I did it, I'm alive--aka the Spinervals Noobs thread/tips and tricks

[salsabike]

Just did the Uphill Grind for the first time! With some modifications to make it do-able for me. So here's what worked for me, using the advice of SK, Jobob, MP, etc.:

I did everything two gears up in the back, except on very rare occasions when I felt I could go back down one. And except for standing, when I usually have to go down one or two--just don't have the strength yet to control a standing spin in an easier gear.

And I can only stand for 10-15 seconds at a time so far.

It's a nice combination of some heavy gear pushing for a few minutes at a time, something I need to do more of; of high cadence spinning; of standing. It was fun. And SK is right--it keeps you entertained because it changes often.

[Velobambina]

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Keep at it. Soon you'll be standing and motoring up those Coach Troy hills.

[SadieKate]

Yeah! See, it's all about providing the entertainment while you finetune your own level of misery.

[jobob]

Wheee! :D

[maillotpois]

Yippee!!

You should all just TRY doing the MP current broken scapula version of Spinervals. Super fun. Here are the easy steps:

- tie a string around your chest which holds your left elbow in place, locked against your side. Your left forearm is free. Sort of.

- you may only use your left hand to balance while standing. Do no place any weight on the arm.

- stay in the large ring for the entire set as it is a PITA to shift the front gear with your right hand (see "tie a string around your chest", step one). Cross-chain early and often.

- Ignore anything said about cadence while standing and simply maintain control while praying you do not injure a lower limb.

- Swear a lot.

[SadieKate]

You forgot the post-exercise re-hydration step.

[salsabike]

Yeah! See, it's all about providing the entertainment while you finetune your own level of misery.


Yippee!!

You should all just TRY doing the MP current broken scapula version of Spinervals. Super fun. Here are the easy steps:

- tie a string around your chest which holds your left elbow in place, locked against your side. Your left forearm is free. Sort of.

- you may only use your left hand to balance while standing. Do no place any weight on the arm.

- stay in the large ring for the entire set as it is a PITA to shift the front gear with your right hand (see "tie a string around your chest", step one). Cross-chain early and often.

- Ignore anything said about cadence while standing and simply maintain control while praying you do not injure a lower limb.

- Swear a lot.


Jeez, this thread has ALREADY morphed into the "metaphor for life" thread. That was fast.:D:rolleyes::p

[maillotpois]

You forgot the post-exercise re-hydration step.

Oh - right. Must immediately re-hydrate with pain killing beverage.

[Starfish]

Jeez, this thread has ALREADY morphed into the "metaphor for life" thread. That was fast.:D:rolleyes::p

Wow, I need to read your autobiography!! :p ;) :D

[salsabike]

- you may only use your left hand to balance while standing. Do no place any weight on the arm.





And furthermore: only if I've grown wings, first. Except the swearing part I can do now.

[Velobambina]

MP's final step is my personal favorite. Even better, think up new cuss words! People say that swearing gets you more angry but it actually makes me laugh at myself.

[SouthernBelle]

MP's final step is my personal favorite. Even better, think up new cuss words! People say that swearing gets you more angry but it actually makes me laugh at myself.

I'm gonna hafta remember the cuss word inventing.

Uphill Grind has improved my climbing. May do it tonight.

[Starfish]

I'm gonna hafta remember the cuss word inventing.

Maybe there's a suggestion for Coach Troy there, for the new Spinervals he produces?

[salsabike]

For the last couple of weeks, I have been doing Uphill Grind followed by the Technique part of 23.0 Time Saver.

Some of you know I am very susceptible to the "tunes going around in your head" thing, and often tunes I really don't like.

These days, every day I hear the music to Uphill Grind in my head at some point during the day. I find myself LIKING it. It makes me want to do Uphill Grind again. Can someone please tell me where I can get help for this?

