Turbo Training
The rack. Voluntary torture. Ineffective euthanasia. These are all terms that can be applied to turbo training.
At this time of year when you start to see snow forecast it can however be a good option to turn to and for some odd reason I quite like it when I am in the mood for it. There are however a couple of things that I absolutely must have to make the session endurable:
1. An i-pod or a radio on loud and close to my head!
2. A heart rate monitor on the handlebars so I can see what my heart rate is doing
Without these two items the session is pointless for me. Metallica compilations have been the most effective and spurred me to do the best workouts. Never listen to them normally but great for turbo training!
A plan: plans are good!... but you do not always know how your legs and mind will respond to a turbo session, so if you do have a fixed plan and then can’t complete it this can be disappointing and de-motivating.
Time on the turbo: An hour seems to be a bit of a benchmark with regards timing. This allows for a 15 min warm up and a 5-10 min warm down with the serious action in between. I can do an hour but no more on a turbo. The good news is that if you are constantly working for that hour then it is the equivalent to at least double the amount of time you would need on the road / in the woods to get the same fitness benefit.
On reflection I think I have been at my fittest when adding at least one hard turbo session in per week.
There are loads of routines and links if you google the topic but here are a couple to have a look at.
Give it a go. You might surprise yourself and enjoy it. You certainly won’t have to clean your bike after it!
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