Hi @ryan thanks for posting these questions. As you probably know, I am a huge fan of rollers. There are lots of “old school” things about bike racing we can be done with, but rollers are one that we ought to hang on to in my opinion. I will go so far as to say: if you can’t ride rollers, you aren’t a proper cyclist.
- First, just ride them a lot! To progress your roller workouts, focus on cadence. I suggest extended periods at 100 rpm to begin [10-30 min blocks, in Z2 power is a good starting place] and further progressions might include 3 x 10 min Z3 at 110rpm average. Advanced would be 15-30 min of work at 120 rpm with bursts of very high cadence. Very skilled riders can ride for 10 second seated sprints at 150 - 180rpm; a select few can break 200rpm. Push yourself, but don’t fall off!
For additional technique challenges, you can ride with one hand, no hands, and one leg unclipped. Some riders can stand up, out of the saddle, on rollers. This is an advanced technique and if you try it, you might fall off. You have been warned!
I am a huge fan of narcissism during indoor training. I like to set up a full length mirror in front of the rollers. This way, I can look forward, not down all the time. I observe my knee tracking, my hip stability, my shoulder posture, breathing pattern, and my head motion.
You can also practice riding the rollers covering one eye with a hand. Notice if there is a big difference when you cover your dominant vs. non- dominant eye.
Disclaimer: any time you do stuff like this, you can fall off your rollers. Ideally, they are set up around soft objects like couches, and not around hard objects like coffee tables. Also, avoid hard wood floors, if you clip out when you start to fall over and your cleat slides, you can easily pull a groin. Put down a yoga matt for traction. If you are really going to push things, or you are really nervous, surround yourself with couches and wear a helmet. Or, put your rollers in a doorway, right at your shoulders. This will help “bounce you back on”.
My first choice for rollers are Inside Ride. They are amazing. You can’t go wrong with Kreitler either. I trained every winter on Kreitlers with a Killer Headwind attachment. I did all my intervals on this set up, year after year. I very rarely ride the trainer.
- example session:
Warm up for 15-20 min, progressing to Z2 as ready. Target cadence = 100rpm.
Efforts:
reps: 6 - 9
duration: 30 sec
intensity: maximum, given cadence constraint
cadence: minimum 120rpm
recovery: 3 minutes
sets: 1
Finish with Z2 riding to warm down.
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You are doing it right if you feel one or more of the following: you are feeling more stable, your muscles feel supple after rollers sessions, you feel a sensation of “lightness” in your muscles on your road ride after rollers, you are improving, you are having fun.
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Mostly, cadence. If you have a resistant unit, you can use your rollers for intervals, just as you would do them on the trainer or on the road.
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Here is one example:
Recovery ride on rollers.
Focus on cadence, try to average at least 100rpm for the duration of the training.
Pace should be Z1 HR for the duration of the workout.
Focus on nasal breathing for the duration of this workout; mouth closed.
By using a full length mirror, riding posture and habits can be observed. Things to notice:
- is sternum lined up over the top tube?
- are knees tracking vertically, and over the center of the foot?
- excessive motion in one or both hips?
- is the nose over the stem?
- is the head level?
- does the bike lean to one side or another?
Hope these help.
see my comments above on couches, helmets and yoga matts. As for your forest question, I didn’t see it …