Using Trainer Road in Your 2016-2017 Dec OS
Trainer Road: Getting Started
TrainerRoad.com is an adjunct to using an indoor trainer for cycling workouts. TrainerRoad is an independent web-based service, using a subscription payment model ($12/month). It is designed to be simple to use on a wide variety of trainers, and the TrainerRoad website has an excellent suite of instructions and videos for initial set-up.
Please note that TrainerRoad is an optional enhancement to your Endurance Nation cycling workouts and requires a computer and a minimal level of technical expertise. It is VERY cool. It is not mandatory you use this and it does not replace the TeamEN mojo in the Forums, Dashbord or anywhere else.
We have put many of our EN workouts on TrainerRoad in a private group as a resource for ALL TeamEN athletes. This includes all of our OutSeason bike workouts and the weekday interval ride for all of our Ironman and Half Ironman training plans. Access to this group is limited to paid TeamEN athletes only.
For those of you without a powermeter, TrainerRoad allows you to simulate having power and improving your workout. For those of you with a powermeter, TrainerRoad puts your power data right on the screen -- it's a huge upgrade and it fits very well with how we structure your training.
What Trainer Road Does:
- TR works whether you have a standalone power meter (like a PowerTap or Quarg), or use Heart Rate to monitor your workout intervals.
- TR supports most standard trainers, and can use them plus your HR data to generate a "virtual power" reading
- If you have a CompuTrainer, TR will act in place of your CT software to set the resistance on the CT, adjusting as needed during the course of the workout.
- TR's on-screen graphics are simple to read even when one's vision is clouded with sweat and heavy breathing.
TO REQUEST ACCESS
To get access, please do the following:
- Create a TrainerRoad account online here: www.trainerroad.com
- Login to Trainer Road.
- Go to this URL in your browser: www.trainerroad.com/teams/3-endurance-nation
- From this page you can request access to the group. This process will take one business day to happen, so plan accordingly. Eventually this page will have more resources for TeamEN, but that is all TBD as TrainerRoad evolves.
DOWNLOAD, INSTALL & USE TRAINER ROAD
TrainerRoad is an application that runs on your PC and Mac. You can find everything you need on their Getting Started page.
When you are ready to do an EN workout (having already requested access above, and given us 1 business day to approve you!) you launch Trainer Road and Click on the Custom Tab.
Step One: Click TrainerRoad to find all of the TeamEN workouts alongside the regular TrainerRoad workouts. Search by workout titles to find them:
- 2017 IM Wk1 BEG = The beginner week one bike ride from the 2014 Ironman plan.
- 2017 OS Wk9 INT = The intermediate level bike ride from the 2014 OutSeason plan.
- 2017 HIM Wk14 ADV = The advanced level bike ride from the 2014 Half Ironman plan.
- Test - This will show both options for the EN Power and Heart Rate tests.
Step Two: Find the workout you want using the search bar. "2017 OS Wk9" will, for example, pull up all workouts for Week 9 of the OS, all ability levels. "Wk9 Sat" will pull up all Saturday workouts for Week 9, etc.
Step Three: Click on Workout Name to review the actual workout, then click "Open" to start the workout on your laptop.
SUPPORT
If you need support, please post to the Trainer Road thread in the forums here. You can also submit a support ticket using the blue Support Tab located on the right side of every EN webpage, but it's not as direct as the thread above.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Custom Workout Creator: Click here to watch a short video on how to use the (beta) TrainerRoad workout creator. Please note the left sidebar is for PERCENT OF FTP, not absolute FTP. That might not be clear in the video (hat tip to Al Truscott on that one).
TrainerRoad Challenges: Periodically TrainerRoad will run it's own virtual cycling challenges. We hope to have some for the Team soon, but in the meantime feel free to play along with them!
Comments
Just a plug for TR ... IMHO, Trainer Road is the ONLY way to get the OS workouts done correctly. At least where I live, there is no way to even approximate the MS profiles on the road.
My setup is a laptop on a stool to the right of my front wheel ... fan to the left ... movie on my phone on the aerobars. Then, just pedal and watch the yellow line till TR says you are done ...