Off-season training - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Quisqueyano · 12-06-2006, 07:31 PM

It's too cold and the days are too short to ride. So I have moved to the trainer.
I am wondering what my workouts should be. Should I just ride at a steady pace for a set period of time> Should I hammer for a while? Should I vary the resistance and speed? I have heard that off-season workouts should about steady paces.
Any thoughts?

bluegoose · 12-06-2006, 07:53 PM

I ride the trainer quite a bit in the off-season. I think variety is the key to staving off boredom and improving your overall fitness level.

As a base, lots of slow, low intesity miles are a must. This is also a good opportunity to work on a smooth pedal stroke. One-leg pedalling is brutal, but very helpful.

I also try to include a few sprint days in as well. There have been several good studies coming out of univeristy exercise phys programs outling the importance of sprints and intervals, even in the offseason. One article stated that doing 2 short workouts a week (30-60 minutes) which included 5-6 sprints (30-60secs) was able to maintain fitness levels as well or better than riding at a moderate pace (60-80%max) 2-3 hours, 3 days per week. Did that make sense? Last night I rode for 45 minutes, fairly light intensity except for 6-30 second sprints.

Winter is also a great time to work on power, doing slow frequency (40-60rpms), high resistence workouts. If you trainer is able to give you enough resistence then you're set. If not, you may need to get out the mountain bike and hammer up a long, steady fireroad or the like. Heart rate shouldn't max out, but legs should be very fatigued afterward.

i go crazy if I'm on the trainer more than 30 minutes without varying the workout. Having a tv/dvd player around is nice. The last couple of nights I finished a civil war documentary. Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like Pickett's charge.

MikeWaters · 12-06-2006, 08:00 PM

I don't do offseason anymore. Too boring.

The Borg · 12-08-2006, 08:18 PM

I just bought a trainer for Christmas...so my offseason training is coming shortly.

I've got a couple of questions regarding trainers.

1) I've heard they leave a mark on the carpet if you don't have a mat or towel under it...from tire wear on the cylinder filtering on to the carpet. Is a mat recommended or towel? Is this true?

2) Is it recommended to have those sweat catcher things that attach to the bike vs. just a hand towel?

3) Does anyone use a computer that attached to the rear tire to capture speed, cadence, mileage, etc?

MikeWaters · 12-08-2006, 08:21 PM

1) I always put a towel underneath. Yes, the cylinder will wear down your tire a lot faster than a road will.

2) I don't know about sweat. Depends on how much you sweat I guess. You might not want to sweat too much on the headcase thingie.

3) Yes, I have a computer that uses rear wheel and does cadence (cateye). The equivalent speed on the trainer takes more effort than road.

bluegoose · 12-11-2006, 04:35 AM

Agreed with Mike on all 3 points, although I can't figure out where he gets his reasoning from, as he doesn't train in the winter anyhow.

I don;t think it really matters what you use on the ground, but if you care about your carpet, definitely use something. I've got an old piece of carpet I use. I also have several stains in my living room where I forgot to use my carpet.

I got a cheap sweatguard from Performancebike.com. A buddy of mine made his own with an old towel and some straps. I also keep a hand towel handy at all times if i ride indoors, as I sweat like crazy on the trainer. grage isn't so bad in the winter, as it is so cold.

My computer only has cadence which is helpful for riding a trainer, but ever that is broken on mine right now. So pretty much all i use is the timer right now.

12-06-2006, 07:31 PM	#1
Quisqueyano Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Lehi Utah Posts: 320	Off-season training It's too cold and the days are too short to ride. So I have moved to the trainer. I am wondering what my workouts should be. Should I just ride at a steady pace for a set period of time> Should I hammer for a while? Should I vary the resistance and speed? I have heard that off-season workouts should about steady paces. Any thoughts?

12-08-2006, 08:18 PM	#4
The Borg Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 533	I just bought a trainer for Christmas...so my offseason training is coming shortly. I've got a couple of questions regarding trainers. 1) I've heard they leave a mark on the carpet if you don't have a mat or towel under it...from tire wear on the cylinder filtering on to the carpet. Is a mat recommended or towel? Is this true? 2) Is it recommended to have those sweat catcher things that attach to the bike vs. just a hand towel? 3) Does anyone use a computer that attached to the rear tire to capture speed, cadence, mileage, etc? __________________ Hello......helloo.......HELLLOOO!

12-06-2006, 07:53 PM	#2
bluegoose Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,919	I ride the trainer quite a bit in the off-season. I think variety is the key to staving off boredom and improving your overall fitness level. As a base, lots of slow, low intesity miles are a must. This is also a good opportunity to work on a smooth pedal stroke. One-leg pedalling is brutal, but very helpful. I also try to include a few sprint days in as well. There have been several good studies coming out of univeristy exercise phys programs outling the importance of sprints and intervals, even in the offseason. One article stated that doing 2 short workouts a week (30-60 minutes) which included 5-6 sprints (30-60secs) was able to maintain fitness levels as well or better than riding at a moderate pace (60-80%max) 2-3 hours, 3 days per week. Did that make sense? Last night I rode for 45 minutes, fairly light intensity except for 6-30 second sprints. Winter is also a great time to work on power, doing slow frequency (40-60rpms), high resistence workouts. If you trainer is able to give you enough resistence then you're set. If not, you may need to get out the mountain bike and hammer up a long, steady fireroad or the like. Heart rate shouldn't max out, but legs should be very fatigued afterward. i go crazy if I'm on the trainer more than 30 minutes without varying the workout. Having a tv/dvd player around is nice. The last couple of nights I finished a civil war documentary. Nothing gets the adrenaline pumping like Pickett's charge.

12-06-2006, 08:00 PM	#3
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	I don't do offseason anymore. Too boring.

12-08-2006, 08:21 PM	#5
MikeWaters Demiurge Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 36,365	1) I always put a towel underneath. Yes, the cylinder will wear down your tire a lot faster than a road will. 2) I don't know about sweat. Depends on how much you sweat I guess. You might not want to sweat too much on the headcase thingie. 3) Yes, I have a computer that uses rear wheel and does cadence (cateye). The equivalent speed on the trainer takes more effort than road.

12-11-2006, 04:35 AM	#6
bluegoose Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,919	Agreed with Mike on all 3 points, although I can't figure out where he gets his reasoning from, as he doesn't train in the winter anyhow. I don;t think it really matters what you use on the ground, but if you care about your carpet, definitely use something. I've got an old piece of carpet I use. I also have several stains in my living room where I forgot to use my carpet. I got a cheap sweatguard from Performancebike.com. A buddy of mine made his own with an old towel and some straps. I also keep a hand towel handy at all times if i ride indoors, as I sweat like crazy on the trainer. grage isn't so bad in the winter, as it is so cold. My computer only has cadence which is helpful for riding a trainer, but ever that is broken on mine right now. So pretty much all i use is the timer right now.