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Indoor Bike Training Doesn't Have to Suck...

Sunday, 04 January 2015 00:10

Secrets to making trainer time fly. (No mind-numbing needed.)

By Marty Munson (triathlon.competitor.com)

Stop thinking of your indoor trainer as a buzzkill and start thinking of it as what it is: an opportunity. “The biggest advantages are efficiency, safety and the ability to sustain the effort, cadence and wattage you want without interruption,” says Robert Pennino, founder of Terrier Tri in New York City. “The specificity with which you can work on the trainer can’t be replicated outside.” Not to mention the fact that pros including Tyler Stewart and Andy Potts are tearing up their share of bike courses while reportedly doing most of their training indoors.

So how do you make gains on the bike trainer without losing your mind? A few secrets from the experts: ...

Know your purpose. Is your goal for that workout to smooth out your pedal stroke? Do threshold work? Arrange your workout accordingly. Not knowing what you’re working on that day is like aimlessly pedaling around your neighborhood—it doesn’t do anything for your mind or your skills.

Stay busy. Distracting yourself with movies or TV works for some people. But a better way to make time fly is to get really engaged with your workout. If you do short and interesting interval sets—say three minutes at 100 RPM, one minute at 110, one minute of recovery, etc.—you’ll be so busy watching the clock, your cadence, your wattage and even your heart rate that you won’t have time to be bored. READ MORE