Spinervals recommendations

I just got 1.0 No Slackers, and Time Trial (2.0???). I heard a lot of people liked the time trial one, so I got it based on recommendation. I go the no slacker one because I figured I'm new; why not start at the beginning of the series. Ill let you know which one I like. I haven’t gotten an opportunity to try them out yet. Looking forward to it though.

Sorry not much help, just my .02 cents

-D

Tried the Spinerval 1.0... It kicked my ass. Of course I found out tonight that, what I was doing on the bike was a just a stroll in the park. Talk about a hard workout!. Ill try the Time trial dvd later in the week and get back to you.

-D

OK - I'll bite.
What is a spinerval? I have seen people talking about them, but what exactly do they do for you? I spent an hour on the trainer watching Silence Of The Lambs.

Check out http://www.spinervals.com/for information about the 'what is spinervals?' question. In short they are a series of workout videos that you can do at home on an indoor trainer or stationary bike (there is also runnervals for interval training on a treadmill at the same site). They are marketed to the competitive cyclist as opposed to the fitness or spin crowd.

You can devise your own interval workouts on your trainer, also. One example of some really detailed examples of interval workouts can be found at http://www.fasttandem.com/. I'll often write up 2-3 interval workouts and tape them onto my top tube and keep them there until I get tired of them, want to change my focus, or I sweat on them until the ink runs and they become unreadable.

It really helps if you have a computer on your bike with the sensor on your back wheel (for speed/distance) and with a cadence sensor (for RPM) on your crank. This gives you some metrics you can use when devising your workout (note that the fasttandem web site bases all the intervals on RPM, while spinervals uses a more generic % effort to plan out how hard you should be working). A heart rate monitor is a good idea (though I still haven't jumped off that bridge yet).

A note of caution about these titles - they often have you going anaerobic for periods of time. This may or may not fit into your training plan, some people looking to build aerobic base might find the intensity of these sessions a little high, you'll definitely climb out of zones 2 and 3 doing these workouts as Coach Troy intends. You can always knock the intensity back a few clicks and just get a good solid aerobic workout with these videos.

Here's the ones I have experience with, I like most and often use 2 of them in combination (only on really bad weather days, or at night):

Competition 1.0 - No Slackers Allowed!! is a good first title - a 45 minute workout that gets your heart rate climbing quickly and forces you go go anaerobic for brief periods. This one is more similar to a spin class than to a triathlon specific workout. This title introduced the concept of high cadence 'super spin' to me, something that has had a real impact on my cycling by getting my cadence up.

Competition 2.0 - Time Trial special is a 60 minute workout that attempts to do some race simulations, complete with steady state tempo sets, hill simulations and sprint finishes. This one has some one-leg strength drills, high cadence 'super spin' drills mixed into the warm-up and cool-down sets.

Competition 5.0 - Mental Toughness for a 90 minute workout that focuses on 'steady state' workouts - I like this one the best for triathlon training since it tends to keep your heart rate in a more steady zone, as opposed to the up and down of the previous mentioned titles. And, in the middle you jump off your bike and do 2 90 second isometric squats, OUCH, (though this is a knee killer if you have bad knees!).

Competition 4.0 - Muscle Breakdown - I have this one and have used it once or twice, but I don't like it much. Maybe because it hurts (as it is intended based on the title). Plenty of big-ring grinding and one-leg drills.

Competition 10.0 - Ride and Stride - This title is intended to help you work on the bike-to-run transition. It claims to be a 70 minute workout but when you account for warm-up/cooldown time it ends up being a good 60 minute effort. You can choose to do this entirely on the bike, or as a bike-run workout. The main set is a 10 minute bike portion, with steadily increasing resistence, followed by a 5 minute treadmill run, with steadily increasing speed/incline. This 15 minute bike/run set is repeated 3 times. The rest is warm-up/cool down on the bike. This drill does force you to focus on running hard off the bike and running with a higher cadence off the bike. Plus, it is an interesting workout, so you don't get bored. You can also practice your shoe transition from bike shoe to running shoe.

Competition 16.0 - Aero Base Builder I - Santa brought it for me - I've yet to preview it. I'll post a review ASAP.

My favorite is "Totally Time Trial"

Edited by gocorey 2004-12-29 2:20 AM

I use Recovery and Technique every monday. And if I cant get outside No Slackers (Im finally where I dont cheat the gears) or Mental Toughness pending time alotted for the workout.

I have Tough Love, it's 3 hours long and definately will kick your butt!!!!

Mary

I have the CTS Time Trial Video... Can someone compare the Spinervals 2.0 and 14.0 with the CTS Video???Thanks...

Just posted a review of one of Troy's latest titles - Spinervals 16.0 Aero base building in the product/review section:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...

i dont own any videos/dvds like this, shall i be thinking of buying some?

I rarely have to train indoors but when I do I couldnt live without the spinervals videos. They make me feel like Im not even training when Im outside they can be tough

Billy - if you need to do rides on the trainer (and interval work), Spinervals are great!

cool, i get me mum to look at em, but i live in the UK

I second that!!

Totally Time Trial that is....

I just did a portion of Ride and Stride and its a bear! The only real downside to it is that basically you would want to have a treadmill inside as well. I plan on using the bike portion of the DVD and then running a few miles afterwards as its a good bike workout.