Well, what better place to get back on the spin than the start, huh? I'm not going to record them in detail here, because they're kinda boring. But, for this one, I'll give a baseline, 2 months from the first race...
Effort Max RPM
:00 E1
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1 186/190
:10 8s 61" (80) 174
:12 8s 66" RS(80) 176
:14 8s 68" RS(80) 175
:16 8s 73" RS(80) 164
:18 8s 82" RS(80) 167
:20 8s 87" RS(80) 163
:22 8s 93" RS(80) 160
:24 8s 100" RS(80) 151
:26 6s BGSS (53x13, 107" L) 154
:28 6s BGSS (53x12, 116" R) -
:30 8s PG+8 (116")RS(40, seat) 139
:32 8s PG+8 (116")RS (40, seat) 131
:36 18s PG r/up (6:100, 6:130, 6:max) -
Which is a modified-according-to--my-gears-and-trainer version of this programme.
So my PG is 53x14, 100 (or 99.5) inches. Interestingly enough, last time I was actually doing spin properly, my PG was 53x15, 93". Significance? NFI, none probably.
BGSSes were meant to be seated but I forgot, so did them standing. First went fine, but when I put it up in to 53x12 for the second, my chain popped off again. Not surprising, really, since I've done no maintenance since it last happened! Will have to do it if I'm to continue spinning though... anyway, 154RPM, 79.7, also compares favourably to my results last year.
116"RSes, top of 139RPM... compared to a top of 135RPM in a 99" RS 10 months ago.
Curious. But all meaningless. Point is to spin, and see how my fitness improves. You'll notice that I didn't record a result for the final rampup - too busy hovering in the bathroom, waiting for something to happen.
Didn't though. Next step - back on the track.
Showing posts with label BGSS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BGSS. Show all posts
01 August 2012
14 April 2012
Why would you ride a bike indoors
when it's so warm and sunny outside? Well, for a start, limited time. And otherwise? Well, we'll get to that in a second...
So I've started on spin for the season - hoorah! Or something. I skipped the PG Calibration and decided to just go with last year's setting - I'd soon find out if that was ridiculous or not.
Started out all well and good - couple of HCLRs, then the first BGSS. One or two 'clicks' during that, but no problems. Second BGSS - second stroke on the right leg, and bang - off comes the chain on the outside of the big ring. Set it back up, spin it around a few times under moderate pressure to make sure it's sitting snugly, and try again. Same result. Go through it again and switch back to the left leg leading - same result. Front der appears to be aligned, and unlike last time, I can't detect any wobble in the chainring. This is why I didn't want to go out and do hill sprints - in case this happened. It's not an uncommon occurrence, whether doing uphill sprints or maximum power downhill or flat sprints in 53x12 (once even in 53x14, if my memory serves me correctly) and I've skidded along the road, sitting on the top tube with cleats skidding along the ground at ~60km/hr once too often.
I'm stumped as to the cause - I doubt it's because I'm putting out 2500W. Possibly I'm putting out 1500W at 114kg, but that surely shouldn't be too much if the bike's set up correctly. So presumably it's something in my setup. Might have to book a 'fit' session with Carl when I have some dosh, see if we can work it out.
Anyway, I continued on, doing the PGRSes and the rampup, finishing with HCLRs. Well, one MCLR, anyway. Clearly once again I've lost endurance, but my experience is that that should be back as I progress along with spinning, so I'm not fussed with that.
Stats? I have none. I'd noticed, and then forgotten because I've been doing all of my riding outside and not bothering with cadence, that the battery in my cadence/speed sensor has died. Obviously GPS speed isn't much help indoors on the trainer! I'll get that sorted sooner or later.
So I've started on spin for the season - hoorah! Or something. I skipped the PG Calibration and decided to just go with last year's setting - I'd soon find out if that was ridiculous or not.
Started out all well and good - couple of HCLRs, then the first BGSS. One or two 'clicks' during that, but no problems. Second BGSS - second stroke on the right leg, and bang - off comes the chain on the outside of the big ring. Set it back up, spin it around a few times under moderate pressure to make sure it's sitting snugly, and try again. Same result. Go through it again and switch back to the left leg leading - same result. Front der appears to be aligned, and unlike last time, I can't detect any wobble in the chainring. This is why I didn't want to go out and do hill sprints - in case this happened. It's not an uncommon occurrence, whether doing uphill sprints or maximum power downhill or flat sprints in 53x12 (once even in 53x14, if my memory serves me correctly) and I've skidded along the road, sitting on the top tube with cleats skidding along the ground at ~60km/hr once too often.
I'm stumped as to the cause - I doubt it's because I'm putting out 2500W. Possibly I'm putting out 1500W at 114kg, but that surely shouldn't be too much if the bike's set up correctly. So presumably it's something in my setup. Might have to book a 'fit' session with Carl when I have some dosh, see if we can work it out.
