As I was comparing my workouts over the last couple of weeks I noticed something that I think I instinctively knew but hadn’t seen so plainly before. Indoor trainer workouts are a very efficient way to train.
A Tale Of Two Weeks
Take a look at these two charts from WKO+:
This first chart is a summary of my “time in zone” from the week ended October 26, 2008.
This next one is from last week, ending on November 9th.
What is interesting about these two weeks is that I rode about the same amount of time but the results were much different in terms of time spent in the L4 (threshold). The week of October 26th I rode just under 90 miles in the Livestrong Ride. My total time at threshold was around 38 minutes. I wasn’t just poking along on the ride either. The route had a lot of roller type hills and the wind was blowing a bit. I worked a bit to get through the ride in a decent time, just over 5 hours. There was a stretch from mile 18 to mile 50 where I was pushing the pace in order to catch one of my buddies who was ahead of me. Even with all of that I still only managed 38 minutes at threshold.
The opposite of that was last week where I rode indoors on the trainer for just under 2 hours and outside for the other three. Even with my after effects from a cold I was still able to accumulate 64 minutes at threshold. Most of that (45 minutes) came from the trainer, the rest from the outdoor rides.
The Moral Of The Story
What this shows is that indoor workouts on a trainer, if done with purpose, can be a very efficient use of your time and give you a lot of “training effect” for your money. Granted, I would rather ride outside but outdoor rides, especially here in Atlanta with the rolling hills and traffic, don’t do much for building fitness through constant intervals. Outdoor rides do serve a valuable purpose in the overall training program. They are a great way to work within and learn to deal with the variability that racing or fast rides requires. They are also much more enjoyable. But, it is hard to beat trainer time for building fitness through specific workouts.
Do you feel that indoor training is beneficial for you?
