CTS Fitness, Cadence, Power DVDs

By Ed Pavelka

Carmichael Training Systems (CTS, aka Train Right) has crossed into Spinervals territory with several indoor training DVDs. These three are the newest, introduced for the current off-season.

I’m not a big fan of indoor cycling (although I do use a big fan) but I forced myself to train once with each DVD. Each features a different CTS instructor walking and talking among six fit cyclists on Specialized road bikes mounted to Blackburn TrackStand Ultra trainers. It’s a somewhat clinical, white-room setting that’s unchanged from DVD to DVD. Only some of the people are different.

The instructor calls out the next element of the workout — when to start and to stop — while on-screen displays indicate the preferred cadence and intensity level. A workout timer in the upper left counts down from 60 minutes. A timer at the bottom center of the screen counts down each work interval and rest interval.

There’s a good deal of variety on each DVD and among the three DVDs. As you’d expect from their titles, two are geared to developing specific attributes — a faster cadence or more power. Other CTS DVDs promise to improve climbing, time trialing, sprinting, criterium racing and even mountain biking.

Short Work, Long Rest

One keyreason to use an indoor cycling DVD is to help trainer time move at normal speed. These succeed, for the most part, because the work intervals and rest intervals are usually four minutes or less. You don’t get stuck droning away for long periods. You tend to focus on the interval timer, not the overall length of the workout, and that helps.

Some rest intervals seem longer than necessary. On one hand you’re happy to have them because it means you aren’t suffering. But that’s because you aren’t working, and work is why you’re training. Usually the rest interval equals the work interval, so you get four minutes of easy pedaling after making a four-minute effort. Two or three minutes would do. Of course you could ride tempo during long rests rather than do the recommended easy-gear spinning at 85 rpm.

The coaches miss opportunities to educate cyclists about training and riding techniques. Often there are long silences between “Ready, go!” and “30 seconds left.” Particularly during rest intervals, why not use the time to discuss the nuances of pedaling, gear selection, shifting technique, sitting vs. standing and other elements of road cycling? Jason Koop on Cycling for Power filled the dead air with helpful tips better than the instructors on the other DVDs. He was the most relaxed and personable of the three.

Koop also was the most enthusiastic and motivational. It’s a big help to have someone pumping you up and urging you on (a fact not lost on Troy Jacobson over at Spinervals). But what you’ll hear from Derick Williamson (Cycling for Fitness) and Jason Tullous (Cycling for Cadence) is an occasional “Lookin’ good” and commands such as “Spin as fast as you can.” That’s dubious advice during a three- or four-minute work interval when the on-screen display calls for 105 rpm, but it happens a lot.

Touch of Racing

Another nice touch on Cycling for Power is actual road racing footage spliced into the workout. It was too little and it came too late, but it sure was more interesting than watching six cyclists churning and burning. I wish race scenes were used during other work intervals to occupy the mind and rev the effort.

Some of the background music rocks, some is nondescript, and some is rap. If you choose to listen to your own tunes, the on-screen display will tell you how hard and fast to pedal for how long, but you’ll miss instructor explanations of why you’re doing what you’re doing and what’s coming next. You won’t miss much else, except when Koop is talking.

All the pedaling on these three DVDs is in the saddle. Koop encourages standing to stretch during rest periods, but it would be better for comfort, genital well-being and pedaling technique to get cyclists out of the saddle during some of the work intervals.

If you’re forced onto a trainer by weather or darkness, or you prefer doing some workouts indoors, these DVDs can help you get the most from an hour. There isn’t much visual or auditory stimulation but their suitably varied structure helps clock hands move almost at normal speed. Just add work.