Anyway, I continued on, doing the PGRSes and the rampup, finishing with HCLRs. Well, one MCLR, anyway. Clearly once again I've lost endurance, but my experience is that that should be back as I progress along with spinning, so I'm not fussed with that.
Stats? I have none. I'd noticed, and then forgotten because I've been doing all of my riding outside and not bothering with cadence, that the battery in my cadence/speed sensor has died. Obviously GPS speed isn't much help indoors on the trainer! I'll get that sorted sooner or later.
09 November 2011
Lessons
Well, I've learned at least one! That is, sometimes you have to train at 9 at night, else you'll never get anything done.
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1 (39x23 : 46")
:10 2 x 7s PG+12 (107") SS (R,L):4
:18 4 x 7s BGSS (116") seated L,R,L,R:3
:30 4 x 6s BGRS (116") (20) seated:3
:42 2 x 12s HCLR:2
Which program looks deceptively similar to one just a moon or so ago... excellent! Chance for a direct comparison, no? Well... no. Or at least, not really. Last night I was training out on the verandah in a thunderstorm. Actually, the thunder had gone by then and it was just rain, but that's not quite so impressive. So humidity was high, and though nothing was wet, I suspect that affected the results. But for all that...
107" SSes, which I've been doing a bit of, hit a top of 149/76.9km/hr. Wow! Bestest result ever!!#*! Well, for a few minutes, anyway...
Going through the 116" SSes the numbers just kept on climbing, until I hit 142/80.2km/hr. 80.2! That's insane. I'm sure I'm getting stronger, and I've certainly had plenty of rest lately, but it's still suspicious. It's not a spike, because everything last night was high (from minute 10 to minute 39, the lowest result I had was my first one, at 76.5km/hr) but that just points towards lowered resistance due to humidity. So I'd expect that next time my numbers will be lower than this. If I hit 80 again, inside, on a 'normal' day, perhaps then I'll get a bit more excited. I'd be more excited about hitting 65 on the velo though!
Anyway, stats are here, for what they're worth!
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1 (39x23 : 46")
:10 2 x 7s PG+12 (107") SS (R,L):4
:18 4 x 7s BGSS (116") seated L,R,L,R:3
:30 4 x 6s BGRS (116") (20) seated:3
:42 2 x 12s HCLR:2
Which program looks deceptively similar to one just a moon or so ago... excellent! Chance for a direct comparison, no? Well... no. Or at least, not really. Last night I was training out on the verandah in a thunderstorm. Actually, the thunder had gone by then and it was just rain, but that's not quite so impressive. So humidity was high, and though nothing was wet, I suspect that affected the results. But for all that...
107" SSes, which I've been doing a bit of, hit a top of 149/76.9km/hr. Wow! Bestest result ever!!#*! Well, for a few minutes, anyway...
Going through the 116" SSes the numbers just kept on climbing, until I hit 142/80.2km/hr. 80.2! That's insane. I'm sure I'm getting stronger, and I've certainly had plenty of rest lately, but it's still suspicious. It's not a spike, because everything last night was high (from minute 10 to minute 39, the lowest result I had was my first one, at 76.5km/hr) but that just points towards lowered resistance due to humidity. So I'd expect that next time my numbers will be lower than this. If I hit 80 again, inside, on a 'normal' day, perhaps then I'll get a bit more excited. I'd be more excited about hitting 65 on the velo though!
Anyway, stats are here, for what they're worth!
12 October 2011
Spin Harder
I know that for many aeons I've held that spin is nothing to get excited about. And it's not, really, because it's not Real Life. Still, sometimes one needs something on those sunny spring afternoons of the soul...
Not that today's session was without its own share of controversy. And it started mildly enough - doing the same program as 2 days ago, I recorded just 182 in the second HCLR and 137/70.3 in the 106"SS. At this point I was wishing that I'd gone lift heavy things instead.
But I gritted the teeth and slapped the thighs and gave it everything for the 116"SSes. And recorded just 72.2 for the first one. Well, I thought, ain't nothin' to it but to do it and pulled out a 133/74.4. Excellent! But, thinks I, that's so close to 75, surely I can do better? And too right I did - 74.5, in fact. Hmm. Not quite what I had in mind. Curses! So I huffed and I puffed and I blew my way to 135/75.3km/hr. Woooo! First time above 75km/hr on the trainer, so I reckon that's worthy of being happy about. No, it's not a KKRM, but hey, it's what I got, oright?
This got me thinking though ("Oh no!" goes up the collective groan.) Last time I managed to go faster on the rolling starts, no? So... let's see what we can do! So as not to bore everyone to absolute tears, I managed a catching-my-breath 72, solid 74.8 and 75.1, before one final effort... and that's where the controversy begins!
