Triathlete Magazine - December 2006

LISA BENTLEY: FIVE DEGREES IS MY LIMIT

Ten-time Ironman winner Lisa Bentley may be Canadian, but that doesn’t mean she likes the cold. “Five degrees Celsius [ 41 degrees F] is my limit,” she says. “If it’s any colder, I ride indoors.”

Because it is her annual routine to do an early-season Ironman, Bentley knows how to build serious fitness on her indoor trainer. “You should do workouts that will keep you interested, such as intervals—even if they are only at 75 percent—it is the winter after all,” she says.

“In general, just keep mixing up different wattage and gear choices.”

“If you are truly building base and strength,” says Bentley, “then I would recommend getting off the trainer and doing some of your strength and core work in the middle of the workout.

For example:

• 5 minutes hard on trainer

• 1 minute easy spin

• Get off the bike

• 3 x (body-weight squats for 20 seconds, crunches for 20 seconds)

• Back on bike

• 1 minute easy spin

• 5 minutes hard, and repeat

“It’s fun, it keeps you interested, and it gets you fit,” says Bentley.

“The best way not to get bored is to get totally into it—to realize that it is better to ride indoors than outside, that it is going to be a better-quality workout, that you are warm and toasty instead of freezing. It takes mental preparation to convince yourself of all of that, but once you do, you should be able to get the job done.” ▲