As Spring approaches don't forget indoor training. I know that might sound a little weird but I have two points to make.
Many of you have been training indoors with inadequate indoor air quality and training conditions. I wrote an article about IAQ in the Fall of '11. I am shocked how many people do not think about their air quality. We are processing amazing volumes of air yet we don't consider how rooms that increasing in temperature and humidity and are filling with carbon dioxide might be affecting our workout.
Other than air quality there is heat load to consider. When outdoors we are cooling ourselves very effectively in most situations. The volume of air passing over all of our surface area is helping. Unless you are training in a wind tunnel indoors your fan is not competing with outdoor conditions. Remember, we are 25% efficient. This means we are 75% inefficient. How does that inefficient appear? Heat. Typically this heat is used to warm ourselves and to help maintain an optimal temperature range. In the case of exercise our bodies are trying to figure out how to get rid of this "excess" heat load. Only a big fan will do the trick.
In the early stages of training indoors we are typically riding at lower intensities but longer durations. In these days IAQ is important. While heat can still be an important factor to consider on some of those days heat really becomes a problem when intensity starts to be increased like in the Race Preparation period.
People are probably starting to do their interval training to prepare for spring racing. If they are doing them indoors they are riding the red line. For example, when doing Aerobic Base work they may be riding at 65-75% of VO2max or approximately 85-100% of Functional Threshold Power quite a bit. The age group athletes I coach would range between 230-280 watts for men and 150-210 watts for women in this range. Using the 75% efficiency number they are trying to off set approximately 750 and 540 watts respectively. This is not terrible. Men handle temperature issues a little better than women. So, the challenge is about equal all things the same (fan, ventilation etc). Now change that to interval training and you get another story.
Let's say our average men are doing VO2 max intervals, approximately 120% of FTP. Now the heat load trying to be off set is over 1000 watts. Think about the easy bake oven. Then were able to cook bake goods with one bulb. Imagine ten one hundred watts bulbs lit up inside an area as big as your body. You can imagine the cooking going on.
Soon fans will be abundant in stores. I suggest you don't forget this lesson and when you see that nice shiny silver wire cage fans about 20-24 inches wide you remember those intervals you are doing and how much better they will be with that fan. Don't be fooled by temperature either. Just because you are in a garage at 32 degrees doesn't matter. It is air movement that cools you not temperature.
The other point is indoor training isn't over, at least not here in Buffalo. I woke to find 2 inches of snow on the ground and the 10 day forecast says that two of the days we MIGHT reach 40 for a high. Riding outdoors is the goal but the trainer is still your friend. You will need it a few more times. Quite a few if you live here.
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