See, Garmin Connect just shows max speed/cadence in a lap, which is handy. Golden Cheetah, on the other hand, gives the actual second-by-second values from the unit. According to Garmin Connect I hit 136/76.2. Woot! But Golden Cheetah gives a top of 123/71.97... and 135/70.00km/hr. Eh? So... well, actually, so what! Maybe we get excited about a photo finish for the gold medal. For a PB on a trainer? Not so much. Any way it adds up - is good.
Then for shits and giggles, 24 seconds of HCLR goodness, hitting a top of 203 (and this one does seem to be accurate!) in the last 12s effort. Noice.
Oh, and after much analysis and reflection I'm of the opinion that the problem with my squat can be traced back to having the bar too low on my back. I've been wondering about it for a bit as the weight gets heavier, and I know that I'm always trying to shove the bar as low as I can manage to, thinking that that's the way to do it. And at lighter weights, that's okay - but as the weight gets heavier, it wants to go further down my back. So I have to lean further forward to keep in balance, and rather than attempt to keep my chest up, I'm allowing my back to round to keep the weight on my back - and occasionally rolling it forward. To a position, in fact, probably closer to where it's meant to be - on the posterior delts. Not underneath them. Which is part of the reason I was hoping to get to the gym today - to test my theory. Watch this space come Friday...
Not that today's session was without its own share of controversy. And it started mildly enough - doing the same program as 2 days ago, I recorded just 182 in the second HCLR and 137/70.3 in the 106"SS. At this point I was wishing that I'd gone lift heavy things instead.
But I gritted the teeth and slapped the thighs and gave it everything for the 116"SSes. And recorded just 72.2 for the first one. Well, I thought, ain't nothin' to it but to do it and pulled out a 133/74.4. Excellent! But, thinks I, that's so close to 75, surely I can do better? And too right I did - 74.5, in fact. Hmm. Not quite what I had in mind. Curses! So I huffed and I puffed and I blew my way to 135/75.3km/hr. Woooo! First time above 75km/hr on the trainer, so I reckon that's worthy of being happy about. No, it's not a KKRM, but hey, it's what I got, oright?
This got me thinking though ("Oh no!" goes up the collective groan.) Last time I managed to go faster on the rolling starts, no? So... let's see what we can do! So as not to bore everyone to absolute tears, I managed a catching-my-breath 72, solid 74.8 and 75.1, before one final effort... and that's where the controversy begins!
See, Garmin Connect just shows max speed/cadence in a lap, which is handy. Golden Cheetah, on the other hand, gives the actual second-by-second values from the unit. According to Garmin Connect I hit 136/76.2. Woot! But Golden Cheetah gives a top of 123/71.97... and 135/70.00km/hr. Eh? So... well, actually, so what! Maybe we get excited about a photo finish for the gold medal. For a PB on a trainer? Not so much. Any way it adds up - is good.
Then for shits and giggles, 24 seconds of HCLR goodness, hitting a top of 203 (and this one does seem to be accurate!) in the last 12s effort. Noice.
Oh, and after much analysis and reflection I'm of the opinion that the problem with my squat can be traced back to having the bar too low on my back. I've been wondering about it for a bit as the weight gets heavier, and I know that I'm always trying to shove the bar as low as I can manage to, thinking that that's the way to do it. And at lighter weights, that's okay - but as the weight gets heavier, it wants to go further down my back. So I have to lean further forward to keep in balance, and rather than attempt to keep my chest up, I'm allowing my back to round to keep the weight on my back - and occasionally rolling it forward. To a position, in fact, probably closer to where it's meant to be - on the posterior delts. Not underneath them. Which is part of the reason I was hoping to get to the gym today - to test my theory. Watch this space come Friday...
10 October 2011
Surprise!
Right when you least expect it, a secret spin session gets snuck in while you're almost looking the other way... the essence of track sprint, really! But I wasn't about to be caught off-guard, oh no!
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1 (39x23 : 44")
:10 2 x 7s PG+12 (107") SS (R,L):4
:18 4 x 7s BGSS (116") seated L,R,L,R:3
:30 4 x 6s BGRS(20) (116") seated:3
:42 2 x 12s HCLR:2 (44")
Deceptively simple, no? And I do like a good strength workout. But that's not because they're easy - they're just a different kind of hard!
HCLRs: 186. Takes a little while for the neurons to start firing properly, to start spinning rather than stomping really quickly.
107"SSes... a bit ordinary really, 138/71 is a good few percent off my best. Not actually bad, as such, just not particularly good.
116" SSes... well, there's no immediate comparison, but back a few months ago doing these I was getting numbers around 117/61. Today's 4 efforts produced a very consistent 130-132/72.4-73.7 so again, numbers on the trainer clearly improved over the last 6-odd months. I wonder about the interpretation of such results in the current context though - should my BGSSes be faster (and only 6rpm less shpinny) than my PG+14SSes? Am I strong, but not powerful? Or is this exactly what Perko would do, only plus 20% or so? Email time...
