Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Trainer Convert

I think some of you are curious where I have my trainer set up and how I am getting motivated to use it, so I thought I'd write a little post to tell you.

Where it is set up has a lot to do with motivating me to use it. It's in our front hall, but practically in the living room thanks to a double doorway. There is a good view of the TV from it. It doesn't get put away. I've been leaving it there all the time with either my bike or Jeff's bike on it. It's unavoidable that way and seeing it there makes us use it. We generally lower the heat a little for our riding, but it's pretty warm. We wear summer kit and still sweat buckets. I have a towel over my bike and a towel for my face. I have a fan aimed at me too.

Jeff and I have made a deal that we will encourage each other to do workouts. Jeff's good about putting my bike back on the trainer for me after he rides his, so I don't have any excuses. When he rides, I bring him water, increase the fan as he warms up and adjust the TV volume so he can just pedal. If we had more space, it would probably be fun to have two trainers.

Stopping negative references to trainer time has helped me too. I figure if I recite 'trainer time is fun!' often enough I might just start to believe myself. Well, maybe not, but thinking about the benefits of it helps. For example, I am suffering less from cabin fever as a result of the workouts. I guess I get too tired on the trainer to care that I can't do much outside this time of year! I also think about how I won't have to start over when spring comes in terms of saddle soreness and base miles.

Movies are great. I can't watch new ones as I miss a lot of dialog and details, but I like watching ones I've seen before. It's mainly about watching the images changing in front of me without really thinking about it. A Good Year, Under the Tuscan Sun, Across the Universe are some non bike ones I've watched in addition to the Dr. Who series.

I want to get some bike DVDs that are fun to watch over and over. So far I've gotten The 9 Ball Diaries which I really like and wish was a bit longer than 50 minutes for trainer riding.

Do you have any favorite bike movies/races you can watch repeatedly on the trainer? I'd love any recommendations!

I have the Spinervals DVD that came 'free' with the trainer. It's three 30 minute workouts. I haven't done it properly yet as I need a new battery for my cadence sensor (hopefully that will fix it!). Jeff's done it right though and he likes it. I think I will get a couple more from that series, like the climbing one.

I think I've moved past the 'white knuckle' phase of trainer workouts. I started the year daunted by the trainer and worried about my ability to stick with it, but the trainer time is becoming a habit for me and not something to dread so much! I am doing rides of varied length and intensity for 1-1:35 hrs, so far. I might do some shorter, really hard efforts at some point. I worry that I might not be working as hard as I should! I might be able to go a bit longer too, but I want to be careful not to burn out, so I'm not going to push the time for now.

I'm only a beginner at this, so I'll continue to look for trainer workout help on blogs and welcome any input from you!

9 comments:

Judith said...

Hey, I think the trainer is a necessary evil and I love it and hate it at the same time.

Some things I have learned from the trainer.......
1. Have a towel
2. Have plenty to drink
3. KNow it is only an hour (or so)
4. I like to ride the first ten minutes at an enjoyable pace to get "into being on the trainer"
5. Have a specific workout, eg: a DVD, or a plan...most of my workouts are HR and cadence based and may be 5 minutes at Aerobic Threshold with 5 minutes rest x 7, after the warm up and a cool down later....that was a killer cadence was 110-120.....I LOVE the feeling of finishing a KILLER workout.
6. IPOD/TV or MUSIC OR DVD

You know that it is a training tool, not just an instrument of torture. I do get into my WT workouts and my WT is in the shed in front of a TV and a fan (Summer Here)

trio said...

I'm impressed I'm not won over to trainers, but then it is possible to ride all year round here really. Your conditions are a little more extreme that ours so I guess I'm lucky!

Devorah said...

I bought the entire collection of West Wing DVDs. I've seen them all so it is easy to just tune in and out to the "good" lines. Mike trains to DVR'd movies and t.v. ranging from Battlestar Galactica to Stalag 17.

With commuting curtailed this week due to severe temps, I know I'll find myself on the trainer this weekend.

Daniella said...

Hi Sarah - found your blog and wanted to say hi. I have just recently began cycling. I am riding a Specialized Dolce Elite and I love it. I am doing 20 miles rides 6 days a week. I'm addicted. I absolutely love it. I'm in SW Fl so weather is great all year. I'm looking forward to reading your blog and getting tips. Thanks. Oh, I blog too but it's about our adoption and our day to day lives - kinda boring :)
~Daniella

kate said...

you have to find away to get 2 trainers in the house-how ace would that be!

Groover said...

"Stopping negative references to trainer time has helped me too."

I like that as I'm guilty of that, too.

A couple of my fav DVD's I watch when on the windtrainer (I haven't been for a while though) are "Overcoming" and "Hell on Wheels".

Our windtrainer is set up permanently underneath the house at the moment as Alberto's shoulder injury doesn't allow him to ride on the road. I'm planning to buy rollers in the next couple of weeks.

ItchyBits said...

Admire your attitude! I have a bunch of the spinerval stuff but not really doing that now just sticking to assigned workouts. I also have a few of the CTS dvds. I only watch TV if I am pedaling in a lower zone. I usually just rely on my ipod. I use music I would use for a spin class so I let the music dictate my cadence and gear.

Sprocketboy said...

Since the trainer season is so long and I know it yields results I don't have as much problem with it as other people. I have my fan and my television along with a massive collection of DVDs. The race DVDs are good because they tend to dwell on the climbs, showing them in real time rather than the summaries for the sprint stages. WCP always has sales on these, and after a while they all look the same so it doesn't matter which one you put on! People are now producing scenery DVDs and I have quite a few of these. There is a Spinervals one for Tuscon and another for Lake Placid. I have just received a three DVD set of Hawaii that I plan to ride this week. I will be reviewing all of these scenic DVDs on my blog and at www.pezcyclingnews.com shortly. Keep at it--the hours go quickly when you realize it is training with no lost time at all.

slow_peddler said...

Hello Sarah, I follow your blogg It is cool! I generally keep my trainer time to about 45 to fifty min's at a time. I ride durring the week mostly because it gets dark before i get home from work. I live at the base of the mts. of NC so I can ride outside most of the time . I draw the line at30 degress though! the reason I ride only 45 min. to 1 hour every other day is to avoid overtraining. That is ten times worse that burning out. When I do ride I put some hard driving music in. You know AC/DC type of stuff and i crank up the suround sound and kick it! hang in there cause it will soon be spring! I have a picture of my bike in the trainer over on my blogg, chek it out. Peace