turbo training for fell running

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 Jimmy O 16 Jan 2018

Hello UKC'ers

I have a confession to make - I love turbo training!

I also love running. The question is, are hard sessions on the turbo over the winter good or bad for my running. My running is entirely fell running so I would think that the strength and cardio from the turbo will translate well into hill climbing and probably good for steep descents too. I accept it might not be great if I wanted to push my flat 10k time. 

What do you reckon?

J.

 

 wbo 16 Jan 2018
In reply to Jimmy O:In my experience the turbo would appear very good as you can do very long, sustained efforts to simulate long hill climbs.  My problem would be that , for my running style, cycling uses muscle groups in a very different way.

The best training for running is running.  Do you run winter cross country,, cross country intervals and so on?

 

 

 SouthernSteve 16 Jan 2018
In reply to Jimmy O:

Speed up hill considered to be a function of VO2 max rather than muscular strength so I guess it will be useful, but not specific. If it saves your joints a bit it might be a good thing too. 

 Roadrunner5 17 Jan 2018
In reply to Jimmy O:

I think it depends, if its replacing nothing it helps, if its replacing actual running I'd say not but then again if it keeps you injury free again it helps.

I'm up in NH now and nordic ski about half my miles in the winter, not ideal but its safer, still good training and more appealing on -20C days. I also think it has helped get me injury free again as the cross training helps strengthen other areas, a good core work out and reduces the constant stress of high miles.

 

 Mr Fuller 17 Jan 2018
In reply to Jimmy O:

Depends on what the limiting factor is in your fell running, but last year I broke my 5k pb (okay, not fell running, and still very slow versus a proper runner) and got my best ever results in any fell race I did despite not going for any runs. How? I rode my bike a lot and did some turbo sessions. Beware of abandoning all running though as your legs will turn to jelly when pounding downhill.

For the turbo sessions, ensure you're getting something measurable out of it, be it power gains or lower hr etc.. If you can get your heart rate higher while on the bike that is a big help for most people. For example, it is rare that people can access above 95 percent of max heart rate while on a bike unless they're pretty well trained, while people reach 100 percent while running. If you can get strong enough to access that top 5 percent it's hugely beneficial as it means cycling can then train that 'zone 6' or whatever you want to call it. You know, the 'sprint for the line until you can't see properly' bit. Training that on the turbo is rad.

 The New NickB 17 Jan 2018
In reply to Jimmy O:

If you have max’ed out your running, either through lack of daylight or a tendency to get injured if you run too much, I think it is good for general fitness and quite good for putting your head in the right place for a bit of suffering. However, if you can run more, run more.

 Marek 17 Jan 2018
In reply to Jimmy O:

The only thing I'd add from my experience of mixing running and cycling is that cycling is great for your aerobic/cardio system, but is very poor at preparing the legs for the pounding that running involves, particularly downhill. If you cycle instead of (as opposed to 'as well as')  fell running, your return to the hills will be painful (quads, the day after), particularly since your cardio system will not be slowing you down as much as it would if you hadn't done any exercise at all. I also found that the coordination skill required to run fast downhill or on very rough terrain need constant practice and again cycling probably degrades those too. So yes, get on the turbo - it'll make you faster uphill - but make point of getting out running too as often a possible and focus on the getting the downhills smooth and fast.

Post edited at 09:23
 steveriley 17 Jan 2018
In reply to Jimmy O:

I'd echo a lot of the above. Hill cycling and hill running seem to have more crossover than regular road cycling and flatter running. Banging out a few hill reps on the bike in my lunch hour seemed to be beneficial to fell running and was less faff than a run.

If you wanted to get niche, riding a fixie downhill is good for working muscles eccentrically. But not really a turbo thing

OP Jimmy O 17 Jan 2018
In reply to Jimmy O:

Thanks everyone, more sensible than anticipated - I was expecting some turbo abuse. 

It is still January so I am still sticking to my training plan which includes significant running as well as the suffering on the turbo. Currently doing one interval/hill run session and one or two long runs, as well as two or three hard turbo sessions a week. I am sure the running will take over the indoor cycling more when the sun comes back.

It sounds like we agree that it shouldn't hinder the running as, realistically, I probably wouldn't do more running if I wasn't on the bike. Do we think that there is a problem that the old quads could get too big! I cant imagine Chris Hoy fell running!

 TeeBee 17 Jan 2018
In reply to steveriley:

> riding a fixie downhill is good for working muscles eccentrically. 

Except certain sphincters...

 

 yorkshireman 17 Jan 2018
In reply to Jimmy O:

> Thanks everyone, more sensible than anticipated - I was expecting some turbo abuse. 

> Do we think that there is a problem that the old quads could get too big! I cant imagine Chris Hoy fell running!

I think you would have to work pretty hard to get quads the size of Chris Hoy's so I wouldn't worry about it. Also I think his come more from weights-based cross-training and ridiculous genetics than just riding a bike.


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