Spartan Base - Minimalist - question

Training and Performance Fundamentals
#1

Hi,

I did the first workout in the Spartan Base - Minimalist training plan - recovery 45/60 today but I was finding it hard to keep my watts down low enough to fit the criteria.

I have a spin bike but it doesn’t have auto resistance so I was having to pedal slower than what is natural or increase the resistance to reduce cadence but I didn’t want to push my heart rate up too high and on most bikes with auto resistance that would push the wattage up?

I did a ramp test and in theory my FTP is about 100 which is what I set the workout too after importing into Zwift but I’m wondering how I’m supposed to tackle this workout?

It was 45watts and 60 watts but though 60 was okay I was mostly doing 50-55 watts during the 7min 45 watts sections.

Should I just try to pedal very slowly or should I increase the FTP?

I’m not sure what I am aiming for as a beginner to the workouts.

#2

You should not increase the restistance to decrease cadence, you should put the resistance to the minimum. Really the low targets like this of 50% are meant as low stress recovery parts so you can just ride them at something that feels very easy. You don’t need to exactly target what it says. Personally I would not do these workouts on a spin bike :slight_smile: I created that plan but it is really for someone using a smart bike that is just starting riding and wants a very low intensity i.e. safe starting point for a plan.

So I am not sure how long you have been exercising or riding a bike or what your goals are. Personally if you are just getting started in Zwift I would not do workouts, I would just ride around and have fun :slight_smile: If you are new to cycling then try to keep most of your training below about 70% of your max heart rate but at the end of the day if you goal is to get in shape doing what ever is the most fun and keeps you consistent is goal #1. Once you have been consistent for a while then you can branch out to more structure. Now if following a structured plan is what you consider fun then please tell me more about your fitness history and goals.

#3

Hi Alex,

Thanks very much for your reply. That’s really helpful. Yeah, I’m beginning to realise the limitations of no auto resistance.
To fill you in I am looking to improve fitness and leg strength from a fairly poor starting point, especially now I am in my early 40’s. I started using Zwift and the spin bike at the start of September and sessions have been no more than 30mins long.
I have no prior history of cycling so very much a beginner there.

I was searching for zone 2 workouts and I though the plan might fit but perhaps it is a bit too easy going for what I need.

I must admit that I was finding it more fun riding around than the workouts as I could spend more time looking at the visuals than worrying about settings, I was just worried that I wouldn’t make improvements without having some structure.

That said, I’ve been reading up and watching videos on the zone 2 HR stuff and that’s what I’d like to focus on, though I’m concerned that 15-30mins isn’t going to be enough to make it useful. I can’t see me ever doing hours on the bike but I do want to achieve some real improvements in my fitness so I can climb hills.

I think I’m not really sure how best to get the most out of the bike and how to use the resistance effectively.

#4

You are welcome. Don’t worry about efficiency. Efficieny in general will give you like and extra 5% but consistency can be 300% or let’s say infinitely more :slight_smile: Only do what is fun. Get a pattern of high consistency. Forget about zone 2. Since you are just starting out, just make sure it feels moderate and you are not breathing hard. Once you have been going a few months you can start doing once a week of a little more intensity where you are breathing harder. If easy all the time is not fun then do a bit more. If you are riding 3 days week you can do anything you want (I would still avoid too much intensity) of you are going 6 or 7 days a week then you need to really focus on keeping almost all days easy.

Zone 2 is great and very healthy and for that reason you can just try to keep your intensity lower based on heart rate. Or as I said an easy way is to just make sure can have long conversations without struggling while on the bike and all is good.

In a year or two get a new bike and trainer and come back to TrainerDay for more structured workouts. :slight_smile:

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#5

Thanks very much Alex. That sounds like the best advice I’ve had so far. I did feel like I was starting to get bogged down in it all and the fun was waning so I think I’ll do what you suggest and go back to what I started off doing. Just cycling and not worrying about it too much, and keeping in mind my breathing so I don’t push the intensity too far.

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#6

Absolutely 100% agree with Alex. At this point, your best way forward is to ride intuitively and just avoid too much hard work. In 8-12 weeks, you will make huge improvements by simply being consistent. Use this period to get some idea what you like best. Longer easy stuff, ‘smelling the flowers’ or something more challenging like moderate hills.
Ride unstructured, but do follow up on results. It’s highly motivational to make your progress visible.

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#7

Thanks @MedTechCD

I reached out to my bike manufacturer (Sole Fitness) about the resistance and wattage and it seems that the wattage is only based on RPM so I assume it will be consistent over rides but I’m wondering what metrics I’m best to track to see those improvements.

I have a spreadsheet with all my rides in. Distance is useless because my bike and Zwift don’t match.

I was going with HR and Total Output (KJoules) but if the wattage is a bit arbitrary then I’m not sure if that’s the best option? Or does it work because over time I will naturally increase cadence?

