One month with my Wattbike

So one month ago. My Wattbike arrived. In that month I have completed around 17 hours of training on it. Here is the lowdown of the last month

I have upgraded my #mancave by moving a larger TV out to the garage and creating a motivation board. The board is blackboard paint and as such can be constantly altered.

I bought a smart Blu Ray player to enable me to watch the YouTube playlists I have created like  Motivation 2 I do find that the likes of Eric Thomas do help keep me motivated when I am on my Wattbike.

But enough about the peripheral things which make my sessions enjoyable and keep me focussed. What about the nitty gritty.

The Wattbike. I absolutely love it. It is superb. It is just like riding a bike, I love the fact it even freewheels like a bike. I can't believe I have ridden over 350 miles in a month indoors. And I haven't been bored once. Because of the fact the Wattbike is so consistent, it is really easy to monitor things like power across different sessions and know that it is accurate and repeatable.

The sessions I have been completing have been painful at times but have been getting easier as the month has gone on. Because the sessions I am completing are based on reaching a certain wattage at a certain rpm, I can only assume I am getting fitter as the sessions are becoming easier to complete. At the end of my first session I was a shadow of my former self (from a mere 90 minutes before)  (first Wattbike blogpost) but the last time I completed the same session I found it a bit easier. It really wasn't easy though as can be seen in this Vine, just a bit easier on my heart and lungs.  My legs were still jelly after the 9th rep of 3 minutes.



I have been completing three types of session.

An endurance session where I hold my FTP (functional threshold power) for periods of up to 45 minutes at 90 rpm.

A "threshold" session where I hold a wattage above my FTP for 9 periods of 3 minutes at 90 rpm with a 2 minute rest between reps, where I gulp down oxygen like it is the most important thing in the World.

A strength session where I hold a wattage above for my FTP for 9 periods of 2 minutes at 70 rpm with a 3 minute rest period between reps where my quivering legs get some feeling back.

Even though I have done each session a minimum of 4 times in the last month, I have not found it boring at all.

In fact I am thrilled that in December I completed more miles than I ever have done previously.

I am sure the next month will see my coach schedule another 3 minute test which will mean the wattages I need to reach will most likely increase. This means the sessions will get even harder.

One half of me is looking forward to this but the other half of me is petrified.

I am even starting to get used to being in my new TT position following my bike fit the other month.

Thanks for reading,

Michael