We love to hear from our customers and find out how they’ve been using the Wattbike to improve their performance, so we were thrilled when recent customer Craig Mckee got in touch to tell us about the performance gains he’s made after training over the winter.
We took the opportunity to ask Craig some questions about why he turned to Wattbike and how it’s helped him become faster and stronger.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your sporting background
When I left uni 10 years ago, in 2006, I realised that not playing rugby any more meant I would put on weight quite quickly! So, to try and keep the pounds off I dusted off the old mountain bike and started going out each evening for a little ride.
Once I’d got a few rides into my legs I was keen to start cycling with other people and contacted the local triathlon club. I tried a few triathlons and was encouraged to join a local cycling club to participate in their Wednesday evening time trials to get some bike practice in. I soon realised I was pretty rubbish at swimming and my running wasn’t great but actually I loved cycling!
In 2008 we raised several thousand pounds for Cancer Research and Macmillan Cancer Support cycling from Rugby where I live to London then onto Paris then in 2009 we cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats in six days, again raising money for the same charities.
Now, I am a Deputy Head Teacher at a Primary School in Rugby and have limited time to train!
What was it that made your final decision to buy a Wattbike?
A few years ago I bought a Quarq power meter and sold the spinning bike I had in the garage and bought a turbo trainer so that I could train with power too. I found a turbo to feel like I’m cycling through treacle and I could never do low cadence high power sets or standing sets etc because it with slip or the bike would rock un-naturally.
I had been on a Wattbike previously and of course they do not have these issues at all. They are stable, they are smooth and have the capacity to provide a resistance that you simply cannot push meaning that I could manage zone 5 intervals at 60rpm.
I’d been browsing the Wattbike site for a while and the decision in the end came easily when I saw that they were interest free for 20 months which made it really affordable.
How do you train on your Wattbike?
I have trained every day since mid December and because of the short days have done every weekday ride on my Wattbike and any weekend rides where the weather stopped me going outside.
I try to keep things varied but the evening sessions are never longer than 1:15 – most are just an hour. The sessions include active recovery, power intervals, fast pedalling, tempo intervals, threshold intervals, pyramid sessions or just simple fat burning sessions.
If the sessions are quite easy I put Netflix on the laptop and enjoy the shows that I don’t normally have the time to watch! I’ve got through Prison Break, Lie to Me, 24 and Suits – talk about two birds with one stone!
What has the Wattbike allowed you to do, which you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to achieve?
Simply, it’s allowed me to train in the evenings when I wouldn’t have been able to commit the time or get the quality without it. The fact that I don’t have to mess around putting a turbo wheel on my bike is a big plus. Having a bike, with the positioning setup identical to my time trial bike always ready is great. Being able to throw my gear on and just get on the bike makes managing a session after a day at work much easier. It also means that, whatever the weather, my hour long sessions are just an hour. When I ride at the weekend it must take an extra 20 minutes to get all the gear on for the weather – base layers, shoe covers, jacket, hat, gloves, gillet, helmet etc then check the tyres, lights, mud guards etc – I simply could not do this in the evening and have time for family and walking the dog!
I thought that once the evenings got lighter I’d be itching to get out on the road but in all honesty I still do several sessions on the Wattbike because I can get a more consistent, better quality workout. Take some zone 4 power intervals – 3 min at 60rpm, 5 min at 70rpm and 10 min at 80rpm – I could do this on the road but I wouldn’t have anything like the consistency I get on the Wattbike because of elevation changes, junctions and traffic etc.
What improvements have you noticed since using the Wattbike?
In mid-December I weighed 83kg, with consistent training on the Wattbike after dinner each evening I have dropped down to 68kg at 178 cm tall.
I did a power test on a Wattbike early last year and managed 331 watts for 20 minutes. A fortnight ago I tested myself again and after losing 15kg I have GAINED 35 watts and this time averaged 366 watts.
What motivates you to get on your Wattbike and put yourself through those tough sessions?
Success breeds success and having the immediate feedback in front of my all the time is really motivating. Seeing yourself hit the numbers in your intervals is always good, seeing your pedalling technique improve helps through the winter. Using the testing to tangibly measure progress spurs you on.
Other than this – really heavy music!
In a single sentence, what would you say to someone deliberating buying a Wattbike?
For consistent, high quality training and to get the most out of your limited time there is no comparable product – a Wattbike is your only choice.