This isn’t what you want to hear, but it’s the truth: Winter isn’t going away anytime soon, especially if you are living in the Midwest.
But road season is coming up fast – if you’re one of the crazy people in Florida or California, you probably raced on New Year’s Day already – goals are being discussed, travel plans are being made, and sweat is beginning to puddle on the basement floors of cyclists chasing early-season fitness.
To help you get through the next couple of months (Yes, I said months, not weeks, unfortunately) are my Top 5 Indoor Training Tips for surviving a long winter of indoor training sessions:
1, Structure your ride. Structure can mean a variety of things, and it isn’t just doing intervals. With indoor training, it all boils down to creating specific time intervals to make the time go by fast.
Have you ever heard of this climbing tip? – Focus on the next switchback, or a road sign 50 meters up the road. Ride to that checkpoint, and then pick a new one, so on and so forth, and before you know it, you’ll be at the top! – This simple mind trick helps you break up a big, daunting task into smaller, more manageable chunks. Taking on a 10-mile climb can be very intimidating, but just focusing on making it 100 meters to the next turn is much easier, physically and mentally. The same applies to indoor riding – instead of saying “I’ve ridden 5 minutes, only 85 more minutes to go!” break up your ride into smaller, manageable chunks. Zwift and Computrainer courses do the thinking for us, but you can do it just as easily on your own. Here is an example that I have used on many of my own rides:
1/2/3/4/5/4/3/2/1-minute cadence variations: for each time interval, switch up your cadence. For example, start the first minute at 90rpm, then go up to 100rpm for 2 minutes, down to 80 rpm for 3 minutes, up to 110rpm for 4 minutes, etc… You’ll be amazed at how fast an hour goes by!
2. Electronic entertainment. Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO GO, Blockbuster (yes, it does still exist), and even cable TV – the options are endless. Set up a chair, table, or bench that is close to the height of your handlebars, and position your electronic device so that it close enough to reach, but not so close that you start dripping sweat all over it. If you are reading this, chances are you have access to a Netflix account (whether it’s actually yours or not, I won’t judge) and YouTube. Thousands of hours of content await – my personal favorite is starting my winter rides by 8:00AM, in-time to watch the European CX races – and you’ll have time to catch up on your favorite movies and shows while also putting in the winter “miles.”
Note: Extremely intense and captivating TV shows, series, and movies are perfect for making the time go by, just don’t forget to keep pedaling.
3. Limit distractions during intervals: Whether you are a CX rider preparing for Nationals, or a hardcore roadie ready to rip up the early spring, trainer intervals are a necessary part of any serious cyclist’s training plan.
Unlike the monotonous pedaling of base miles, intervals require a different level of focus, pain, and suffering. Not all intervals need to be all-out – a 10 out of 10 effort that leaves you gasping for air, hunched over your bars, feeling like you’re going to puke – but that is a post for another day.
When doing indoor trainer intervals, I highly recommend limiting distractions, whether it be indoor riding partners, your adorable dog, or a really good Netflix episode. If your eyes and your mind are preoccupied with something else, your effort will suffer, and you won’t get the most out of your workout.
My personal preference is to listen to music alone during intervals. This allows me to focus on my breathing, power output, heart rate, pedaling style, and other important metrics that are much harder to closely (and safely) track out on the open road.
4. Keep yourself cool and hydrated. If you don’t already have one, get a fan! Unless you want to turn your thermostat down to 55° in the middle of winter, you’re going to need a fan and a towel to keep yourself cool and (relatively) dry. Without the cool breeze of outdoor riding, the effort of riding a stationary trainer will cause an immediate sweat, even during the easiest of recovery rides.
And with all this sweat in mind, I won’t say hydration is key, because that’s an overused cliché – what I will say is that hydration is extremely important and an essential part of a good trainer ride (it’s the same idea, but I like to be different). And don’t forget to drink electrolytes. If you’ve ever tasted your own sweat (not on purpose, that would be weird), you know that it doesn’t taste like pure water – it’s very salty, because our sweat is composed of water, electrolytes, and salt. So when your body sweats, you are losing all three of these essential nutrients, and the only way to replace them is through proper hydration.
5. Find your motivation. What motivates you to ride? Is it purely for physical fitness, for the love of the sport, in preparation for the racing season? Whatever your motivation is, find it, and use it to your advantage. Remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing, and you will learn to appreciate the present moment. If you are training for the racing season, imagine yourself in the key moment of your biggest race. Close your eyes (the trainer is the perfect place for this, and I would never recommend doing this on the open road) and visualize yourself attacking up the final hill, and sprinting to victory in front of a screaming crowd! These are the moments that we chase after, and they are the reason we suffer and sacrifice so much. Think of these moments of pure joy, triumph, and inspiration, and you will feel your mind and body soar.