Failing that, to the Spinervals noobs, I am just letting you know that this Uphill Grind (yes, still two gears up in the back much of the time; yes, still only standing for 15 seconds; but getting a little better at it every time) followed by Technique 23.0 is a really nice little workout. I like it a lot.

[Starfish]

How long is uphill grind?

[Veronica]

43 minutes.

V.

[maillotpois]

Haven't done Uphill Grind in a while. Maybe that's my tomorrow workout....

I really prefer U2 to the stupid disco porn Spinerval music. :rolleyes:

[maillotpois]

Yippee!!

You should all just TRY doing the MP current broken scapula version of Spinervals. Super fun. Here are the easy steps:

- tie a string around your chest which holds your left elbow in place, locked against your side. Your left forearm is free. Sort of.

- you may only use your left hand to balance while standing. Do no place any weight on the arm.

- stay in the large ring for the entire set as it is a PITA to shift the front gear with your right hand (see "tie a string around your chest", step one). Cross-chain early and often.

- Ignore anything said about cadence while standing and simply maintain control while praying you do not injure a lower limb.

- Swear a lot.

Updated after some fixation of the fractured scapula:

- Swear a lot.

That's progress!!!! :D:D:D

[Starfish]

These days, every day I hear the music to Uphill Grind in my head at some point during the day. I find myself LIKING it.


I really prefer U2 to the stupid disco porn Spinerval music.

Salsa, you have now been accused of liking "stupid disco porn music". :D:p:D

[salsabike]

It IS stupid disco porn music. That's why I asked for help. And here you guys are just enjoying my pain...:D:D:D

[Starfish]

It IS stupid disco porn music. That's why I asked for help. And here you guys are just enjoying my pain...:D:D:D

Maybe they figure there is some kind of Pavlovian response that raises the heart rate... :p :rolleyes: ;)

[maillotpois]

Unfortunately you can't turn off the SDPM in Uphill Grind, like you can in Tough Love. So you just have to be mentally tough. When I spin in the early am, I have everything down very low anyway so I make as little noise as possible (our bedroom is right above the office/spin room). when I do Tough Love, it's during daytime and I can crank Rattle and Hum or Achtung Baby or whatever will get me going. (I seem to respond to U2. :D)

Just did Uphill Grind - hadn't in ages. I like that it's all women. Something fun about that, though I do love the pained expressions some of the guys make. It is definitely "geared" (sorry) to race type climbing not super long endurance pace climbing, but the intervals will obviously benefit that as well.

[salsabike]

I like Uphill Grind and the girls. I just think it's funny that my general propensity for getting songs stuck in my head has now extended to the Uphill Grind music.

MP, are you really that much healed already that all you have to do for U.G. accommodations is curse? That's great. What's the vague healing timeline the docs gave you?

[SadieKate]

Just did Uphill Grind - hadn't in ages. I like that it's all women. Something fun about that, though I do love the pained expressions some of the guys make. It is definitely "geared" (sorry) to race type climbing not super long endurance pace climbing, but the intervals will obviously benefit that as well.Here we go again, roadie girl. Got tunnel vision over the winter, didn't you? :D

It's great for mtb training with repeated short climbs and bursts of power.

[maillotpois]

Salsa - for 2 hours of Tough Love over the weekend I was 100% functional for 1 1/2 hours of it. UG is so much shorter that it went very well. My strength is reduced, but I can support my heft standing now. My range of motion may always have some limitation (the bone's never going back where it was), but it won't effect cycling. I start PT tomorrow and have a short test ride planned for Saturday.

And, SK, my doctor specifically told me yesterday: NO MTB. :D (My UG "review" was specifically targeted at Starfish who's looking for long indoor climbing simulating training. Which this is not. But it still has its purpose.)

[salsabike]

So what are the Spinervals that are designed to replicate endurance climbing? Would the Aerobase Builders fit what Starfish wants to work on?

[Starfish]

I have the Tucson Spinerval that has a core workout of about 75 minutes of tempo climbing. Then there are a couple shorter additional climbs.

