Essential turbo equipment

[chamoniards]

1. The biggest fan you can buy
2. Bottles of water
3. A towel
4. A riser block for your front wheel
5. A heart rate monitor or better still power meter
6. Spare wheel with turbo specific tyre
7. iPod
8. A Rubber mat so you don't drip sweat all over your floor
9. Sympathetic neighbours when you do your 6:00am session
10. Removable brain

[David Joss Buckley]

Great 1 - 9 can manage all this. 10 - was removed some years ago, so no problem there, either.

[andyw]

6 am?!? Are you on drugs?

[davidr]

Only 6am! Hell, why not make a day of it and start at 5 instead...

[Nigel Wood]

That's a useful list. A couple of comments.

4. Riser block - I made one using a small block of spare poystyrene packaging reinforced with duck tape.

6. Definitely recommended if you don't want to be vacuuming up small bits of rubber afterwards.

8. Use an old towel or bath mat - you can pick it up afterwards and chuck it in the washing machine.

I guess it's time to revive the old favourite 'what to listen to' thread. Seem to recall Kevin recommended the Foo Fighters . Any other top twenty turbo training tune tips?

[Deleted]

I have to get one of these fans.

I tend though to watch TV. I nice mountain stage or something like that. Alternatively, a good shoot 'em up film...seeing as your brain is gone anyway. I tend to avoid subtitles.

If I listen to music, I quite like Supergrass, Audioslave or Pearl Jam, but can see the merits of the Foo Fighters...it's not that far removed. I'm always happy to listen to my lookalike in the Flaming Lips as well.

[David Joss Buckley]

Thanks for all the tips. I've found the Yellow Pages serves nicely as a riser block. Good tip about the bath mat, Nigel - been using an old shower curtain. Bit weird looking down and seeing multi-coloured fish under my wheels. Music? The Cure doing very well for me right now. One probably very dumb question: the special skewer I have to use... it's okay to ride on the road with it, yes? I don't have a spare rear wheel I can use, alas.

[andyw]

I like to watch cross races on the computer while I'm turboing.

This website has most of the euro cross races in a youtube type format ccx.nathanspear.com/ They're unedited straight off of Belgian TV so you get just over an hour of footage - ideal turbo session length!

Another obvious tip - open ALL the windows, turn the heating off (if you have to do it in a flat)

[Deleted]

Nov 28, 2008 13:13:06 GMT David Joss Buckley said:

the special skewer I have to use...

If it is the hefty steel one then you'll be alright with that, probably safer than most alloy QR's . Weighs about a 1lb too.

You'll be listening to The Cure's 'A THOUSAND HOURS' then?

¬¬¬

[andyw]

More tips:

Don't expect the first session of any interval training protocol to be particularly useful. It takes a session to work out which gears to use, so session one is practically always a right off.

Change interval sessions every six weeks or so. You need to repeat sessions regularly (once or twice per week) to get a benefit, but don't get stuck in a rut of repeating the same sessions forever - you'll get bored and stale and you won't improve. Keep your body guessing!

Make it count! An hour of steady riding on the turbo will feel like infinity and isn't particularly beneficial. Interval training makes the time go quicker and allows you to work on specific weaknesses.

Take it easy! If you start an interval session and don't feel yourself, climb off and forget about it. It's easy to pick up bugs at this time of year, so if your body isn't responding as you'd expect it to from a session (eg, your HR won't go up to the level you'd expect despite your perception of the exertion being very high) it's quite likely you're coming down with something. Don't make it worse! Climb off and sack it off for the evening.

[Deleted]

I find that music just isn't enough to keep my interest up. I have to put the TV on when on the trainer. The best thing I find to watch is a good football match, or match of the day (though only good if your a footie fan I imagine). Makes the time go quickly, before you know it a couple of hours have gone.

I have a Tacx Cosmos which I think comes with some great training programs, mostly interval stuff. Have been thinking about upgrading it to a VR machine, anyone got a VR trainer? Are they good?