Interestingly (perhaps) for once my RSes produced very similar results to my SSes in the same gear, and very marginally higher - a top of 131/74, and still accelerating (if only just) at the end of the 6 seconds - 7 or 8 second efforts would have seen me hit 75, I reckon (at least for the first three. The last one I might have hit 26 and then fallen off the bike, exhausted.)
12s HCLRs to finish off and by then my neurons were properly firing, and weren't so roasted as to have gone on holidays - top of 191, and held for 7 or 8 seconds at that 'suspiciously high cadence' as Golden Cheetah calls it for the duration of the interval.
So there we have it. Brief stats here. Satisfactory, but, well, it's spin, hard to get excited about it at the minute!
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1 (39x23 : 44")
:10 2 x 7s PG+12 (107") SS (R,L):4
:18 4 x 7s BGSS (116") seated L,R,L,R:3
:30 4 x 6s BGRS(20) (116") seated:3
:42 2 x 12s HCLR:2 (44")
Deceptively simple, no? And I do like a good strength workout. But that's not because they're easy - they're just a different kind of hard!
HCLRs: 186. Takes a little while for the neurons to start firing properly, to start spinning rather than stomping really quickly.
107"SSes... a bit ordinary really, 138/71 is a good few percent off my best. Not actually bad, as such, just not particularly good.
116" SSes... well, there's no immediate comparison, but back a few months ago doing these I was getting numbers around 117/61. Today's 4 efforts produced a very consistent 130-132/72.4-73.7 so again, numbers on the trainer clearly improved over the last 6-odd months. I wonder about the interpretation of such results in the current context though - should my BGSSes be faster (and only 6rpm less shpinny) than my PG+14SSes? Am I strong, but not powerful? Or is this exactly what Perko would do, only plus 20% or so? Email time...
Interestingly (perhaps) for once my RSes produced very similar results to my SSes in the same gear, and very marginally higher - a top of 131/74, and still accelerating (if only just) at the end of the 6 seconds - 7 or 8 second efforts would have seen me hit 75, I reckon (at least for the first three. The last one I might have hit 26 and then fallen off the bike, exhausted.)
12s HCLRs to finish off and by then my neurons were properly firing, and weren't so roasted as to have gone on holidays - top of 191, and held for 7 or 8 seconds at that 'suspiciously high cadence' as Golden Cheetah calls it for the duration of the interval.
So there we have it. Brief stats here. Satisfactory, but, well, it's spin, hard to get excited about it at the minute!
22 July 2011
Vaguely interesting...
So, how'd the repeat go then? Well, what can I say - it was vaguely interesting, but no surprises - yellow figures are today's, obviously:
6s HCLR - 201 ... 180
6sHCLR - 198 ... 183
7s PG+12 SS#1 – 134/59.7 ... 146/65.2
7s PG+12 SS#2 – 128/57 ... 139/60.9
8s PG+6 RS#1 – 147/61.4 ... 152/63.3
8s PG+6 RS#2 – ?/? ... 153/64.4
12s PG RS#1 – 145/57 ... 146/57.6
12s PG RS#2 – 143/56.2 ... 151/59.4
8s BGSS (L) - 111/61.8 ... 118/66.9
8s BGSS (R) – 112/62.4 ... 130/72.2
35s PG RS R/up – 132/51.8 ... 136/53.6
35s HCLR r/up - -/- ... 172
See what I mean? About as expected, in the sense that the numbers from today were consistently higher, more so in the standing start versus the rolling start. But look at the BGSSs - the difference between the first and second effort today is much greater than the difference between the first efforts Tuesday and today. The main change I made was in the transition from pushing hard to start off the effort to pedalling as fast and as smoothly as possible - the first I really just kept stomping. Both times I sat down after about 6 seconds, because it was getting too unstable to stand - unlike the KKRM, which didn't move too much, mine moved nearly a foot forward during the standing starts. Clearly I'm unweighting the rear wheel too much (as evidenced in DISC sessions) but that's a tough one to fix. I'm trying though.
I was about as rooted today, but didn't feel sick - I'm thinking diet is more the key there, though the extra power output presumably required to get the larger flywheel on the KKRM going could have played some role. I've been 20-30g carb the last two days, and will be ~30 again today, cramming them in after the session in an attempt to aid recovery - weights tomorrow and then DISC on Sunday. Want to make sure I get maximum value out of those sessions!
