Winter Turbo Sessions Of The Stars

A winter on the turbo isn’t the merriest prospect — but big gains are on offer provided you do focused, effective sessions. Here, Rebecca Charlton garners nine killer workouts from pro riders and coaches

Whether you view it as a necessary evil or quality time in the hurt locker, the turbo trainer holds a special place in every cyclist’s life. More and more of us are spending time on a static machine over the winter, banishing ourselves to the garage to avoid appalling weather or simply to save time. OK, it might not be the part of cycling you’re most passionate about, but when you need to get specific, it can provide huge gains.

If you’re going to put yourself through torture, staring at a wall or screen on a chilly winter evening, you’ll want to be sure it’s worth it. Provided you choose the right sessions, you can rest assured you’ll reap the rewards come spring. With the plethora of data, options and distractions provided by interactive software, indoor training need not be mind-numbing. Add in some structure, break it down into manageable segments, and it starts to look almost like an attractive proposition!

To help you out, we asked nine British professionals to share their favourite turbo sessions, the workouts they believe offer the biggest gains for specific targets. We’ve also asked them to ’fess up about how they truly feel about indoor training, and get some tips along the way for making it that bit more bearable.

TT THRESHOLD

JOANNA ROWSELL-SHAND, 2X OLYMPIC CHAMPION

Best for: Time trialling.

Why? This is a session I used to do when I was training for time trialling, to help improve threshold power.

When? I would try to get a session like this done twice a week, in among longer rides and higher-intensity sessions.

HOW TO DO IT

15min warm-up

5x (2min just above threshold power, 1min @ Z3)

10min @ ZR

5x (2min just above threshold power, 1min @ Z3)

10min warm-down