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The Fontys Sports Academy of Tilburg, in the Netherlands, has conducted a study in order to find out if using the Tacx VR trainers can lead to an increased training benefit. Dr. Lars Borghouts, lecturer at Fontys tells us: "You can imagine that such an indoor work out is much more challenging.
A tangible goal, such as the summit of Alpe d'Huez or finishing the Amstel Gold Race, will perhaps incite you to not abandon but keep going until you arrive. It can also make you train at a much more intensive level."
The Study
The Fontys Sports Academy has conducted a study Fontys with the Tacx Real Life Video as its subject. The core question being:
In how far do cyclists see Real Life Video as an added value for their training?
Well trained recreational cyclists (who had never before used Real Life Video for training) first had their maximum power and heart rates measured. Then all of the participants twice rode the same 48 km stretch of the 'Amstel Gold Race' Real Life Video, with well known climbs like the Cauberg, on a Tacx Fortius VR trainer. They randomly did this with or without the video footage. There was a week in between the tests for all persons involved. The participants were shown the course’s altitude profile but did not receive any information on distance and time. Their assignment was to cover the course as quickly as possible, as if it were a time trial so to speak.
During the two tests the subjects’ experienced fatigue was determined at specific points along the course by using a Borg scale, their heart rate was continuously monitored and thanks to the Tacx Trainer Software power output and speed, amongst other parameters, were measured.
After completion of the second test the participants were asked about their experience with Tacx Real Life Video (RLV) by means of a questionnaire.
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| Dr. Lars Borghouts, lecturer at Fontys Sports Academy |
The results
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A staggering 94% of the participants concluded that Real Life Video made indoor training more pleasurable. 88% agreed with the proposition that using RLV during your training helps to motivate you. The subjects found that perception increases and that RLV also takes the attention away from your physical fatigue. All of this while just as much training was done with RLV as without RLV: ride times, average heart rate and perceived fatigue were about the same.
Researcher Dr. Lars Borghouts: "The study shows that training on a Tacx VR trainer has an added value, especially because it increases motivation. It is a well known fact that that motivation is an important performance enhancing factor. Because perception increases you can also increase your work load. Not only does Real Life Video make training more fun, but also better."
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