6s HCLR - 201 ... 180
6sHCLR - 198 ... 183
7s PG+12 SS#1 – 134/59.7 ... 146/65.2
7s PG+12 SS#2 – 128/57 ... 139/60.9
8s PG+6 RS#1 – 147/61.4 ... 152/63.3
8s PG+6 RS#2 – ?/? ... 153/64.4
12s PG RS#1 – 145/57 ... 146/57.6
12s PG RS#2 – 143/56.2 ... 151/59.4
8s BGSS (L) - 111/61.8 ... 118/66.9
8s BGSS (R) – 112/62.4 ... 130/72.2
35s PG RS R/up – 132/51.8 ... 136/53.6
35s HCLR r/up - -/- ... 172
See what I mean? About as expected, in the sense that the numbers from today were consistently higher, more so in the standing start versus the rolling start. But look at the BGSSs - the difference between the first and second effort today is much greater than the difference between the first efforts Tuesday and today. The main change I made was in the transition from pushing hard to start off the effort to pedalling as fast and as smoothly as possible - the first I really just kept stomping. Both times I sat down after about 6 seconds, because it was getting too unstable to stand - unlike the KKRM, which didn't move too much, mine moved nearly a foot forward during the standing starts. Clearly I'm unweighting the rear wheel too much (as evidenced in DISC sessions) but that's a tough one to fix. I'm trying though.
I was about as rooted today, but didn't feel sick - I'm thinking diet is more the key there, though the extra power output presumably required to get the larger flywheel on the KKRM going could have played some role. I've been 20-30g carb the last two days, and will be ~30 again today, cramming them in after the session in an attempt to aid recovery - weights tomorrow and then DISC on Sunday. Want to make sure I get maximum value out of those sessions!
20 July 2011
Seldom Bucket
Well, finally, after all of my bravado, a bucket (or was that toilet?) was required after tonight's spin. Or, rather, during. Twice! Was it that hard? Was it the effect of being in a room with lots of other panting sweaty people? Was it the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine? Or, perhaps, was it the large bowl of ice cream I'd had an hour and a half earlier as a final hurrah to carbs and which was decidedly less pleasant on the way back up? It's hard to say, though Thursday's repeat back at home should give an indication.
:00 E1
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s PG+12 SS:3
:16 2 x 8s PG+6 RS (60, seated):3
:22 2 x 12s PG RS (80, seated):4
:30 2 x 8s BGSS (L,R):3
:36 35s PG RS R/up, 10:100, 10:135, 15:max
:44 35s HCLR r/up 10:100, 10:135, 15:max
A little housekeeping first - we didn't quite keep to those times precisely. Towards the end of the first SS my bike fell off the trainer because the plastic end cap of my skewer broke off! When that happened, the speed sensor must have been knocked slightly because my speed readings from that point were erratic, and have been calculated from gear/cadence - the cadence reading was fine, despite the odd random spike. I was a minute late getting back from the toilet for the first BGSS, and so did it on my own and in my frazzled state only did 6 seconds, not 8. And I didn't make it for the final HCLR rampup, just finishing with a 10s HCLR instead. Finally, the difference in the trainers was notable, but perhaps not quite as much as I expected. Definitely harder to get going, definitely easier to keep going. I'll reserve further judgement until I do the session again on Thursday.
So all that said, how was it? Well, I was pretty happy really. There were extraneous issues as listed above, and I was slightly nervy getting out of the saddle for the first SS because I wasn't sure how the KKRM would behave. Still, I ended up with satisfactory numbers - the officially recorded value for the first HCLR was 201, but I saw 208 briefly and held above 200 for the last 2-3 seconds of the effort, so happy to have broken that barrier - though I suspect it's more the difference in trainers than a sudden increase in my ability over 1 week!
Numbers:
7s PG+12 SS#1 – 134/59.7
7s PG+12 SS#2 – 128/57
8s PG+6 RS#1 – 147/61.4
12s PG RS#1 – 145/57
12s PG RS#2 – 143/56.2
8s BGSS (L) - 111/61.8
8s BGSS (R) – 112/62.4
35s PG RS R/up – 132/51.8
Note that I didn't even manage 135RPM in the PG rampup! I was well rooted by then. I managed about 30 seconds at a reasonable cadence, and how much of the last 5 seconds you count probably depends upon how generous you're feeling! But cadence rather plummeted. I didn't quite do the second BGSS properly either - I was rolling with 2 seconds to go, suddenly remembered, slammed on the rear brake, tried to get my foot position sorted, and just went at the mark. I've no idea if I was fully stopped or which leg I ended up starting on, but I think it was my left again. Ah well.
:00 E1
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s PG+12 SS:3
:16 2 x 8s PG+6 RS (60, seated):3
:22 2 x 12s PG RS (80, seated):4
:30 2 x 8s BGSS (L,R):3
:36 35s PG RS R/up, 10:100, 10:135, 15:max
:44 35s HCLR r/up 10:100, 10:135, 15:max
A little housekeeping first - we didn't quite keep to those times precisely. Towards the end of the first SS my bike fell off the trainer because the plastic end cap of my skewer broke off! When that happened, the speed sensor must have been knocked slightly because my speed readings from that point were erratic, and have been calculated from gear/cadence - the cadence reading was fine, despite the odd random spike. I was a minute late getting back from the toilet for the first BGSS, and so did it on my own and in my frazzled state only did 6 seconds, not 8. And I didn't make it for the final HCLR rampup, just finishing with a 10s HCLR instead. Finally, the difference in the trainers was notable, but perhaps not quite as much as I expected. Definitely harder to get going, definitely easier to keep going. I'll reserve further judgement until I do the session again on Thursday.
