Day 5 of being hammered by the flu and I think I'm at mile 24 of the 'flu marathon'. If you've done a marathon, you know that mile 24 is the worst mile marker... it's so close to the finish line, but still soooo far away. I'm feeling better though and anxious to resume normal life and to get back in to training. I feel I've lost all the benefits of my 3 months of base training... but am confident it'll come back pretty quickly. Bottom line is... don't get sick! I want to thank everyone for their suggestions, advise and well wishes. I tried the 'executive workout' yesterday (hot tub, steam room, hot tub), and felt that had some benefit. :)
Today I might try a very light workout of 30 minutes on the trainer and 20-30 minutes of treadmill work, finishing up with 10-15 minutes of dryland swim training. It's interesting, but when you really think about it ... a triathlete can maintain and gain fitness in a very small area. Here's a pic of my personal training area... including my bike on a trainer, my treadmill, my stretch cords and my TV/DVD player for entertainment. It's amazing how much quality (and high volume) training one can accomplish in such a small space. I decided to come up with my top 10 reasons to train indoors...
COACH TROY'S TOP 10 REASONS TO TRAIN INDOORS:
1. You have to!: If you want to gain fitness and race strong in 2010, you've gotta get the volume in... no matter what. Remember, while you're sleeping your competitor is outside riding somewhere on a tropical island.
2. It's safe: Ever heard of anyone getting hit by a car or having an angry motorist throw a bottle at you when down in the basement?
3. It's focused: Get that HR monitor on or that power meter fired up and 'train with a purpose'. Indoor training eliminates the variables of outdoor riding.
4. It's convenient: It takes 15 minutes to don your tights, booties, layer up with undergarments, balaclava and claw gloves but only 2 minutes to walk down the steps (or hallway) and hop on the trainer or treadmill.
5. You can do it anytime of the day or night: Short of getting lights for your bike, you can do trainer or treadmill work at any hour, before or after work.
6. It can be social!: Ever heard of 'no drop rides'? With indoor training, you can get a bunch of your cycling buddies together for a workout and enjoy their company without the 'super stars' racing down the road and dropping slower riders.
7. It allows you to catch up on the news and movies.: Workouts that are 'aerobic' can be done while watching the news or new movies you wouldn't have the time to see otherwise.
8. Nutrition is nearby.: No need to carry tons of food and fluids with you as the fridge is right down the hallway or up the stairs.
9. Your family gets to see more of you.: Refer to points 3, 4 and 5.
10. You have to!: Go back to point number 1!
What do you think? I'm sure there are more reasons to add. Sure, it's boring as hell at times, but in the end, training indoors is a necessary evil that really does yield great results when it's time to 'hit the road'.
Train Smart and avoid the flu! :)
- Coach Troy
My question, do you get mad at Coach Troy when he is telling you to 'push push push' during a Spinerval workout?
ReplyDeleteKnees to your top tube, upper body relaxed
11. You get to train with one of the best coaches in the industry! :) Following John's train of thought - do you make fun of yourself, erm, I mean, do you enjoy reviewing the hairstyles and fashion as you train along with yourself of years past?
ReplyDeleteI did my time trial test today with Totally Time Trial as background motivation (it's brutally hard to push through the 2 minute break in between the sets you have in TTT - that is one hell of a mental challenge!). That workout is still one of my all time favorites.
Hope you are feeling better soon!
Thanks Michelle :)
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I look at my videos over the years and think, 'what was I thinking!?'. I figure we've all had some pictures or photos we wish weren't available for others to see...unfortunately for me, these videos are around for a long time to chronicle my various stages of dorkiness from age 25 now to age 40! If I can stay around long enough, maybe you'll see a bald coach Troy with a cane in Spinervals 83.0! :) -Take care.
How can you watch the news and do a Spinerval at the same time?
ReplyDeleteSo sorry you are sick. It seemns like when you have kids in school, you get everything that's going around.
For some reason, I can bike inside but not run. I can't stand running on the treadmill! I can do it for about 20 mins and then I'm done. But, I don't mind running in cold weather so it has to be a major blizzard (or very, very windy) for me to not run outdoors.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I like Spinervals so much. I feel that I get a better workout using Spinervals than riding outside.
I do like the Cycle and Stride workout though! I do that one all the time. Jumping on the treadmill after riding hard is somehow different than "just running".
I'll be riding in the mountains a lot this summer. Which DVD do you recommend to get ready for hill climbing, Coach Troy?
Hey Cindy. For hill training, I recommend titles like 11.0 Big gear strength, 7.0- Uphill Grind, 19.0 - bending crank arms and 24.0 - Hillacious. Do these in combo with other endurance and aerobic base building workouts! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteCoach Troy, I notice that you have a trainer, rather than an indoor cycle. I have an indoor cycle (cycleops 300--approx. 4k miles on it this year . . . most of which I spent viewing with Spinerval tapes), and was wondering if that is a mistake because it is not exactly the same as the bicycle that I hope to ride OUTDOORS this weekend (if it really does get above 40 in NJ).
ReplyDeleteI hope that you reach the finish line with this illness soon.
Thanks.
Richard