Trust us, he's having fun

Above: The Hunted trailer

Trainer workouts, for myself, had always meant watching whatever would keep my eyes glued to the TV to keep my mind off from the boredom of cycling in place.  I normally shy away from typical training videos because there is nothing more thrilling than watching strangers ride their trainers on TV while I ride mine.

This is the first I've sampled from The Sufferfest's roster, and 'Hardcore', with a capital 'H', is probably the best word to describe 'The Hunted' turbo trainer workout .  This training video takes you through a role-play road race wherein the goal is for you to simply drop everyone else and, of course, win.  But to do so, you will need to heed to numerous intervals disguised as attacks, a 20 minute sustained effort simulating a long difficult climb and a max effort sprint finish at the end, among others.  This is not your typical training video as the program puts you in the middle of clips from the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de Romandie featuring scenarios which diehard racers will find all too real.

I love long, sustained efforts during climb trainings but since the video simulates a race, the story becomes all too different.  I find it remarkable how this film kept my mind on the plot and help me endure the punishment until the finish.  Audio and visual cues tell you when you need to change your pace and difficulty, although a ‘voice over’ narration of the storylines and directives would have helped as extended efforts have a way of rendering cyclists dull.  The soundtrack  is pretty much fitting but I would have preferred something heavier from the 90’s – but that’s just me.  Turbo trainer remote resistance shifters are required.  Cadence sensors, too, but you can just rely on your racer’s muscle memory if you don’t have one.

Overall, this video will drain the wits out of you and make you come back for more once you see the results. Beginners and non-racers will unlikely touch this video again.