Actually, last night instead of falling asleep, I made up in my head a trainer workout to simulate my local mountain climb, which is about 5000 feet in about 19 miles. I know how long it took me to do last year, and I know the road very well (how long it goes at what percentage grades, etc...and how long those sections take me, at what cadences, etc. Yesss...I am a little detail oriented...:rolleyes:).

I have an indoor climbing workout coming this weekend, and I am going to try out a simulation of that ride, and see what happens! :)

LOL...it is a favorite motorcycle ride route for one of my brothers and his daughter...maybe I can have him follow me up the road this spring with her on the back videotaping...make my own "Spinerval" for my own private use! Evil Coach Starfish! :p

[maillotpois]

I have to say I'm really liking Tough Love for the tempo pace endurance workout. The aero base builder is good, in general. But for a climbing simulation like what she's looking for, her Tucson thing or Tough Love seems to be pretty good.

[Starfish]

I have to say I'm really liking Tough Love for the tempo pace endurance workout. The aero base builder is good, in general. But for a climbing simulation like what she's looking for, her Tucson thing or Tough Love seems to be pretty good.

Alas, I am budgeting. This morning I finally broke down and ordered some shorts and a saddle from Terry, both on sale.

I have been SERIOUSLY in need of another pair of shorts (just at that point...everything I have is worn out, and my current saddle has never been perfect...found one on Terry on sale I have wanted to try since it was introduced, so went for it.

Just had to do shorts/saddle over Spinerval purchase for now. :rolleyes:

[jobob]

Well for what it's worth, I've seen a big improvement in my speed on the flatlands over the past month or so since I started doing spinervals.

I'm still finding it hard to believe that on the long flat stretches of my commute I'm cruising easily at 17-18 mph. :cool: I haven't been doing much climbing lately but I think that might have improved some as well.

The big test will be the 200K brevet this weekend. :D

[salsabike]

Jobob, which ones have you been doing? I know Aerobase V, I think, is one of them?

[SouthernBelle]

Since I am trying to work on a steady higher cadence with Spinervals, I've noticed an improvement in my speed too. Fortunately, almost all of them help with this.

I did 3.0, Suffer-a-rama last night. I find this one a bit irritating. I think it's because it has some longer soft-pedals with that really irritating soft pedal music he uses.

Wouldn't Uphill Grind help on the climbing?

[Thorn]

I did 3.0, Suffer-a-rama last night. I find this one a bit irritating.

Grrr...that one is on the docket for tomorrow....I really, really hate it and I don't know why. But, now I'll be blaming the music.

Uphill Grind helps with hills (I think any work that forces you to push bigger gears will help), but the hill work seems to be more like sprinting to get over small bumps in a criterium--hard spins in hard gears with a lot of standing.

I like the Tucson rides for sustained climbs. Gates Pass, to me, is an aero workout with 3 good-sized hills to push the heartrate outside of aero--kinda like a real ride with hills. Mt. Lemmon is just cruel--relentless climbing.

I also use Hillacious for climbing work. It has two sustained grinds (75RPM), some fake rolling hills (mostly seated) and some big-gear grinds. More like climbing for a non-racer type.

[jobob]

Salsa, you're right, I've been using Aerobase V, as well as No Slackers and Uphill Grind. For about the last month I did NS and UG once a week, separated by at least a day, and ABV twice a week. More or less.

I actually have 3 other DVDs from the interval 5-pack that I haven't cracked open yet - Suffer-o-ama, Muscle Breakdown, & the Sprinting Machine. I'll get to them eventually.

[salsabike]

Hey, I just read Nana's take on ECT on your blog, Jobob. I love it. That was while the sweat was still leaking into my eyes from the last part of Timesavers Technique. I used to come out of ballet classes, when I had very short hair, looking just like a purple-faced drowned rat too. Not what they had in mind when they choreographed Swan Lake, I'm sure.