So all that said, how was it? Well, I was pretty happy really. There were extraneous issues as listed above, and I was slightly nervy getting out of the saddle for the first SS because I wasn't sure how the KKRM would behave. Still, I ended up with satisfactory numbers - the officially recorded value for the first HCLR was 201, but I saw 208 briefly and held above 200 for the last 2-3 seconds of the effort, so happy to have broken that barrier - though I suspect it's more the difference in trainers than a sudden increase in my ability over 1 week!
Numbers:
7s PG+12 SS#1 – 134/59.7
7s PG+12 SS#2 – 128/57
8s PG+6 RS#1 – 147/61.4
12s PG RS#1 – 145/57
12s PG RS#2 – 143/56.2
8s BGSS (L) - 111/61.8
8s BGSS (R) – 112/62.4
35s PG RS R/up – 132/51.8
Note that I didn't even manage 135RPM in the PG rampup! I was well rooted by then. I managed about 30 seconds at a reasonable cadence, and how much of the last 5 seconds you count probably depends upon how generous you're feeling! But cadence rather plummeted. I didn't quite do the second BGSS properly either - I was rolling with 2 seconds to go, suddenly remembered, slammed on the rear brake, tried to get my foot position sorted, and just went at the mark. I've no idea if I was fully stopped or which leg I ended up starting on, but I think it was my left again. Ah well.
08 June 2011
Two-thirds Spin
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1 (181, 183)
:10 2 x 7s BGSS:3 (L,R) (118, 117)
:16 2 x 8s PG+4"SS:3 (L,R) (151, 159)
:22 2 x 8s PGSS:3 (L,R) (161... snap!)
Was there more? Yes. Did I get to it? No. After spending a lot of time working out the problem with the chain coming off, I thought I was set. Problem? Nothing to do with the front der., which is why fixing that didn't help. It was a lack of straightness/roundness in the chainring itself! So I swapped that out, and I haven't had problems with the chain coming off since. Which hopefully (but not certainly!) means that that issue is solved. Huzzah!
And then, two-thirds of the way through the session, my rear der cable snapped. I mean, come the fuck on. Not a happy camper. If I'd been a bit calmer about it, I might have realised that I could have continued the session - 39x12 is close enough to my PG to do the drill. Ah well. New program has me repeating the session on Thursday, anyway, so I'll get a chance to make amends!
Brief stats here.
:10 2 x 7s BGSS:3 (L,R) (118, 117)
:16 2 x 8s PG+4"SS:3 (L,R) (151, 159)
:22 2 x 8s PGSS:3 (L,R) (161... snap!)
Was there more? Yes. Did I get to it? No. After spending a lot of time working out the problem with the chain coming off, I thought I was set. Problem? Nothing to do with the front der., which is why fixing that didn't help. It was a lack of straightness/roundness in the chainring itself! So I swapped that out, and I haven't had problems with the chain coming off since. Which hopefully (but not certainly!) means that that issue is solved. Huzzah!
And then, two-thirds of the way through the session, my rear der cable snapped. I mean, come the fuck on. Not a happy camper. If I'd been a bit calmer about it, I might have realised that I could have continued the session - 39x12 is close enough to my PG to do the drill. Ah well. New program has me repeating the session on Thursday, anyway, so I'll get a chance to make amends!
Brief stats here.
17 May 2011
How high can you spin? PG Recalibration
Or, in my case, PG calibration; prior to this session I was only guessing that my 'power gear' for this bike/trainer combination was 53x17. And you know what? I was right!
This session was all about cadence, and lots of it! Every two minutes was an 8 second sprint at increasingly difficult gear ratios. The goal was to go as hard as possible for that 8 seconds, and find the ratio at which you couldn't quite get to 160RPM. My results were as follows... oh, and to be honest, once I'd gotten above 160 I didn't really try to go much higher...
First, warmup with 2x6s HCLR:1 = 176/175 (39x25, 41")
39x21 (48.8") = 167
39x19 (53.9") = 166
53x23 (60.6") = 162
39x16 (64.1") = 163
39x15 (68.3") = 160
53x19 (73.3") = 163
53x17 (81.9") = 155
39x12 (85.4") = 148
So 53x17 is the gear that I can't quite get to 160RPM on at the moment. Score for random guessing backed up by a little bit of rationalising! But the fun wasn't finished there - oh no! I tried to continue the next part on my road bike, but the chain kept coming off not only on the standing starts, but on the rolling ones, too. So I swapped to the track bike, which makes comparisons invalid because it has a smaller tyre diameter (it's a 20mm versus the 23mm width of the roadie) and hence lower resistance, and because of the different dynamics of the fixed wheel. But I got the exercises done, even if the BG (99.7")wasn't quite as big (116.1") as it should have been...
