Increasing power on indoor trainer??

[mbaymike]

With roadwork not always being possible in the dark hours of the morning I would like to know if training on the indoor trainer will increase power over the winter months.  Weekends I will still be doing roadwork but mornings will be trainer time.  After the argus I realised that I need to work harder on power.....need some extra watts to climb a little better.  

Don't want to buy compact crank if not necessary.

 

Any advice from the pro's out there is welcome....and from the not so pro's

 

[buckstopper]

Don't you mean strength? You can get stronger riding an IDT by riding with more resistance, and doing intervals in bigger gears.  Unless you're racing during the winter, twice a week an hour at a time, would be plenty to keep ticking over and doing the big rides on the weekend. Rather do base and then start building (climbing) August. A big aerobic engine is a great platform to go and do strength training on

[gianni]

With roadwork not always being possible in the dark hours of the morning I would like to know if training on the indoor trainer will increase power over the winter months.  Weekends I will still be doing roadwork but mornings will be trainer time.  After the argus I realised that I need to work harder on power.....need some extra watts to climb a little better.  
Don't want to buy compact crank if not necessary.

Any advice from the pro's out there is welcome....and from the not so pro's

 

Are you training with a power meter at the moment ?

 

Training on the IDT will of course be of benefit if the other option is not training ata all.

 

Give us more details what it is you mean by building power......

[mbaymike]

like buckstopper said....it's actually strength.  I feel that I need more in my legs when I get to the climbs.  on the flats I can go for hours at high output but when the climbs come it feels as if there is nothing there.  I lost alot of time on the argus on the hills especially millers point, chappies and suikerbossie.  It just feels as if I do not have enough in the legs.  Other guys have said that I just need to get triple chainring on the front but I don't want to.  Not training with a power meter though....my end result is wanting to climb better.  

[bob_the_builder]

How close to an optimal weight for your height are you? Remember, the best climbers look like skeletons... If you don't shed the excess pounds, all the strength you gain will still have you struggling.

[bob_the_builder]

edit: Wait for the scientists and power training dudes to wade in on me now...

[xak1]

For long hills, you need muscular endurance, a combination of endurance and strength.  You can do this on an indoor trainer.  I would, however, concentrate in the winter to develop endurance and strength seperately.  Endurance - long weekend ride.  Strength, you can do 2 minute intervals, with 3 minutes coasting inbetween, at high wattage 300-500W (high resistance), low cadence (50-60) (be careful of the knees) - this works well on an indoor trainer.  Do this once a week only, and get about 20-40 minutes of interval time (10-20 intervals).  Also in late winter start working in hills into your long ride.  I find to hit the gym in winter also helps with strength, but don't overdo the number of exercises.  Most important is to get squats and step-ups in, with some upper-body and core strength as well.  Twice a week works for me.  Come summer, reduce gym work, and change to muscular endurance workouts.  On IDT, start doing tempo rides, i.e. 60 minutes in heart rate zone 3.  Later start doing 5x6min intervals with 3 minute coasting inbetween in Zone 4.  Move this up by 1 minute each week, until you hit 15 minute intervals.  Don't do more than 2 musculkar endurance sessions per week.  Continue with long rides, but work hills into it.  This type of regime helped me a lot, and I did all of this on IDT.

[mbaymike]

 

How close to an optimal weight for your height are you? Remember' date=' the best climbers look like skeletons... If you don't shed the excess pounds, all the strength you gain will still have you struggling. [/quote']

 

I need to lose about another 2-3kgs. i don't think more would be good.  1.88m tall and about 83-84kgs. 

 

[RABUBI]

I did it last year through winter, and I definitely increased my power to weight. Did a lot of tempo rides, sub threshold and threshold training. Did about 4-6 hours in the week, and 6-7 over the weekends on the road. If your December base was good you will survive the winter. 

 

However you tend to loose a bit of the racing "edge" on the IDT, i.e. strong but a bit slower, so you should also work in a few sprints somewhere.

 

It is boring as hell, so make sure you buy yourself a PVR or DVD recorder to record the TDF and Giro, Fashion TV at that time of the morning does not work.

 

Also I did not have all the nasty throat infections from training in the freezing cold.

[dfm1]

I did it last year through winter' date=' and I definitely increased my power to weight. Did a lot of tempo rides, sub threshold and threshold training. Did about 4-6 hours in the week, and 6-7 over the weekends on the road. If your December base was good you will survive the winter. 

 

However you tend to loose a bit of the racing "edge" on the IDT, i.e. strong but a bit slower, so you should also work in a few sprints somewhere.

 

It is boring as hell, so make sure you buy yourself a PVR or DVD recorder to record the TDF and Giro, Fashion TV at that time of the morning does not work.

 

Also I did not have all the nasty throat infections from training in the freezing cold.

[/quote']

 

Losing weight in the HPBK fasion to increase your power to weight ratio darnt can like to count.

[Windbreaker]

 

I did it last year through winter' date=' and I definitely increased my power to weight. Did a lot of tempo rides, sub threshold and threshold training. Did about 4-6 hours in the week, and 6-7 over the weekends on the road. If your December base was good you will survive the winter. 

 

However you tend to loose a bit of the racing "edge" on the IDT, i.e. strong but a bit slower, so you should also work in a few sprints somewhere.

 

It is boring as hell, so make sure you buy yourself a PVR or DVD recorder to record the TDF and Giro, Fashion TV at that time of the morning does not work.

 

Also I did not have all the nasty throat infections from training in the freezing cold.

[/quote']Rabubi has said it all! Due to work pressures I only got to ride on my bike a couple of times a week - including weekends but I made an effort of trying to do at least 4-6 hours a week on the IDT at work. I am very happy with the results. My trick to overcome the boredom was to con a few colleagues at work to join me. It was fun just watching them die!