The Ultimate Guide to Indoor Bike Training
We’re still firmly in the midst of winter, so I thought it appropriate to offer a little refresher on the role of the indoor trainer as a performance tool for endurance athletes and, more specifically, triathletes. While training indoors is both necessary and beneficial, we should outline some caveats, especially when considering that all of our races take place outside the confines of our pain caves.
So today, I will outline how you can get the most out of your indoor sessions this winter – and I’ll include some sample workouts to try for yourself.
Let’s get rolling:
Inside vs. Outside Riding
There is an ongoing debate about the value of riding on an indoor bike trainer versus riding outside. I have seen elaborate equations trying to compare a set time on a trainer and its relative duration on the road. For example, quite often, I hear: "60 minutes on a bike trainer is like 90 minutes on the road." As much as I appreciate that sentiment, we shouldn’t think in those terms. An hour on the trainer is an hour on the trainer. It is a tool, and a wonderful tool if used properly, but it is not riding on the road.
The Limits of Indoor Riding
Before building a list of the benefits of indoor riding, let's first acknowledge some aspects you can't effectively develop while bolted to the floor:
Handling Skills: Many outdoor interactions with the bicycle cannot be replicated while on a trainer. It’s impossible to develop a sense of balance, braking, cornering, and descending while stationary. These skills are often lacking among triathletes, and plenty of outside riding focusing on these fundamentals is beneficial.
Uninterrupted Focus on Terrain: While we can introduce elements of terrain and environment management (hills, rollers, descents, wind) on a trainer, the only environment in which you can gain real-world feedback to the benefits or mistakes of your terrain management is out on the road.
Decision Making: We can work on improving standing, shifting gears, terrain management, and various pedal strokes while sitting in a controlled environment and on a trainer. This is super for skill acquisition, but we cannot develop smart decision making and fast responsiveness to deploy the right tool for each situation while inside. It requires outside application to really stick.
Maximizing your Time on the Trainer
Too many people get obsessed with their power output while riding on a trainer. Understandable, and there’s nothing else to think about, or is there? Indoor trainers provide the perfect environment for working on form. You should focus not only on how much power you generate but also on how you are generating that power. Indoor sessions are low-stress regarding environmental variables; you don’t have to think about wind, traffic, or terrain change, making it the perfect time to practice riding technique.
The lack of environmental factors means we can focus on three alternate variables, the ‘3 Ps’:
Posture: Your upper body should remain supple, relaxed, and quiet. Power originates from the hip, and your lower leg should be loose. Including a mirror in your pain cave for self-guided feedback can keep you in check.
Pedal Stroke: There should be no bounce or loss of tension in the chain. This means we reap the maximum speed and power return for our effort. Speed in triathlon cycling relies heavily on form under fatigue. Technique isn’t the sexiest metric, yet, you will be surprised at its effects on your performance.
Power: Cycling inside allows for precise workouts. It’s easy to hone in on desired efforts. Use this to your advantage -- go hard when you should go hard and vice versa. Stationary riding also allows one to take advantage of ‘end of range’ efforts, pedaling at very high or low cadences. This type of training is discussed in detail below.
Terrain Management and Pacing: Not every setup allows this, and it is more often than not completely ignored by coaches and athletes, but developing terrain management skills is a potent performance enhancing opportunity. Understanding and applying skills to maximize speed through rollers, shift rhythm and system stress from muscular to cardiovascular while climbing, or maximizing speed with lower physiological cost when pushed with a tailwind, can be dialed in while on a trainer. Ideally, you are coached through these elements, and it is non-negotiable to be focused while executing these types of sessions. But we see huge gains made by athletes that are present and engaged in high-quality indoor rides, especially rides that are coached.
If you are simply sitting on your trainer and spinning, rethink your approach. Engage in the activity with your head as well. There is much to learn from riding indoors, and the skills will serve you well when racing.
Application of the Purple Patch Special Sauce
I’ve already touched on the advantages of the trainer for developing postural and pedaling form, so now, let’s turn our attention to the actual work, the meat and potatoes.
At Purple Patch, we work with numerous time-starved athletes who need to reap the best return from their limited training hours. To do this, we make use of the Purple Patch Special Sauce. The Special Sauce I refer to is ‘end of range’ intervals, working outside either end of your preferred cadence. This approach gives you a bigger return on your (training) investment.
Let’s outline the two prongs of the Special Sauce:
Low RPM (Strength Endurance): High torque riding at under 65 RPM.
Increases muscle recruitment
Develops muscular resilience and power potential
This is also an excellent tool for developing power and resilience for running.
High RPM (Neurological Conditioning): Low torque riding at over 110 RPM.
Improves pedal stroke efficiency
Enhances the dialogue between brain and muscle
Outside of general low-stress riding, many of our trainer-based sessions focus on one of these two types of training.
Whenever you are riding inside, always keep the mindset of “how does this apply to my outside riding?” Your races and events are outside, so connect the dots on how the practice applies to becoming a better rider outdoors. Utilizing the benefits of the trainer, then using those habits and lessons in the outside world is the optimal performance lens to frame the trainer’s role in your overall development.
Read on for two quick sample workouts incorporating both extremes of our Special Sauce.
Sample Workouts
Remember, you should always incorporate a warm-up and cool-down into your workouts, time allowing. These are two examples of main sets only:
Low RPM (Strength Endurance): 3 x 9 mins at a moderate-strong effort as:
2 mins at 65 RPM
2 mins at 55 RPM
1 min at 45RPM
2 mins at 55 RPM
2 mins at 65 RPM
(4 mins Recovery)
Try to maintain calm breathing as you experience more load on the muscle tissue. Put your core to good use to stay stable in the saddle.
High RPM (Neurological Conditioning): 6 x 5 mins Z1 as
5 mins Z1 at 110 RPM
5 mins Z2 (‘recovery’) at choice RPM
You will experience a higher heart and breathing rate relative to the power output. Also, focus on your core and minimize bouncing in the saddle.
These are just two examples of end-of-range training that offer a chance to focus on a quiet upper body, good posture, and efficient pedaling. This prescription creates a pathway of optimal return on your training time and will equip you to effectively transfer good skills, form, and habits to outside riding.
Squad Training
The great news: you don’t have to get through the winter months of indoor bike training alone, and you can optimize your indoor training results (and make it fun) with fully-coached workouts. Tri Squad training features live and video-on-demand coached cycling and strength sessions: click here to book a call and learn more about how the program works.