2x6s BG(99.7")SS (L,R seated):2 = 155/143
2x8s RG(99.7")RS (40, seated):2 = 151/154
PG(86.4") r/up (6:100, 6:130, 6:max) = 152
So. HCLR a little higher than last week, found out my PG, and hit what felt like a good number in the PG ramp-up. And sweated out several litres of sweat, leaving me pure and cleansed. Or something.
Brief stats here.
This session was all about cadence, and lots of it! Every two minutes was an 8 second sprint at increasingly difficult gear ratios. The goal was to go as hard as possible for that 8 seconds, and find the ratio at which you couldn't quite get to 160RPM. My results were as follows... oh, and to be honest, once I'd gotten above 160 I didn't really try to go much higher...
First, warmup with 2x6s HCLR:1 = 176/175 (39x25, 41")
39x21 (48.8") = 167
39x19 (53.9") = 166
53x23 (60.6") = 162
39x16 (64.1") = 163
39x15 (68.3") = 160
53x19 (73.3") = 163
53x17 (81.9") = 155
39x12 (85.4") = 148
So 53x17 is the gear that I can't quite get to 160RPM on at the moment. Score for random guessing backed up by a little bit of rationalising! But the fun wasn't finished there - oh no! I tried to continue the next part on my road bike, but the chain kept coming off not only on the standing starts, but on the rolling ones, too. So I swapped to the track bike, which makes comparisons invalid because it has a smaller tyre diameter (it's a 20mm versus the 23mm width of the roadie) and hence lower resistance, and because of the different dynamics of the fixed wheel. But I got the exercises done, even if the BG (99.7")wasn't quite as big (116.1") as it should have been...
2x6s BG(99.7")SS (L,R seated):2 = 155/143
2x8s RG(99.7")RS (40, seated):2 = 151/154
PG(86.4") r/up (6:100, 6:130, 6:max) = 152
So. HCLR a little higher than last week, found out my PG, and hit what felt like a good number in the PG ramp-up. And sweated out several litres of sweat, leaving me pure and cleansed. Or something.
Brief stats here.
10 May 2011
Spin at Home
More spinning at home! Last week was tough, this week even tougher...
:00 E1
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s PGSS (seated):3
:19 1 x 25s PG RS (80) r/up (5:100,10:130, 10:max)
:25 1 x 30s PG RS (80) r/up (10:110,10:130,10:max)
:32 1 x 27s PG RS(80) r/up (9:110, 9:135, 9:max)
:38 2 x 7s BGSS (seated):2
:42 2 x 10s HCLR:2
The first two HCLRs were fine, and I hit the same sorts of numbers I did last week - 175 and 173, though in 39x25 this week rather than 39x23. The PGSSs don't have a precise corollary from last week, so can't compare, but I hit 145 starting on the left leg and 154 starting on the right leg, in 53x17.
The next three exercises were horrible. A 25s ramp up, then a 30s ramp up, then 27s ramp up, getting faster and harder each time. Or, at least, that was the idea. On the theory that my PG should be about 53x17, I've got a bit of work to do. The PG is the gear you can't quite get to 160RPM in after 8 seconds from a standing start, and if you look at my 7 seconds results above - 145 and 154 - that should be about right, no?
But these exercises were beyond me, at least today. In part there's a difficulty in hitting the exact cadence - it took me about 5 seconds just to settle on 100RPM, and then it was time to go to 130! I spent most of that 10 seconds around 124, then only hit 134 in the 10 second max effort - which only lasted 7 seconds before I couldn't go any longer. The next two sets, I at least lasted the distance, but I couldn't even hit the 130RPM mark, let alone 135 or a maximum above that - my highest was 126 in each effort. Which closely parallels my efforts at DISC on Sunday, and points to where I need to work harder.
After that the last two sets were almost warm-downs, and again I had my chain jump off the chainring doing the BGSS. I managed 116RPM on the one effort that I completed properly. Then the HCLRs again, where I hit 164 and 174, respectively.
But there are 5 months to go. Brief stats here.
:00 E1
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s PGSS (seated):3
:19 1 x 25s PG RS (80) r/up (5:100,10:130, 10:max)
:25 1 x 30s PG RS (80) r/up (10:110,10:130,10:max)
:32 1 x 27s PG RS(80) r/up (9:110, 9:135, 9:max)
:38 2 x 7s BGSS (seated):2
:42 2 x 10s HCLR:2
The first two HCLRs were fine, and I hit the same sorts of numbers I did last week - 175 and 173, though in 39x25 this week rather than 39x23. The PGSSs don't have a precise corollary from last week, so can't compare, but I hit 145 starting on the left leg and 154 starting on the right leg, in 53x17.
