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A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

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Re: A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

#81

Post by adbge »

0_____0 wrote: post #74

OP: equipment note for you at the end of this- Most folks aren't really familiar with what training for competitive cycling (or structured training in general) looks like. There are large, month-scale blocks where you're simply building aerobic capacity by cycling at low-ish intensity. Heart rate is somewhere between 115 and 145 for me personally during these efforts. 15 hour (or more!) weeks are not uncommon. Nils v…

The reason we know Niels van der Poel's training in such detail is because he wrote a manifesto about it, "How to Skate a 10k", when he retired (after winning gold and setting the WR). He did his base aerobic phase primarily on bicycle, writing:

> My target developed during the summer of 2021 to reach 33h of cycling weekly. I would aim to do three 7h bike rides and two 6h rides. If I would’ve been able to run, which I wasn’t due to injury, I would have lowered the hours a little and settled for 25h weekly (or approx. 30h if I would’ve combined running and cycling).

33h at 240 watts, about 28k calories/week!

It is a fascinating read for anyone interested in endurance sports, highly recommended: https://www.howtoskate.se/

Re: A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

#82

Post by newsclues »

0_____0 wrote: post #73
newsclues wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Work at a desk, then take time to go ride a bike, it may super charge your work. Going for a ride is a great way to get into a flow state and really think.

I don't think you understand what training to be a competitive cyclist looks like. 15 ish hours of relatively constant power per week sounds about right for base phase, which tends to coincide with winter. This is different from rec riding.

I used to commute 1.5-2 hours each way to and from work, 5 days a week. Sometimes I’d go for a ride at lunch too.

In Calgary where the weather sucks.

Think I was doing about 1200km per month.

Just a filthy casual cyclist tho.

Re: A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

#83

Post by mysteria »

SpicyP wrote: post #39

Love the idea! My gym has stationary recumbent bikes -- I wonder if rigging up a keyboard to one of those would be better? If you don't need to put your upper body weight on handlebars, maybe it'll be easier to have a more traditional mouse/keyboard setup. Won't be as cool though

I've seen people with small but wide desks placed between the handlebars and the seat of a stationary bike, with enough space to place a laptop. I suppose if you wanted you could also use a wall mounted display and place a keyboard and mouse on the desk.

Re: A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

#84

Post by [deleted] »

pqs wrote: post #61

This is precisely what you shouldn't do. This is what the "system" wants you to do, to work while you exercise, to work while you're with your family, ... What you should do is work the hours you have to and not one more, then you get up, take your bike and enjoy nature.

[deleted]

Re: A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

#85

Post by richiebful1 »

lostlogin wrote: post #59
zeroq wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny you referenced Sheldon. He's like Knuth of cycling. The industry will keep shoving down your throat their new "advancements" every year, but at the end of the day, bikes hasn't changed a lot, and the common knowledge will remain the same.

I don’t know that I completely agree. Yes, many elements are similar, but a carbon road bike with disc brakes, electronic shifting, deep wheels, radar, a computer and tubeless 28mm or 30mm tyres is an actual wonder to ride. I’m justifying a truly silly spend, but when I get on an old bike or a rental, it feels like stepping back in time.

Yeah, I have an old Panasonic Sport that I'll take out with some older fellas who live near me in rural Kentucky. They have nice carbon bikes with all the bells and whistles. It's night and day how much harder I have to work to keep up with them

Re: A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

#86

Post by Aaronstotle »

NAR8789 wrote: post #42
rendaw wrote: post #37

So are you putting pressure on your wrists with your wrists bent at an angle while typing? I think this is totally awesome in principal, but isn't that basically asking for some carpal tunnel issues? It's kind of hard to tell from the photos and videos though which are both at weird angles.

I think with proper cycling posture you can take the pressure off of your wrists. Use your back and shoulder muscles to support your upper body and arms, so that you can ride with elbows bent. If you can bend your elbows, you can avoid pushing on the handlebars for support. That will make for more comfortable wrists with or without a keyboard. Reference: Sheldon "Ouch!" Brown https://sheldonbrown.com/pain.html#wrists

Yeah I learned this lesson the hard way when after a century ride, my left hand ring finger and pinky went numb for almost two days. Started making sure I had my elbows bent and used my core to keep myself more upright.

Re: A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

#87

Post by eitally »

newsclues wrote: post #82
0_____0 wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you understand what training to be a competitive cyclist looks like. 15 ish hours of relatively constant power per week sounds about right for base phase, which tends to coincide with winter. This is different from rec riding.

I used to commute 1.5-2 hours each way to and from work, 5 days a week. Sometimes I’d go for a ride at lunch too. In Calgary where the weather sucks. Think I was doing about 1200km per month. Just a filthy casual cyclist tho.

Doesn't work well when you have a busy family life. I would argue that anyone doing 1200km a month is not a casual cyclist, and if you have a partner, they need to be fully onboard with your "hobby" time commitment for something like this to work.

Re: A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

#88

Post by eitally »

sailfast wrote: post #4

I love Zwifting, but the idea of riding in that position while also trying to concentrate seems really stressful :) Maybe on a hybrid I could look at my monitor while typing, but that seating position makes things quite hard. Good on ya for trying though! Allez!

I've tried taking meetings while on the bike and as soon as my HR gets above about 105 it becomes noticeable to the other party that I'm clearly doing something exertive. And even though my RHR is about 48-50, riding at 105bpm doesn't even get me into z2 so it's literally just "junk miles"... so I stopped. The joint risk of embarrassing myself + not actually being useful exercise was too much to justify it.

Re: A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

#89

Post by eitally »

rconti wrote: post #48
sailfast wrote: post #4

I love Zwifting, but the idea of riding in that position while also trying to concentrate seems really stressful :) Maybe on a hybrid I could look at my monitor while typing, but that seating position makes things quite hard. Good on ya for trying though! Allez!

Yeah, I don't think I could do zone 2. Zone 1, yeah.

Frankly, I don't see how anyone could really do z2 while fully concentrating on something else (work). z2 isn't "hard", but it's definitely more effort than just spinning.

Re: A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

#90

Post by eitally »

wiether wrote: post #9

Z2 sessions are supposed to be boring, they force you to endure the mental pain of not feeling physical pain when doing something dull. They also train you to listen to your body. Doing something else while in a Z2 session is going to kill those Z2 gains. And overall, being bored is great for the mind, help with creativity, problem solving... Once you embrace Z2 sessions, they became some sort of meditation, with the…

You sound like a guy perfectly happy executing workouts directly in TrainerRoad! :D
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