Anyone mind telling me what the sections are in No Slackers?

BTW, I have to start remembering more often to use little smiley icons, a habit I don't have well developed, because my post this morning about the Spinervals music earworm was pretty much meant to be a joke. You know...can anyone send me to the closest neighborhood Spin-Anon meeting, or do a Spinervals music intervention, kind of thing. I don't really expect much of an escape from the music-in-the-head thing. I pick up tunes easily in my head and often it's music I hate (examples from last night: the theme song from The Courtship of Eddie's Father ("People, let me tell you 'bout my best friend..." Why? I have no idea how it got in there), and not long after that spun around in my head for a while, somehow I next got "Drivin' that train, high on___", etc. And I HATE the Grateful Dead).

It may be that when I have UG pretty much memorized that I can switch to...yeah, salsa. Salsa makes me VERY happy.

I did post on purpose, though, for my fellows who are quasi-new to Spinervals, the UG and Timesaver Techniques combo, because I like it and it's working well for me to do those together. I still have a long way to go. But I think that the next time I do UG, I will do one gear easier in back instead of two. As much as I can, anyway.

[maillotpois]

No Slackers is annoying in that I can't forward past the "coach's Notes" section where he sits there and pontificates, so getting you the contents was done at great personal sacrifice.

Here's No slackers:

Warm up
3 x 30 sec hard
5 minute tempo
5 min (10 sec on 10 sec off)
6x30 sec super spin
5 min race simulation
5 x 20 sec supersppin 10 sec rest/15 sec sprint
cool down

[Blueberry]

Jobob-

I love the saying on your blog - "Climbs faster than a toodling tarantula."

Priceless:D:D

[SouthernBelle]

New Nashbar clearance catalog. Spinervals 5 packs for $99.99. That is a good price!

jobob, I think the Sprinting Machine may be my favorite. I don't know why.

[maillotpois]

That is a good price!

Sprinting Machine is tough to do and remain remotely quiet. They're all "hard" but for some reason, I am acutely conscious of being louder when I do that one. (As mentioned the spin "studio"/office is right below our bedroom, and I generally get up to spin before anyone's awake.)

[salsabike]

No Slackers is annoying in that I can't forward past the "coach's Notes" section where he sits there and pontificates, so getting you the contents was done at great personal sacrifice.



AND DON'T THINK I DON'T APPRECIATE IT. :D

Thank you. Aiyiyi. Think I'll just have to stick with my little UG/TST combo for now, down here in the proverbial peanut gallery. NS sounds like something I'll need to work up to. Although it sounds kind of interesting. I'm turning into a Spinervals weenie. How weird.

I hate those 10 sec on 10 sec off things. I do them but I hate them.

[Zen]

Put this music (http://youtube.com/watch?v=l98Mn3TVOkM&feature=related) in your head, Salsa...

[salsabike]

Zen, I think I'll just save that for a TREAT for later...

[sundial]

I just think it's funny that my general propensity for getting songs stuck in my head has now extended to the Uphill Grind music.


LOL! The Clydesdale 1.0 music is stuck in my head.

I like the Uphill Grind and plan to do it tomorrow. My legs are sooo much stronger and I can't wait to smoke the guys on the hills, lol.

[salsabike]

I am completely addicted to the Uphill Grind. And now I do it in the gears directed.

Anyone want Clydesdales 1.0?

[maillotpois]

Bravo!

(I am off spinervals for the summer. I'm lucky enough that if I ride at 5:30, it's light and I can get as much climbing in as I want - 2400 feet in 17 miles the other day I think. Easy: Leave house, go right, go up. and up. And up. :rolleyes:)

[Veronica]

Ugh... I'll be working out inside today. A treadmill run and Spinervals...

Our air is just gross with the fires north and south of us.

V.

[Geonz]

Hard enough to do the inside stuff in the winter :(