mega hours on trainer - is it useless endurance

Old Junker said:

spending more than 3 hours on a trainer in one session is it useless endurance or would i be better served with 3x20 at LT instead of 1x180 x65%Lt

Dunno, what are your goals and what is the rest of your training look like?

Define LT.

How about using FTP?

Old Junker said:

spending more than 3 hours on a trainer in one session is it useless endurance or would i be better served with 3x20 at LT instead of 1x180 x65%Lt

3 hours is a long time on an indoor trainer :eek:

Woofer said:

Dunno, what are your goals and what is the rest of your training look like?

Define LT.

How about using FTP?

oops i meant ftp=LT=40ktt,🙂
goals
1) sub 1 hours std rd bike 40ktt
2)sub 55min aerobike 40ktt
3) max watt peak 1000w(last year 755, this year 855 so far nevertrained sprints before ever:eek: )
4) race so agressively that i never finish a race (sounds bad but should be good training)🙄
race weight 140 lbs
FTP 250 prior year
curr training 1.5 hours 2x week plus 1 hr2xweek+ mega hours on sunday

I never ride indoors for longer than 2 h.

Old Junker said:

spending more than 3 hours on a trainer in one session is it useless endurance or would i be better served with 3x20 at LT instead of 1x180 x65%Lt

3 hours on a trainer is not useless endurance -- do it in mid-to-upper L3 for good benefit.

1x180min @ 65% of FTP is useless. That's a social ride, not training, IMO.

Is that for psychological or physiological reason? 😄

20thfret said:

Is that for psychological or physiological reason? 😄

If you were asking why I never ride for more than 2 h, the answer would be "both". That is, why torture yourself psychologically when you can achieve essentially the same physiological adaptations in less time by simply upping the intensity*?

*Of course, there are certain benefits to "going long(er)", such as conditioning of ancillary muscles, etc., that can't be achieved just by riding harder. In this regard, however, riding a trainer for many hours isn't nearly as effective as riding outside for the same length of time, so again you have to weigh any putative benefit against the psychological "cost".

acoggan said:

If you were asking why I never ride for more than 2 h, the answer would be "both". That is, why torture yourself psychologically when you can achieve essentially the same physiological adaptations in less time by simply upping the intensity*?

*Of course, there are certain benefits to "going long(er)", such as conditioning of ancillary muscles, etc., that can't be achieved just by riding harder. In this regard, however, riding a trainer for many hours isn't nearly as effective as riding outside for the same length of time, so again you have to weigh any putative benefit against the psychological "cost".

this is precisely the answer i needed to know, now what to do with all those extra hours i had planned in march ... build snowman and snowforts 🙂

ps is the 2 hour intensity that much higher than the 4 hour intensity??

frenchyge said:

3 hours on a trainer is not useless endurance -- do it in mid-to-upper L3 for good benefit.

1x180min @ 65% of FTP is useless. That's a social ride, not training, IMO.

oops i think i just asked a question that you already answered my bad:eek:

acoggan said:

If you were asking why I never ride for more than 2 h, the answer would be "both". That is, why torture yourself psychologically when you can achieve essentially the same physiological adaptations in less time by simply upping the intensity*?

*Of course, there are certain benefits to "going long(er)", such as conditioning of ancillary muscles, etc., that can't be achieved just by riding harder. In this regard, however, riding a trainer for many hours isn't nearly as effective as riding outside for the same length of time, so again you have to weigh any putative benefit against the psychological "cost".

I doubt there is anyone who would do a 7 hour trainer ride if it were possible to do the same thing outside at the time. But if you want the benefits sometimes it's the only choice.

I rode up Moana Kea on the CT a couple weekends ago. 69.5 km at 6% average grade and the 11-24% for the last 20 km were especially enjoyable. ;-)
Not sure what the training benefits really were but once I recover I am always happy with occasional death ride.