Learning to Love Indoor Training
I know my northern friends will be calling me a southern softy at this point, but it’s more the case that it’s energy better spent on maximising my training efforts, rather than all the faff that comes with riding on roads that are covered in grit and salt. It’s efficient.
If you’re not a fan of Zwift, then this post is for you.
I’ve lambasted Turbo Training, Indoor Training and whatever else you want to call it as much as anyone. But I’ve recently learned to realise that platforms like Zwift are not trying or pretending to be just like ‘the real thing’ and if you use them for their strengths, you too can learn to love indoor training for what it really is…
This is how I went from loathing turbo training to becoming a complete turbo-loving convert.
Give me wind, give me rain, give me cold…but get that Turbo away from me
If you’ve followed me for any length of time on Instagram, you’ll know I’ve been somewhat indifferent toward indoor/turbo training for a long time, often posting about how It wasn’t ‘real riding’ or that the sensations are not the same as being out on the tarmac. I’ve always favoured the road even if the weather is terrible. Though I have recognised its’ value as a training tool, I’ve just not enjoyed the turbo in the same way as I have when out on the road.
I was so unenthused by the prospect of Indoor training, in fact, that I’d happily lent my Wahoo Kickr to a friend for the best part of 6 months during 2020 and had all but forgotten about even owning it at one stage!
Why then do I even have a Wahoo Kickr If I’m not a fan of smart trainers? Well, thankfully, during my time with Alpecin, we were sponsored by Wahoo and each rider received one as a means to perform FTP tests and to aid in training. So it has to be said, full disclosure: I didn’t buy mine but was simply fortunate enough to be given one, like all of the riders in the team. My teammates at Alpecin hailed from 5 different countries and with our coach being based in Germany, we couldn’t simply visit the Alpecin team base for these tests.
Throughout 2019, Coach Florian set our training each week. For those of us holding down full-time jobs and families, the Wahoo Kickr was a godsend. For a short while, I made good use of it. But the British summer was a good one and the road called to me and I started doing my training outside again. After that, I hardly ever went back on the Kickr again in 2019, save for an FTP Test and the occasional social meetup with my international friends and teammates.
Speaking of Social Meetups…
At the start of 2020 COVID19 forced us all apart. As we all know, cycling is a massively social activity - weekend social groups were disbanded and in the UK, cyclists were limited to riding with just one other person. The social aspect of riding for many people is just as important as the health and fitness aspect. Having a good chat with a friend as you pedal along is a fantastic way of making those kilometres pass by more quickly. And so, whilst many more cyclists could be seen on the road, many were riding alone.
For me, whilst the weather was good, I continued to ride solo, preferring the solitude and the road, to any virtual meetup on the Wahoo Kickr.
Working From Home - A Training Opportunity for Cyclists!
In 2020 bikes were sold out everywhere you looked and so were Indoor Trainers! Cyclists, arguably more than any other group, seized this as an opportunity and flooded virtual training platforms such as Zwift!
My local bike shop - 7Hundred in Windsor - were selling Indoor Trainers as quickly as they could book them into stock! Models from Wahoo, Tacx and Elite and even the high-end products such as the Wahoo Kickr Bike were selling like hotcakes.
But I still wasn’t keen.
Wahoo Kickr Bike and other Indoor Trainers were selling like hot cakes!
Why did I dislike Indoor Training so much?
As I eluded to earlier, I’ve said in a number of posts that Indoor training wasn’t real cycling and lamented that you didn’t actually go anywhere. One of the appeals of cycling for me was (and still is) the freedom that it offers; the means to get somewhere far away powered by your own body. It’s an adventure, it’s a workout and it’s meditative.
So when on the indoor trainer, I used to think that I was just stuck in one spot, staring at a screen with a fan feebly trying to cool my body as I hopelessly overheated. Riding on the turbo often felt a little aimless for me. I’d get on, hit 'Let’s Ride’ and feel like I’d put in a huge effort for an hour, only for Zwift to read some poultry low distance of something like 25k. It was hard to put that into context when I got off the bike. Hard to feel any sense of achievement, even if the power numbers were good or I’d had a pop at Alpe Du Zwift and racked up some good virtual elevations. Sure, they all add up on Strava, but it still didn’t feel real.
But back then, at least, I didn’t have a dedicated space to ride. I was open to that distraction. I had to set up the turbo before each session and then put it away again at the end. Add to that, my wife would bug me, asking how much longer I was going to be. I would train in the evening, meaning needing to sneak around as not to wake the kids…it was just a lot of faff and just deterred me from bothering. I even went as far as to set the turbo up on the patio at the end of the garden away from the house a few times.
