| If you ask any cyclist his/her opinion about training on | | | | the time whilst training on a turbo is to listen to your |
| an indoor turbo trainer, you will get a mixture of | | | | favourite music. If it is the right kind of music it can |
| response. Some will tell you it is pure torture, others | | | | inspire you to train. |
| seem to quite enjoy it. I know of one top cyclist who | | | | How to make training on a turbo more tolerable. |
| often spends 6 hours at a time on his indoor turbo. | | | | 1. Give yourself goals. Get a computer that works on a |
| These are some good reasons to train on a turbo. | | | | rear wheel so you can see how far you have gone. |
| 1. Avoid the winter weather. Cycling in icy wet | | | | Setting fixed targets in terms of time and distance can |
| conditions can be dangerous, turbo training avoids all | | | | help you to stick it out when it gets boring. |
| these problems. This is especially useful in winter the | | | | 2. Use turbo for mainly high intensity training. A lot of |
| alternative to training indoors may be training in the | | | | modern training techniques concentrate on quality of |
| dark. | | | | training rather than quantity. Unless you a pro, it is not |
| 2. Avoid road rage. It is a sad fact that cyclists seem | | | | necessary to spend hours every day. Training session |
| to get an increasingly rough treatment on the road | | | | of 1 hour can be very beneficial if you train in the right |
| from other users. Getting cut up by a four-wheel drive | | | | zone. |
| can often spoil a good training session. | | | | 3. As mentioned about listening to music or even |
| 3. You can control the environment. Many of the top | | | | watching cycling videos may help. |
| riders like to do their interval sessions on an indoor | | | | 4. A good fan is a must. Training indoors can make |
| turbo because they can scientifically monitor their | | | | you uncomfortably hot. If you train inside you must |
| interval sessions. On roads it may be difficult to follow | | | | have a very good fan. In summer 2 fans may be |
| a certain training plan because you have to stop for | | | | necessary. It best to have enough cooling wind to |
| traffic. Also if you are doing very high intensity intervals | | | | need 1 base layer to wick away the sweat. If you are |
| you don't want to have to be thinking about other | | | | too hot you will not last on the turbo at all. |
| traffic on the roads. A really hard interval should take | | | | 5. Make sure your riding position is comfortable, it |
| you to the limit. At time your may begin to feel | | | | should also match the position of your usual riding |
| light-headed. | | | | position, otherwise you can become susceptible to |
| 4. Avoid punctures. An obvious reason, although it is | | | | injury when you switch between the two. It may be |
| possible to puncture on a turbo as well if you use the | | | | advisable to use the same bike, but just switch the |
| wrong tyre. | | | | rear wheel. Make sure you use something to catch the |
| 5. You can watch TV and listen to music at the same | | | | sweat though. You don't want your new top of the |
| time as training. How many cyclists have set through | | | | range bike to start rusting. |
| several hours of the Tour de France feeling guilty that | | | | 6. Remind yourself of what the great cycling legend |
| they would be better off training themselves. A TV | | | | Fausto Coppi said when someone asked him for |
| next to a turbo can enable you to multi task and get | | | | advice on becoming a great cycling champion. "Ride a |
| the best of both worlds. Similarly a great way to pass | | | | bike". |