Early spring can be a challenging time of year for cyclists, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, where unpredictable weather can ruin the best-laid training plans. Especially as smart trainers and gamified platforms like Zwift gain popularity, it can be tempting to avoid the weather altogether and do all of your training indoors. Unfortunately, for many cyclists, this can be a fast track to burnout and less-than-optimal adaptation. Here are three common indoor training mistakes to avoid, plus key workouts to structure your indoor training for success.
Three Indoor Cycling Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
1. Riding Too Long
In my opinion, it is impossible to effectively train your aerobic fitness only on a trainer. To get really quality aerobic work, you need to be riding 3-4 hours or more at a low intensity a few times a week — and this just isn’t sustainable indoors. Aside from taking a mental toll, sessions this long indoors can lead to electrolyte flushing, especially for people who are not prepared for it. The better option to build aerobic fitness is to cross-train or supplement your trainer rides with outdoor riding.
2. Training Too Often
I recommend riding a trainer just two or three times per week and supplementing with other workouts, which will give you a balanced routine you can keep up for years, not just a few months.
3. Training Without a Goal
It can be nice to ride aimlessly now and then, but prolonged periods of training without a specific physiological goal can lead to burnout and undue fatigue. Instead, I suggest using your trainer sessions to address weaknesses such as power, pedaling efficiency, or recovery.
In fact, the best use of the trainer, in my opinion, is to do structured sessions lasting 60-120 minutes in specific intensity zones, during which a lot is happening (to combat boredom!). The ideal situation is to use the services of a coach who will help you tailor your load to your individual goals and current level of form, but the following two workouts can get you started.
Two Indoor Cycling Workouts to Get You Started
Workout 1: Pedaling Efficiency
- Warm-up: Gradually increase the intensity of the warm-up from Z1 to Z2 – every 3 minutes with slight increases in the load.
- Single Leg Drills: Perform 10×30-second efforts working with one foot at a time. The other leg rests on the trainer’s frame to isolate the working limb. Change your legs every 30 seconds. Power is not as important as smooth pedaling, with a full 360 degrees of engagement. These drills allow you to focus on technique and overcome the dead point at the top of the pedaling cycle.
- Recovery: Ride 5 minutes in zone 2.
- High-Cadence Intervals: Perform 5×1-minute repetitions in Z3 high cadence 120-130 to activate the nervous system and involve more fibers for work. Rest for 2min in Z1 between intervals.
- Cool Down: Finish the workout with 10 minutes at tempo, with a cadence of 85-95. Finally, cool down with 5 minutes in Z1.
Workout 2: High-Intensity Intervals
- Warm-up: Gradually increase your intensity every three minutes from Z1 (low) to Z3 (mid-high). Then ride three minutes easy Z1.
- Main Set: The first set consists of performing 10×1-minute efforts at the intensity of Z5, with two minutes of recovery (Z1) between efforts. Ride five minutes in Z1 to recover after this set.
- Second Set: Perform 5×2-minute efforts, with the first 30 seconds of each effort being a hard surge (Z5) and the remaining 1:30 being a hard (Z4) effort. Ride for 2 minutes easy between intervals.
- Cool Down: At the end of the workout, cool down for 15-20 minutes in Z1.
Remember to recover adequately between workouts and have fun indoors! If you want to reach out to me about your specific needs or workouts, feel free to e-mail me: arek@way2champ.com
