Hello, if you are just starting out, trying to understand how everything works can be a bit overwhelming. Let me try to make it simple.
Apps
You can use apps like Zwift, TrainerRoad or TrainerDay among many more. Zwift is a video game where you ride with other people. TrainerRoad and TrainerDay are more focused on specific training.
Trainer types
The most common indoor training devices are smart trainers, dumb trainers, exercise (spin) bikes and finally smart bikes. Any of these can be used with TrainerDay but the best experience is with a smart bike or smart trainer. If you use a dumb trainer or spin bike it’s best if they have a power meter but virtual power converts speed and distance to power may also work. Tacx, Elite, Saris, Zwift Hub and Wahoo seem to be the most popular smart trainers these days. The JetBlack Volt, just like the Zwift device, is popular within our users because it is a great value.
Device Control Modes (Smart bikes and Smart trainers only)
Control modes are ERG mode, slope or sim mode and finally resistance mode. Resistance and slope/sim mode are similar, in slope you specify percentage of grade and resistance is just that. The big difference between ERG mode and the other two is that ERG mode no matter how you pedal our app will control the difficulty of your effort. This is called power which is measured in watts. Pedal faster and the device will reduce your resistance meaning overall it’s approximately the same effort. High RPM or very low RPM can feel harder to specific individuals even though the power is the same.
So we have thousands of workouts on our platform. If you are a premium member, you can search and click add to list and pull down on the library tab in our app and that workout will show up. Once your smart device is connected you can just click on ride now and start pedaling.
Understanding the TrainerDay workouts.
You don’t need to understand what all these things mean on this screen. The main thing is the tall blue bars represent higher intensity (more watts) and lower blue parts are easier. This is frequently discussed in % of FTP. 40% is easy, 80% is moderately hard and 100%+ starts getting difficult depending on how long you do it.
I suggest most people that are newer to cycling to start with a base period. That could be as simple as using HR mode in our training app and doing zone 2 or finding some lower intensity workouts. Now that said, you surely can add a little intensity to make it fun. If you are doing 3 or less days a week a day with some slowly increasing intensity might be a good idea. You can use our Coach Jack plan builder to give you some nice workouts that start easily and slowly get more difficult.
I hope that helps. Signup for TrainerDay. https://trainerday.com Remember it’s always cheaper to upgrade from our website. You can really do a lot with our free version as well. Our free version allows mixing and merging workouts giving you unlimited training options.