THE TRAINER ROOM
It’s the cold-weather rider’s winter den, a sweat-filled hub many refer to as their pain cave. While a lot of athletes balk at the thought of setting up their equipment in the basement or the spare bedroom, a trainer room reaps tremendous rewards when one finally returns to the outdoors. The landscape of the typical trainer room has altered significantly in recent years with the advent of indoor cycling programs such as Computrainer, Zwift and Bkool. The latter two promise to “gamify” indoor bike training. These new tools help riders escape into a magical multiplayer online world where riding your trainer faster makes your avatar crush other riders in a virtual environment. Many claim these programs greatly enhance the fun factor and that they represent the future of the trainer room.
But regardless of what the future holds, the absolute basics of the trainer room have not changed. An old school approach, without the bells and whistles, still works just fine, too.
Lionel Sanders, the reigning ITU Long Course world champion, who is known for his devastating bike strength, is a huge proponent of trainer workouts. So much so, in fact, that he trains on the bike rollers all year round. By his own admission, trainer sessions are a cornerstone of his triathlon success.
“If, like me, you live somewhere that prevents you from having quality workouts outside in the winter,” explains Sanders, “then it is imperative that you have a functional training space to maintain your fitness through the colder months.”
While no two trainer rooms are created equal, there are numerous basic essentials required. A bike trainer (there are many to choose from), lots of fluid (water or sports drinks), a mat or carpet placed below your bike to catch your sweat and potentially stop your trainer from sliding, a towel to hang over the bike frame to stop sweat from eroding bike parts and a riser or phone book so that the front wheel is level with the back one. On the highly recommended list are entertainment via an ipod, CD player, TV or even a real-life friend, a fan to keep your body cool, a heart-rate monitor, power meter or cadence sensor to keep you honest and, perhaps, a few inspirational quotes or pictures placed on the wall to provide motivation when the heat is on.
Penticton’s Jeff Symonds, an Ironman champion who has spent his fair share of time training indoors, says, “I like to watch old Ironman coverage during warm-ups and longer sets. The one-hour TV specials are good, but the livestreams are better. It is motivating, you can learn about different race courses and you can pick up some great tips from the commentators. I also keep plenty of episodes of Vikings, Daredevil, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones on hand.”
The most important aspect of the trainer room is your own attitude – being willing to drive hard into intervals that will raise the heart rate and get the sweat flowing.
Here are three sessions of varying duration that anyone can tackle (they do not rely on computer software) that are bound to ensure you get lots of great work done in your pain cave and come out next spring a fitter athlete.