It sounds like you are more in need of a program, not a random handful of workouts from the peanut gallery. I highly recommend TrainerRoad. Big returns for small $$$. Some people are fans of Zwift, but I have not tried it.

---

"It never gets easier, you just go faster."
-Greg LeMond

I did this last year with success. All my workouts were on Trainerroad's full triathlon plan on the computrainer, except 90% of the long rides were outside. I used the high volume plan, and if I was time crunched I'd just pick a similar workout from the lower volume plans. The workouts are hard and you'll see results quickly.
I feel like this method is great. I'm currently training for IMTX, and 100% of my rides are inside (I live in the north). The 4-5 hour rides are tough mentally, and very tough on the taintal/sit bone area.

I've used TrainerRoad for the last couple years with great success. I'd recommend following their plans. There's no one workout, rather consistent workouts, that have helped me improve.

"I plan to do all my workouts for the HIM on the trainer and Computrainer. I'll probably (based on how that goes) do the same (except for my handful of longest rides) for the full."

what is your reason for this?

---

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I did this last year, nearly all my rides were on the trainer. I'd say to be sure to integrate intervals instead of just focusing on steady state rides. I focused too much on steady effort versus intervals and didn't really get any stronger. (Did 3 70.3 and 1 IM distance last year, same for this year)

This year, I've been doing more interval work and have become a much stronger rider, thus when doing steady state rides, I am doing so at a higher power output at same effort level.

Just my .02, Trainer Road and Zwift both have workouts that can accommodate this, go with whichever you prefer, I use Zwift.

I'm the same, for me it's safety and rides outside just can't give me the same level of workout mainly due to traffic, lights, people, dogs, signs etc.

That said, I highly suggest at least one ride outside before the race to get used to how your tri bike handles.

For a full you'll need 2 long rides outside. Worked for me.

"for me it's safety and rides outside"

coincidentally, i just started a thread on this.

---

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I have been riding nearly 100% indoors for the past few years. I saw great returns with this change. The benefits of consistent work, intervals, never running out of nutrition or hydration coumpound themselves to excellent results. I am trying more interval/hill training on the treadmill this year as well, hopefully I will see some similar results.

---

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try."
-- Jedi Master Yoda

Same here, almost 100% indoors, kickr and trainerroad, best fitness gains I've had in a long time.
I am in the middle of one of the 8 week trainerroad programs right now, about 8-9 hours per week. Will pick another one once that is done.
For me it is both the safety issues outside, and the fact that I just don't have time to ride outside during daylight hours.
I have 20+ years of road racing experience, so I feel confident in my bike handling skills, doesn't bother me to have a race being my first outdoor ride of the year.

Reasons:

Mainly safety. But it is also convenient and efficient. I also like that I can ride with friends at all ability levels on the trainer. I like riding outside, but I have had too many friends seriously injured - not just from cars, but from bumps, potholes and dogs running into their path.

I transitioned from all outside (except a couple of winter months) to mostly inside (new controllable trainer in late 2015 is the difference). Like others, I use Trainerroad (great!), Zwift (different, but entertaining and can be used for training) and Sufferfest (awesome). One thing that may be psychological, but may be physiological - I think that the inside training has dulled my ability to climb *real* hills. I don't know why this is - increasing your FTP should be usefully and equally applied to flats and climbing, but it seems so for me. So make sure that your outside rides have climbing reflective of the courses you intend to race...

I have used the trainer exclusively for bike training for the past four years with the exception of outdoor riding May - July each of those four years.

No regrets at all. I have gone from age group to pro and keep seeing improvements on a consistent basis.

Most of my workouts are an hour to an hour and a half, and almost always include threshold intervals, VO2, or sweetspot training. I rarely ride lower than 75% FTP, and keep the intensity up. I am usually on the bike at least 6 times per week for 7-10 hours total bike training (weekly).

The trainer is the most valuable tool that a triathlete can use to up cycling capabilities quickly.

---

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Training/Racing Log - http://www.earthdaykid.com/blog --- Old Training/Racing Log - http://colinlaughery.blogspot.com

Fair question, Slowman.

