Struggling with indoor training and Watopia? A few tips to survive when stuck on the home trainer
Winter means cold temperatures, only a few hours of light, rain and snow. It is often hard or even impossible to combine work, duties and outdoor riding and we might reluctantly find ourselves eyeing the indoor trainer and logging into Zwift, joining a virtual ride in Watopia.
I would have plenty of things to say about Watopia, starting with the fact that honestly I can’t understand how someone can think a cyclist might like riding inside a volcano or flying on water. Cyclists are strange people, but trust me: for how many crazy chit-chats I heard, I never ever heard someone wishing to ride in a place remotely resemblant to Watopia. Cobbles, alpine hairpins, sterrato, double-digit cotes and sometimes even endless flat and straight roads, but not in a volcano, an aquarium or in the pouring virtual rain. If I wanted to ride in a sad and grey place with rain, I would just open my door and ride outside.
All right, I will stop complaining about it and I will try to write down my best advice for surviving indoor training sessions, starting with the most obvious, hope it helps!
1) The basics: towels, heating off, extra-light cycling kit, wi-fi, loads of water and possibly fresh air
Overheating is probably the biggest struggle on the indoor trainer (along with boredom), make sure to always have a few bottles of water and to drink frequently, keep a clean towel at hand for your sweat, wear the lightest kit in your cycling wardrobe and switch off the heating. If you have the chance, ride near a window, keeping it slightly open in order to help ventilation, otherwise consider to use a fan. Drink frequently, you are going to sweat a lot, you must drink a lot. Never underestimate these basics, setting the correct environment is the first step to make the best out of your session.
2) Keep it short and diversified
Indoor trainer is not suitable for long rides. Yes, you might see people doing extra long rides on Zwift and even attempting Everesting (yes, saw that before), just don’t.
Easy long rides are for outdoor fun, trainer is for short, fast and diversified rides. To me the correct training length is between 60 and a maximum of 90 minutes, your concentration will disappear after one and a half hour stuck on the indoor trainer and your body might catch fire.
I find the home trainer perfect for short high-intensity intervals, that are also funnier. You can also use your indoor sessions to get out of your comfort zone trying pedalling drills, high or low cadence intervals, and things you are ashamed of or don’t bother to try when outdoors.
I have always been used to ride with a really low cadence, as a child I wanted to look like my favourite cyclist so I used to eat a lot of pasta and ride with really low rpms. During the Corona lock-down in Italy we were forced on the indoor trainer for quite a long time, therefore I took that as a chance to improve my cadence and it worked, helping me in riding and climbing at higher rpms and without looking as bad as Froomey. My advice is to us the home trainer not only to improve or mantain your performance levels, but also to work on your riding style and pedal stroke. You might not achieve that perfectly round and full pedal stroke pro riders have, but it will help you a lot.
3) Set the correct power zones
Whatever application you use and rely on for your virtual trainings, remember to set your correct power zones before starting a new training programs and consider that on the indoor trainer your FTP might be lower than outside. Indeed, indoor you must keep a fixed position that depending on your riding style might be a limit to your ability to push more watts. Add to this the lack of motivation (I mean: pushing your limits in the Dolomites is for sure much easier) and often an improper or not so efficient indoor trainer. My suggestion is to either do a FTP test on one of the many indoor training apps or to simply set your FTP a bit lower.
4) Buy a front-wheel riser block
Unless you are using free rollers, a block for your front-wheel will be a game-changer for your indoor riding experience: putting the bike on the home trainer will change the bike setting, you need to re-align the wheels height. To do so and achieve the same position you have outside, you can simply put a block under your front wheel, the front-wheel risers are many and very cheap, but they can be very useful, here a random one (there are many and equally fine)
5) Feel inspired or let the music play!
Having the right playlist is one of the success factors when training indoor, it’s crazy how music helps you to complete the repetitive movements in a more efficient way.
Choose songs that adapt to the session you are about to face: high cadence? High bpm! Avoid ballads and that song you used to listen to with your former partner!
Not only music, having something entertaining to watch can be a solution too. Personally I can’t concentrate well when training, so I prefer to watch easily understandable short videos or better cycling videos who inspire and entertain me and yes, I often watch reruns of cycling races I liked or Youtube compilations (yes, Peter Sagan best wins is always a must).
6) A decent indoor trainer
I am not an expert when it comes to home trainers, but I have had a few of them, so here some of the models I consider value for money.
First of all, I recommend buying a direct-drive trainer, they are reliable, silent, efficient and much more respectful to your bike then the wheel-on models.
Personally I have this model by Elite
This is another great option by Tacx in the same price range.
Wheel-on home trainers are cheaper, but also much more noisy, much less efficient and will worn out your rear wheel (yes, you can buy and use trainer-specific tires, but if you have only one bike then it means you must switch tires or wheels every single time). They are fine for beginners or if you are lucky enough to live in a really warm place and need to train indoor rarely.
Just make sure they are smart, so you can connect them to the training apps, this is a good and cheaper option.
7) Stay away from the toxic riders and be smart
If you are planning to use your indoor sessions to train and boost your performance, then consider relying on the advice of an expert: stay away from internet wannabees and toxic people. This applies always, but even more to home-training. Over the years I have seen plenty of **** and training programs that scream for mercy. People often think that to improve you just need to push and push and sweat, nothing wronger. Ponder carefuly who you decide to trust and enjoy your riding! See y’all on the road!
Ginevra Rides & Travels 