seconds and recover at an easy spin for the rest of the minute.
10min mixed climb
Crank up the resistance to high and find a gear that allows you, when working fairly hard, to maintain a cadence of 80-90rpm. Climb seated for 1 minute and then, having clicked up a couple of gears, climb out of the saddle. Alternative between seated and out of saddle riding every minute.
10min big gear sprints
Recover spinning easily for 1 minute at the end of the climb, and then select a high resistance and a big gear. From a standing start, sprint out of the saddle to get on top of the gear and then sit down and maintain the sprint. It should be a 100% 30 second effort. Rest completely for 90 seconds between efforts.
10min time trial
At medium resistance and gearing that allows you to work hard, but sustainably, at 90-100rpm ride a consistent 10 minutes. Try to make your effort constant without any tailing off.
Cool-down: 10 minutes easy spinning.
So there you have it, four super awesome turbo sessions to bring pain and suffering back into your training schedule.
Enjoy!