I'm recovering from shoulder surgery, based on a cycling crash, last August. Surgery was 12/14. I'm good on the trainer.....but don't care to risk any damage while it's still healing.

On top of that.....I keep noticing how many people are on their phones (talking or texting) as I drive. It's scary.

+1 This

This. These are the reasons I train 100% on Zwift. Yes I miss cycling outside, but it's just not worth it anymore. I get to focus on my workout and not worry about getting a flat, getting hit, running out of water/food and it doesn't matter if it's -40 or +40 or raining. I spend enough time outside running anyways.

Edit: If I do ride outside this summer besides a race, it will be on trails with friends.

---

OlympicHopeful.com - Interviews with aspiring Olympians | Strava
Supported by: Skechers|Zwift|Squirt Lube|TYR|Rubber Ducky Sunscreen|Riplaces|MultiSport Canada|Joshus Bikes
“More often than not bad luck meant bad plans” -Joe Abercrombie

I'll add my name to the list. I probably do more trainer rides than outdoor rides. I have a Kickr and use the Traineroad app. My thought is to do no easy rides when on the trainer. All trainer rides have a purpose. I'm either doing intervals or sweet spot rides. I shoot for 90 minute trainer rides too. I'm hoping to make big improvements on the bike this year, as its always been by weakest discipline.

---

What I do: http://app.strava.com/athletes/345699

I'm pretty much all indoors. It's way more convenient to go to the bonus room fire up the coach's workout I put into TrainerRoad and go. I believe I could not get the same quality workout if I ride outside. My cycling had improved greatly as a result.

Apparently... I am afraid and that fear is irrational. I'm not afraid, I CHOOSE to ride inside. And I really don't give a f**k what anyone thinks about it.

I still ride my commuter to work, and for the odd errand, but all of my bike training is now indoors on a kicker with trainer road.

It's a great way to get a really focused work out, and I have gotten better results following trainer road plans then I did using a coach last season in terms of raising my FTP.

I still do 2 to 3 long rides outside pre-race, but aside from that it's all following TrainerRoad plans.

You can have very good success training for a HIM almost exclusively indoors IMO. As others have said, I'd target min 4 rides a week on the trainer. I didn't intend it this way, but I have naturally progressed to a similar structure as the BarryP running program on the trainer. Where I do one longer ride on the weekend (3 hours, with 2 x 1 hour @ goal HIM power), 2 x weekly rides of 90 min (with 3 x 15 min @ 90% FTP), 1-2 x 60 min rides (one either 2 x 15 min over/under intervals or 5 x 4min VO2 intervals, the other is a z2 ride for 60 min).

Again similar to what others have said, I've found the key to effective indoor training is ramming the intensity in. Most use a training tool like TrainerRoad or Zwift with structured workouts for this. Even better of you have a smart trainer so you don't have to concentrate, for those of us with standard trainers and a power meter it can get quite mentally draining though.

Trainerroad during the week. Long rides outside early Saturday mornings. Too many people cussing, honking, revving motors to blow exhaust on me and driving in front of me into the bike lane to try and prove a point. I am not so much afraid of dying as I am getting hit or constantly pissed off from idiots so I ride indoors often. Also power output is better. Outside it's all over the place, inside its higher and sustained. No red lights, stop signs, group drafting, cold numbing temperatures. Inside the kids and wife can see me and chat. Lots of positives. Negatives are that I really enjoy being outside, sometimes it's tough to stay motivated on the trainer, learning to hold consistent power outside can be tough over rolling terrain and over doing it up the hills is a real thing if you're not prepared.

Edit to answer race goals; to qualify for Worlds this year.

---

http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

Keep in mind that all those crazy people texting on their phones that you see while driving you car are also a hazard to you when in your car. You might think that you won't die because you are in your car, but that is a false sense of comfort. Chance of dying in the car from the other texting guy is non zero. Would you take your driving indoors to your basement because of the other idiot drivers?

I def had my best HIM race from basically all-indoors riding, including most outdoor long rides.

I def wouldn't say I enjoyed it more than outdoors - that would be flat out lying - outdoor riding where I am in Norcal is one of the greatest joys of athletic life!

