Here’s a good indoor bike trainer workout for those winter months, or even during the racing season when you just need something different.  Getting on to the trainer is the best way to keep your legs going through the year.  Even if you can make it outside most of the time, rarely do we make the outdoor ride as productive as an indoor session.  Time being equal, indoor will more than likely be more beneficial.

First, get your Heart Rate Monitor on and know your aerobic HR limit.  You can get a very good approximation using the Maffetone formula.  We put this up in an earlier post but there are many indepth methods for getting your precise number.

The actual workout is about 1.5hrs.  It consists of a short warm up, then 4 x 15 minute efforts with a 5 minute rest interval.  You’ll have to play with wattages and effort levels based on your ability and current fitness.  Ideally, if wattage isn’t an option, you should hook up an old speedometer or some sort of cadence meter.  You need something to keep track of effort aside from just Perceived Effort.  Pick a wattage that will bring your heart rate just below your Aerobic limit over the course of 15 minutes.  On your first couple tries you may overshoot or undershoot the mark, but adjust accordingly for future intervals.  If you get close to overshooting you will want to adjust the effort during the interval.  Do not go over you aerobic HR limit for this workout, you’re trying to keep a consistent HR cap so you can have an accurate comparison point for a later in the year.  After 15 minutes take a 5 min spin break (keep riding, but easily), then do another 15 minutes at the same wattage, speed, or cadence.  If you’re using speed or cadence on a trainer you also have to take note of the gear you were using.  If it’s a 53 x 18 and 90 RPM – make it the same on the second interval and for future sessions.

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