What is Spinervals?
Spinervals is a couple different things. Generally, it is a fitness empire (I guess that's a reasonable word for it) from Troy Jacobson: Renowned endurance coach, trainer, and triathlete. Spinervals offers many different kinds of programs for athletes, including training videos, training camps and personal training and coaching. Their focus is on the triathlon sports, and thus include focused workouts and training for swimming, cycling and running. Actually, I think there is only one swimming-focused video, and it's kind of weird.
More specifically, especially for me, is that Spinervals is a series of training videos for cycling. These videos are broken up into the Fitness series and the Competition series. The Fitness series is supposedly geared toward general fitness and cycling enthusiasts, while the Competition series is serious cycling training, focusing on power, speed and endurance. I use the Competition series videos.
Videos are available in DVD format, and also now as video downloads, so they can easily be used on a mobile device. I use the video files on my tablet, mounted to a book/magazine holder on my handlebars. I have recently signed up for their Video Download membership, which gets me one of their videos every month, for $12.95 / month.
The Competition series currently includes 44 videos, each focusing on different types of training. And there are enough videos of each type so that you never really get bored. And the workouts are all different lengths as well. So, if I have a lot of free time, I can pick out a 90-minute or 2-hour workout, or even longer, but if I am crunched for time, I can find something about 45-minutes long that still gives me the kind of workout I am looking for.
What happens in a typical Spinervals video?
The videos typically consist of Coach Troy working with a group of cyclists; sometimes a smaller group of 8 or 9, sometimes with a very large group at a fitness center. In the variety of Spinervals videos I have watched, they have been on a beach, in a gym, in a sporting goods store, on a Baltimore harbor boardwalk, and more.
Coach Troy has been making these videos since the mid-'90s, so some of the outfits, hairstyles and bikes are a little dated, but the workouts themselves still pack the same punch.
Each Spinervals video begins with an easy spin for a few minutes to loosen up the legs, followed by a 30-seconds hard, 30-seconds easy spin to warm up.
Coach Troy begins each video describing the type of workout we'll be doing, and describes how he calls out the gearing on the bike. During the workout, he will call out which chainring to use on the front, and which cog to use on the back. If you are using some kind of Spinning or other exercise bike, he also gives you an approximate tension setting to use. I don't know how much I would like that, though, because the tension on a Spinning bike is so subjective. You just turn a knob until it gives you the tension you want, rather than being able to go to a specific gearing on a bike. Typically, he also indicates what cadence you should be pedaling at, and what your heart rate should be. Depending on the focus of the workout, you may need to change gearing, cadence or heart rate as needed to meeting the specific focus of that workout. For example, if you are doing an aerobic workout where you need to maintain a specific heart rate, you might need to raise or lower your cadence or gearing in order to stay at the desired heart rate.
Spinervals are call Spinervals as a play on the work "intervals", and the training sessions are typically interval-based. You will often be doing a certain number of reps of a certain intensity, with minimal breaks in between. Then you get a longer break before proceeding onto the next set. Then, after completing all the sets, you finish with a few minutes of a cool-down.
My Spinervals Schedule
Having a day job and a couple kids makes scheduling bike rides a bit tough. From the time I wake up until the kids go to bed at night, my schedule is pretty much non-stop. So, I need to be able to get in some riding after the kids go to bed. Obviously, it's dark at that time, so I end up doing most of my riding inside instead of outside. And Spinervals is perfect for that.
Rather than just blindly doing whatever workout I feel like, I have enough Spinervals videos that I came up with what I think is a pretty good weekly schedule that gives me the right number of the right kinds of workouts, with recovery days in the right places:
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| Outdoor / Aerobic | Hills / Threshold | Aerobic | Aerobic / Rest | Anaerobic / Skill | Aerobic / Rest | Outdoor / Endurance |
Sunday: I intend this to be a nice aerobic base training day. I have about five or six different Spinervals workouts I can use on these days. But I would prefer to ride outside, weather and schedule permitting.
Monday: Because Mondays typically involve running around to Lifetime Fitness or to my daughter's gymnastics class, I need a slightly shorter workout. This makes it a perfect day for a hills workout or an anaerobic threshhold workout, since they are typically shorter but more intense, with the heart rate near, at, or above anaerobic threshold. Aside from the breaks between sets, this is typically a Zone 3 workout, going into Zone 4. These workouts are aimed at raising your anaerobic threshold, letting you ride with more power for longer periods of time. I plan to do this type of workout once a week.
Tuesday: To recover from the hard day on Monday, I do an aerobic workout on Tuesday. These workouts are a little longer, but generally stay pretty steadily in Zone 2. These workouts are focused on training the body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates, which greatly improves endurance.
Wednesday: Wednesdays typically involve trips to Lifetime Fitness for the kids swimming lessons. I usually spend some time on an elliptical during their lesson, and swimming laps in the pool for about 20 minutes after their lesson, so I often don't feel like hopping on the bike when I get home. So, I consider this most likely a rest day, although if I find some time, I might do another aerobic session.
Thursday: After two relatively easy days, it's time for another hard day. This is more of a "variety" day. These workouts are pretty intense, but might not have the focus of some other workouts. Some focus on leg speed, some on power, some on form and technique, and sometimes they are all mixed up in the same workout. These workouts are always interesting, and again are usually focused on a very high heart rate.
Friday: Friday evenings are typically spent at Lifetime Fitness again, usually swimming with the kiddos. After swimming with the kids for a while, I make them sit and watch me in the lap pool for 15-20 minutes. After this, I don't usually feel like getting on the bike when I get home. If I get on the bike, I'll do another aerobic base workout, but most likely, it's a night off.
Saturday: Hopefully outside. If not, I like to do an aerobic endurance workout. This is typically a long, steady Zone 3 workout. Similar to one of my aerobic workouts, but at a slightly higher intensity. And this leads in nicely to another aerobic workout on Sunday, to start it all over again.
On the Road
One thing I haven't talked about yet is the Spinervals "On the Road" series. Spinervals calls these the "virtual reality series", which is a little misleading. But they are certainly a nice change of pace from the typical Spinervals Competition series. In the "On the Road" videos, you are watching video of an outdoor ride. The camera is either following Coach Troy from a vehicle behind, or video from Coach Troy's helmet-cam. Coach Troy talks through the videos, telling you what you should be doing, with gear changes that help simulate the terrain. I've only done the first of these videos, and I suppose it was fine. I'm assuming the video quality has improved since that first attempt. Overall, it's a decent way to ride indoors on a rainy day if you don't want to do a more focused Competition workout, but I'm not completely sold on the "On the Road" series yet. Maybe I just need to try a few more.
Conclusion
I really love the Spinervals video series. To be fair, I haven't tried any of the other options out there. But I like the fact that Spinervals isn't just constant suffering. There is enough variety to create a solid workout plan that will allow me to focus on different parts of my training, with plenty of videos so I am not doing the same one over and over. Some of you might not enjoy watching a video with a trainer walking around talking to people in a gym, but it works for me. I know there are some other video series out there that offer high-intensity training in a more energetic atmosphere, and maybe I'll try those sometime. But for an overall training plan, Spinervals works for me.
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