The next three exercises were horrible. A 25s ramp up, then a 30s ramp up, then 27s ramp up, getting faster and harder each time. Or, at least, that was the idea. On the theory that my PG should be about 53x17, I've got a bit of work to do. The PG is the gear you can't quite get to 160RPM in after 8 seconds from a standing start, and if you look at my 7 seconds results above - 145 and 154 - that should be about right, no?
But these exercises were beyond me, at least today. In part there's a difficulty in hitting the exact cadence - it took me about 5 seconds just to settle on 100RPM, and then it was time to go to 130! I spent most of that 10 seconds around 124, then only hit 134 in the 10 second max effort - which only lasted 7 seconds before I couldn't go any longer. The next two sets, I at least lasted the distance, but I couldn't even hit the 130RPM mark, let alone 135 or a maximum above that - my highest was 126 in each effort. Which closely parallels my efforts at DISC on Sunday, and points to where I need to work harder.
After that the last two sets were almost warm-downs, and again I had my chain jump off the chainring doing the BGSS. I managed 116RPM on the one effort that I completed properly. Then the HCLRs again, where I hit 164 and 174, respectively.
But there are 5 months to go. Brief stats here.
03 May 2011
Spin at Home
Ideally, I'd be down at the ABOC spin session of a Tuesday night. But that's not possible for the moment, so instead we play at home and hope that someone chooses the home viewer and wins $25.
Sprint Stream
:00 E1
:05 2 x 5s HCLR:1
:10 3 x 6s RGSS:3 (L,R, prefered)
:19 1 x 24s PG+2 RS 80 r/up (8,8,8)
:26 1 x 30s (10:120,10:140,10:max) HCLR r/up
:34 2 x 6s BGSS(seated, L,R):2
:40 1 x 10s HCLR
Probably doesn't look too hard written down like that!
HCLR = High Cadence Low Resistance, so I put it in 39x23 and spun as fast as I could, up to 175RPM.
RGSS = Race Gear (I think! Not actually sure.) Standing Start - not sure if this was meant to be seated or not, but I did it like that anyway, in 53x14. Got to a cadence of 112, 115 and 114, respectively.
PG+2 RS 80 r/up (8,8,8) = Powergear (the gear that you can't quite get to 160RPM on, basically. I haven't tested this, so guessed at 53x17, which was probably about right) plus 2". I think it was meant to be spin up to 100, then 120, then 140 for 8 seconds each. Got up to 137.
HCLR r/up = Much the same as above, only this time with lower resistance and lasting longer. Hit a max of 155 RPM, but didn't hold that for 10 seconds I don't think! Maybe around 147-150.
BGSS = Big Gear Standing Start. Starting from stopped, accelerate as hard as possible for 6 seconds in 53x12 (well, it's the biggest I have!) Had some problems with the chain falling off, but otherwise okay. Got to 90RPM the first time, 104RPM the next - first proper attempt (the first unproper one was aborted) the chain fell off, then I pedalled it back on, which affected the results a bit.
Then wind down with a lazy ol' HCLR spin for 10 seconds - just 166RPM this time.
Then fell off the bike and got in to the shower. Survived fairly well really - tired, but still able to walk after the first couple of minutes of wobbliness.
Brief stats here.
Sprint Stream
:00 E1
:05 2 x 5s HCLR:1
:10 3 x 6s RGSS:3 (L,R, prefered)
:19 1 x 24s PG+2 RS 80 r/up (8,8,8)
:26 1 x 30s (10:120,10:140,10:max) HCLR r/up
:34 2 x 6s BGSS(seated, L,R):2
:40 1 x 10s HCLR
Probably doesn't look too hard written down like that!
HCLR = High Cadence Low Resistance, so I put it in 39x23 and spun as fast as I could, up to 175RPM.
RGSS = Race Gear (I think! Not actually sure.) Standing Start - not sure if this was meant to be seated or not, but I did it like that anyway, in 53x14. Got to a cadence of 112, 115 and 114, respectively.
PG+2 RS 80 r/up (8,8,8) = Powergear (the gear that you can't quite get to 160RPM on, basically. I haven't tested this, so guessed at 53x17, which was probably about right) plus 2". I think it was meant to be spin up to 100, then 120, then 140 for 8 seconds each. Got up to 137.
HCLR r/up = Much the same as above, only this time with lower resistance and lasting longer. Hit a max of 155 RPM, but didn't hold that for 10 seconds I don't think! Maybe around 147-150.
BGSS = Big Gear Standing Start. Starting from stopped, accelerate as hard as possible for 6 seconds in 53x12 (well, it's the biggest I have!) Had some problems with the chain falling off, but otherwise okay. Got to 90RPM the first time, 104RPM the next - first proper attempt (the first unproper one was aborted) the chain fell off, then I pedalled it back on, which affected the results a bit.
Then wind down with a lazy ol' HCLR spin for 10 seconds - just 166RPM this time.
Then fell off the bike and got in to the shower. Survived fairly well really - tired, but still able to walk after the first couple of minutes of wobbliness.
Brief stats here.
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