The hateful 8 - enjoy your turbo more!
Winter is here and the weather has definitely turned in recent weeks, meaning riding outside isn't as appealing as summer once made it.
It's not for everyone, but it is a means to an end, so don't give up riding; make use of the turbo over the winter period when the weather isn't up to much and you will feel the benefits when you tear the legs off your mates on the way to the cafe in the spring.
Just remember...
1. Use a towel - You will almost certainly sweat, regardless of windows, being outside and even tip number 3. A towel can help you to get rid of the sweat, prevent the dripping and dab it off your frame and your stem, which could gather and maintain moisture which can ruin your bearings.
2. Drink lots of water - This may or may not be the most obvious one, but due to increased heat and sweating buckets, means you lose a lot of water. During an hour session you can use around 1 litre of water, so ensure you have a ready supply to hand to replace, it's equally as important as when you ride outside.
3. Use a big fan - This will help to keep you cooler. Increased heat from working indoors can increase your heat rate more than usual, increase your perceived efforts, throw the power data and generally make the session hard work. Whilst hard work is good and what you're after, a fan will help you keep cool for a more productive work out.
4. Get changed - Whilst you might think it's cool to wander around after a hard session sweating and lounging around in your bibs, get them off ASAP and jump in the shower to clean off. Sweat will aid bacteria, which can ultimately result in saddle sores and other uncomfortable possibilities. This applies to most rides, but especially the turbo. Getting out of your sweaty clothes, showered and fresh is so much better for your skin, as is moisturising afterwards.
5. Recover - Feeling a little tender from hours in the saddle, having showered, apply our soothing gel to cool and bring blood to the surface of the skin to aid recovery.
6. DO NOT over consume calories - Having a hard work out on the turbo can leave you hungry, resulting in you consuming vast amounts of snacks afterwards
whilst recovering in front of the box, watching Netflix. Loss of water will likely be the cause, so taking on additional fluids, as well as a nutritious protein or recovery shake will help to effectively rehydrate the body.
7. Chamois cream - is still your friend. The rigidity of a turbo coupled with a largely seated position for most of the session can leave you sore, not to mention pedalling 100% of the time rather than micro rests during descents when you're outside. Make sure to use chamois cream on good quality shorts to ensure continued comfort.
8. A matt - can help to reduce noise and also mop up some of the sweat you miss with your towel. Turbo specific matts can be expensive, but there's nothing seriously special around them; we've seen old carpets, towels and even roof lining used, anything can be used if you want to protect your floor.
Here's our extra tip for the turbo - Enjoy and Embrace it! Whilst it can be dull and monotonous, there are so many ways to better enjoy the turbo now. The introduction of Smart Trainers to create and immersive and more realistic experience means you can get much more out of the turbo than you ever could before. Apps and programs such as Zwift and The Sufferfest mean you can ride with friends or work on specific areas of weakness in order to gain new found ability and strength for the new season. To us at VeloSkin, turbo work isn't a bad thing, they aren't fake miles, you still have to turn your legs, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise!
Send us a picture of your paincave for a chance to win a pair of bidons to keep you hydrated!
