How to assess progress using a turbo trainer

If I have been a very good boy, or failing that if I buy it myself, I am getting my hands on a turbo trainer at christmas. It is the Satori Pro T1830: a fairly basic model, which allows me to vary the resistance. It iccurs to me, though, that I won't be able to measure effort in a session and /or 'distance'. Can anyone suggest a good way of doing this? Should I recognise that increased training time will improve times, and just assess this when I go out on the road, or is there a (cheapish) gadget that could help?

heart rate monitor and stop watch

Good answer - I have both of these. So aim to extend training times within particular heart rate zones?

or do the same resistance over the same and see the effect or heart rate

Tacx website has loads of training plans that you can adapt to any set up

What are you planning on doing on the turbo ? Just rides getting longer and longer and harder and harder ? 

Personally I'd use it for shorter sessions and intervals. 

I think Crux pretty much sums up your options.  I use a turbo with power measurement and try and gradually up the power over the Winter I can hold for 2*20 sessions.  

However don't get too hung up on measuring progress without a proper power meter as however much you try and control all the variables there will be something - maybe temperature, maybe your tyre being a bit more worn down etc - that you can't control.   So long as you are working hard in the right way you will progress - and a HRM is a reasonable way of checking that you are working hard for longer intervals.  

Invest $10 a month on www.trainerroad.com & buy an ANT+ USB stick.

Virtual power, heart rate, times, distances, fitness tests, hundreds of workouts and compatible with Sufferfest videos.  You can even watch TV/Movies whilst doing a workout.

Best fitness test is a FTP test which takes 60 minutes, re test every 4 weeks or so.  It calculates the power level you can sustain for 60 minutes, the actual test only takes 20 mins the rest is a warm up & warm down.

you namby pambies - you measure turbo trainer improvement by litres of sweat per hour, any less than 3 litres and your not trying

lets assume you have a gamrin. so buy a GSC10 as well. you then get all the heart rate speed cadence stats on your watch. if you use sporttracks and the trainerpower plugin (both either free or very cheap) then you can convert speed to watts as well.

you should do a like for like test every 4-6 weeks. everything must be the same ie same tyre pressure, same recovery etc etc

Do a   CP6 followed by at least a 6 minute rest and then do a   CP20 (see Friel)

this is a critical power test for 6 and 20 minutes. you basically want to go as far as you can in each ie to exhaustion. The measure is av speed or av watts you will also record avHR

if you are better next time around then your training is working (or you were not trying hard enough first time)

look into these CP figures more and you will be able to determine what levels you train at over other distances/times. eg you use CP20 to work out your FTP or CP60 and then from that you can determin optimal trianing sessions eg 85% of FTP for 2x20 minutes with rest is one of the better sessions.

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Running 5k Better More: http://the5krunner.com

Goals: 82% Age Graded 5k and an open water Triathlon Hyde Park would be nice

How many Star Wars films can you make it through back to back. LOL.

85% of ftp for 2*20 is an easy session - not saying it's a bad session for some purposes but why not go a bit harder ?

Short, nasty sessions on your turbo. Measure your progress when you're on the road.