So, with all that in mind and the fact that I felt like the adventure aspect had been removed guess I just wasn’t attracted to the notion of indoor training at that time.
At least when I was on the road, I was free. Just me and the bike. This is something I hear often from other people that criticise indoor training. I understand that perception. It used to be mine.
My earlier setup. Desperate to be outside I’d often setup the turbo in my lovely garden in a bid to try to emulate ‘real riding’
Why the change of heart?
I stopped viewing Indoor Training as ‘The Virtual Outdoors’ (despite Zwift trying to create that experience). I stopped viewing it as a replacement for or a contender to outdoor ‘real world’ cycling. I started, instead to see My Wahoo Kickr and Zwift as a super efficient way of training when you’re time poor, have a hectic life, but still want to train seriously and get back out on the road in the summer fitter, faster and stronger than before the ‘Off Season’ began.
Don’t view Zwift as a replacement for cycling, but rather a supplementary training tool. Use it in this way, with all it’s structure and convenience and you’ll be loving your road season even more when it returns.
Okay, but other than a mindset shift, what helped me learn to love indoor training?
Quite simply, three things changed my view of indoor training: Convenience, Purpose and Comfort
Convenience
Firstly, as I mentioned above, I needed to remove all those distractions. I needed to be able to sit on the trainer and get myself into that zone. That was never going to happen when I was setup in the garden or the dining room. I needed indoor training to be more convenient and a viable option for when I wanted to ride. So, we moved house and I gained a garage space.
Purpose
Secondly, rather than getting on the bike and trying repeat what I did on the road and going on adventures and riding a set distance, I recalled something that Jorge Ludewig told me: “Pro’s don’t ride to distance, they ride to time”. The idea being that no pro ever says that they’re going out to do 80 or 100k, but instead, that they’re going out to do 4 hours or 5 hours and within that, they have set zones and targets to hit. They have structure.
For me, this fed back into the idea of once again training with purpose; setting a target for the season, setting milestones to work towards, setting a training plan to achieve it, setting times during the week to work on that plan and then, from that, knowing what I was going to be eating and when I was going to be eating to fuel for those efforts. I built this routine and purpose like a pyramid from the bottom up. The convenience of the bike now being permanently set up on the trainer removes all obstacles and I can just get on with fuelling and pedalling.
Furthermore, to the purpose part of this, I’m also taking part in various virtual group rides, races and challenges in addition to my structured training. I’ve done a couple of races with Orien.CC Team Manager, Wayne, which has kept my competitive fire burning and made me feel like I’m doing something to actually represent the team. These events all prevent these junky, aimless miles and keep me pedalling with intent.
Is it really that simple?
Well, almost. It’s fair to say that this newfound love is as a result of the convenience and purpose I’ve mentioned, but it’s also winter here in the UK and I’m enjoying the other benefits of not needing to head out on the road in the cold, dark evenings too: No punctures, no mechanicals, My family are reassured I’m safe and I’m doing a good job of avoiding illness by keeping my body warmer and drier than were I out on the road. Also, much less bike cleaning. My components are thanking me! So I’m seeing it all as a whole.
I know my northern friends will be calling me a southern softy at this point, but it’s more the case that it’s energy better spent on maximising my training efforts, rather than all the faff that comes with riding on roads that are covered in grit and salt. It’s efficient.
What can you do to make indoor training viable for you?
I’m not suggesting that you too need to move house, but I would say that where possible, try and find yourself a space that you can dedicate to training. It doesn’t have to be a garage or a purpose-built outhouse. It can be any space. That way, if you do find yourself with a spare hour, you can jump on and make the most of it. But more than that, try to establish that when you’re in that space, on the bike, that you’re doing something to help make yourself fitter and stronger. And we all know that in these trying times, that is of paramount importance right now.
But if you can’t find that space and like so many others your turbo is in a shared family space in the house, try to get some structure going at least. Commit to a Zwift training plan or a regular social ride with friends, or even a race every week. It may not be the easiest to negotiate, but if you’re here in the northern hemisphere, just remember that the lighter mornings and afternoons are not far away and will return soon.
I have a pretty full-on job in IT, I have two kids of 7 & 9, I’m the main chef in our house and the kids’ bedtime routine is my thing. So for me, I’ve decided that 5-6 nights a week, once my kids are asleep, I do a little bit of foam rolling whilst I talk to my wife, then I’ll be out in the garage for a couple of hours. When those slightly warmer, drier months return, my commutes will once again become my training times.
Give yourself something to aim towards and establish that in your routine. Manage everyone’s expectations. You need to make a case for yourself. (and don’t be afraid to set up on the patio occasionally if needs must!)