#8

It depends on how the spin bike works. What’s the exact model of your bike? I will try to dig up how it works internally.
99% of all indoor trainers have no power meter. All they do is convert flywheel speed to power with an offset depending on the resistance level. You can very easily check that by accelerating to a higher speed and then stop pedaling. If there is a power meter in the trainer, power will be 0 within a couple seconds. If you see a gradual decline of power while spinning down, it’s as said above, speed converted to power.
If the spin bike does the same, your easiest way to follow up on progress, is to take some parts of your ride where you ride at constant speed/rpm. Divide flywheel speed (from the bike, not from Zwift) by average HR for that part and you have a perfect metric to spot progress. More speed for the same HR means that you are getting better.

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#9

Thanks!
It’s a Sole SB900. I thought it had a power meter when I bought it. There’s no resistance shown on the monitor. I was torn between the Sole and the Schwinn IC4/IC8. The Schwinn does show resistance on the screen but was put off by having to plug it in and reliability issues. Perhaps I can upgrade in the future.

Anyway, this is what I got back from HQ this morning: Please see below response from HQ:
The computer system works that transmitter sends the RPM signal to the console for the calculation.
Then the console displays the relevant readings which request the RPM value to show speed distance, calories…etc.
The resistant system of SB900 is controlled by the magnetic system.
The magnet set is controlled by the adjustable knob to increase or decrease the resistance.
But it is not equipped with the dynamometric device or the additional sensor for the resistant calculation.
The Watt on the console will be only referred to the reading of the speed changes, it can’t perform according to the resistance changes.

Okay, so I could perhaps record laps to get an accurate HR for a given period. I got the qdomyos-zwift app which I thought would help with accuracy for Zwift but I’m not sure it makes any difference as I would rather use the bike that will be the same across any app.
It does give me various metrics though for the ride and can do laps.

#10

I see this screen.

image
image758×554 61 KB

So you can monitor progress fairly simply.

Find a comfortable RPM say like 70 RPM and comfortable resistance (let’s use 20 as an example) What ever you choose it should seem like it is easy for 30 minutes to an hour.

Then warmup for 20 minutes and get your heart rate to say 120bpm and then track your HR for Resistance=20 RPM=70 for 10 minutes. And then do that same test and see your heart rate after a month. In general your heart rate should be going down and you know you are getting in better shape. I would almost guarantee you will see improvement if you are consistent. Once it starts feeling too easy you could change your test to be at Resistance=30. I am just making this up these numbers to explain the concept.

Same RPM same resistance after a month should be (will be) lower heart rate.

If you connect to Strava, then you will have a simple way of looking at your average heart rate from minutes 20 to 30 of your “MAF test” workout.

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#11

Thanks Alex.

I don’t get any resistance reading on the screen at all so I guess the only way for me to do it is to set it to a set number of turns and do the test that way.
I am generally using 3 full turns at the moment as what feels comfortable so I can leave it there and see how that goes for the test.

#12

Yes exactly!!! You got it. :slight_smile:

#13

Agree, the specs show that it is a manual adjustment knob to set magnetic resistance level. That’s very ‘ballpark’…
Just set it now to a level that feels adequate and keep it there for a period of time. Test for 10-20 min at same rpm every couple of weeks and see how your HR evolves.
When it starts feeling to easy, add some resistance and start from the beginning.
The specs say that it connects to Zwift but from what can be done with the bike, I wouldn’t expect any ‘real life’ experience. You will not feel hills and speed on Zwift can be just about anything…

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#14

@MedTechCD No, you are right, there’s no ‘real life’ experience on Zwift. Hills are pretty excruciating because I slow to about 3km/hour and take forever to get up them so I’ve been trying to go with the flatter routes where possible. That’s where distance on Zwift and that on my bike can vary hugely.
It is quite nice feeling like you’re riding with other people though. Something some of the other apps lack just due to not being as popular.

#15

Yes do what inspires you. If riding with other humans on Zwift inspires you. Do it!!! :slight_smile: Sadly the iC4 would have been better as I think the power meter is semi accurate but it sounds like you did your home work. In general none of this matters at this point and just ride and have as much fun as possible. Do these tests so you feel the improvement and all is good. Come back in a few months and tell us how you are doing :slight_smile:

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#16

Yeah, unfortunately I thought they were like for like in terms of the power meter, certainly considering they cost the same, so I’m a bit disappointed in that regard, but I just have to work with it now :slight_smile:
Hopefully in terms of long term build quality it will make up for it.

#17

Yes and hopefully power meter pedals or some other power meter device will come down in price as power meter pedals are far more accurate than even the iC4 and most built in power meters. After you have worked with power meters a lot you realize there is a pleasure and just hopping on and pedalling and not always worrying about the numbers. The numbers can be both fun and stressful.

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#18

:rofl:
Maybe I can look into the options. I really thought it had a comparable power meter so that’s a bit annoying.

Are these stick on meters like from Wahoo or Garmin any better or are proper power pedals the only decent option?

#19

I think power meter pedals are the only decent option. I don’t think there is such a thing a stick on power meter. For a regular bike with highend cranks you can get crank arm ones but that does not help you. Favero Assioma single side seems to be the preferred option but that and shoes and it is still expensive.

There are cadence and speed sensors but those won’t provide you any more accuracy than you have now.

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#20

Okay thanks. Just seen how expensive they are so I guess I’ll stick with what I’ve got and not worry about it for now! :slight_smile:
Ah, yes, that’s probably what I was thinking of.