I’m after some advice/help with cooling.
I moved house recently and I am only able to train at my local gym. They have wattbike which is great but there are no dedicated fans near them. I have bought a small clip on fan from amazon but it barely helps.
I’m a prolific sweater at the best of times so I’m finding it very hard to get through workouts and my RPE and HR are much higher than when I had a garage and a huge fan to use. My ramp test was also 20 watts lower and I took it as an off day but I actually think it could be the heat?
My main question is: should I adjust my FTP for this situation even when I know my actual outdoor or properly ventilated FTP is higher and if so would I still get similar benefits?
What other strategies or tips does anyone have for cooling off when there is minimal air flow?
If you are going to do the workouts on this trainer ( environment) go for the new FTP . if you change setting ( other trainer or environment ) take ramp test again and adjust accordingly. Normally there is a difference between indoor and outdoor FTP . Many topics on this Forum cover this
I am afraid I have no tips, but feel your pain… I never can understand why most gyms I have been to don’t have fans or air moving in front of the bike trainers or treadmills! The AC just doesn’t help once you are working hard and you need the moving air!
This is an option from Lasko but needs to be plugged in. I haven’t used it but it likely will be a fair bit more powerful than a small battery powered fan.
I agree with Thomas, additionally if your indoor FTP is lower and you know it is lower it will give you a psychological boost when you get outdoors. The gains are still going to be the same as your baseline number indoors or out will be the same.
In response to your question it is an absolute nightmare. I think the solution you have is probably as good as it’ll get. Maybe carry an extra towel to remove the excess sweat to allow your body to sweat more or have a water bottle with ice in. Again, you could always look at it as a positive that its like training in the sahara and will help condition your body if it ever experiences the same outdoors. A few pro riders did something similar in training but put heaters in the room for the 2016 Road race championships!
Also a note on wattbikes at the gym: from my experience it seems like they can wary in terms of calibration by quite a lot. I have had bikes at spin class that seem to be 30 w off, in any direction. If you can, try to use the same bike at the gym for each workout.
Honestly, ASK at the gym. If it was me, I would show them the swimming pool I would be leaving around the bike and suggest helping me figure out a fan option. When I first did spin classes, one other guy would beat me in sweating. Let’s just say it got gross when we did double sessions.
Thanks guys for the feedback. Its not that my indoor ftp is lower than my outdoor (although I’m sure it is) I was talking about my usual indoor ftp when I have a fan set up in my old garage vs my new indoor set-up in the gym with a tiny little battery fan. That said I am going to take on the advice here and lower it 5% and see how I get on until my next ramp test.
I would be cautious without a fan. I did two workouts without cooling and then some without proper placement and had issues with overheating. At some point during the workout I felt like my head would explode and I was close to fainting.
Fans such as this one are small and portable but they generate enough airflow to cool at least your head and upper body. If you pack an extension cord, you can plug it into an outlet nearby. (link to German site for illustration - didn’t find the exact same model on amazon.com)
If you don’t have good cooling, you’ll always restrict yourself to the amount of heat you can dissipate rather than the amount of power you can deliver over time. It’s of course better than no training, but I’d try to get a fan into the setup somehow.
So I have a small battery powered fan and it clips onto the wattbike bars. It is just enough to to tolerate a ride but with massively increased rpe and heart rate. However it has run out before when I’ve forgotten to recharge and like you said I felt like my head would explode and I couldn’t finish the workout! Maybe I should invest in two?
If I could find a clip on powerful mini fan that used power that would work as there are plugs at the front of each bike. I am in the UK if anyone has any suggestions!?
The Voxon is available at Amazon in the UK. You can just put it on the ground - maybe even get two. One will easily fit into a regular sports bag, if you have a bigger bag you may be able to fit two of them.
Edit: I assume you are referring to a standard electrical plug and not USB or something similar.
I’d get one of the cooling jackets the pros use before time trials in hot countries. I haven’t taken the plunge as they seem exorbitantly expensive, but in your case I think worthwhile. Can’t remember the name of the one I looked at, but I remember the name suggested heating rather than cooling.