But between a young kid <5 yrs old, busy job, family, I did a lot of riding before 7AM, and was finishing all weekday rides before the sun was even out. And on the weekends, it's was a lot easier logistically to ride for 2-2.5hrs on a trainer than to go for a 3-4 hour outdoor ride that involved 45-60 minute of downhills.

But again, I'll def say that I would NOT look forward to doing it again that way. No joy in the indoor method other than the sporadic, small FTP victories you get after improving. But it def gets the job done, no compromise.

I have no idea why this is controversial.

I was involved in a bike crash on 8/13/16. I have shoulder surgery on 12/14, due to injuries sustained from said bike crash. I'm also a recovering Harley rider. Never even came close to going down, but lost 5 friends (in motorcycle crashes) in a single calendar year. I sold mine, shortly after that. I'll take my chances in my truck over a motorcycle or bicycle in a second. This isn't even close.

I won't ride outside right now.....because I'm afraid if I go down I'll rip my shoulder to shreds. There's basically a 0% chance of that happening - if I'm on a trainer. I really like cycling outdoors, but it's not something I have to have. If I "loved" it as much as some of you seem to, I'd probably feel different. I won't trivialize your love for cycling. I'm not sure why people reducing their risks for an arguably superior training method draws ire from anyone. I mean this with 100% sincerity....and no malice....

I don't care in the least how you train. It doesn't affect me.

I do 95% of my riding on the trainer even though I have a bike trail right next to my house and countless miles of quiet, paved, rural roads right out my back door. For me, it's not as much about safety as it is about convenience. Most of my riding is done before the kids wake up or after they've gone to sleep, when it's dark outside. I've never been hit by a car or gone down on the road. Of course, the trainer is not without it's own risks. One night last fall, I put the kids to bed and started what I thought was going to be a solid interval session. All was well during the ten minute warm-up. I was staring mindlessly at the laptop on the small table in front of me as I had done so many times before. Five seconds into the first interval, it happened. I thought to myself, "That's weird, the table seems to be tipping over to the right." About a millisecond later, I realized it was actually me tipping over to the left. I don't know if it was the crash that woke the kids in the next room or the sound of me screaming like a little school girl, but they came running in to find me on my back with the bike above me. Still clipped in with the rear wheel spinning away like a buzz saw. I guess my instincts told me to tuck and roll. Fortunately, nothing other than my pride took a hit. I had always just left the bike on the trainer between rides, and apparently my six-year-old still likes to twist, turn, and rotate anything that moves. I now know that includes the trainer's clamping mechanism. In the end, we all had a good laugh that night; the boys learned a few new words; and I learned to check the setup before each and every ride.

Working stiffs just don't have the daylight hours most of the year to ride "on the roads" during the week. Weekends? Maybe. It is so much easier and time efficient to hop onto the bike that is mounted on the trainer. As an older fart, too much intensity on the trainer bike is counter productive.

I did 99% of my training indoors last year. (87km outside lol)
- Sometimes I started at 4am and be done by 8am and with the family theme park by 10am on a Saturday.
- Safety. Drinking and driving, texting and driving. Just cant risk it. Where I normally ride my bike outside is where somebody got hit by drunk driver in 2014 (i believe you had an article of him in slowtwtich. Cant remember his name but he was a fast athlete. )
- Time effeciency. I can time my kids nap time to my bike ride. One hour ride is one hour long in the basement. Didnt need to travel anywhere.
- Quality. I could just put my head down and focus on my power without having to worry about my surroundings. 5hrs long ride sucked but totally worth it on race day.
-I have 2 kids. If my wife REALLY needs me she can just yell/call me in the basement and upstairs within a few seconds. Doesnt burn out your support system.

Result
2:24 Half Ironman bike split

I didnt really find needing to learn how to ride my bike again on race day. When I got to my bike I just totally forgot about "biking".

This is an unfair comparisson.

If you get hit by a car doing a 60kph while on a bike you definitely will get hurt or possibly die.
If you get hit by a car doing the same speed while on a car you could get a fender bender or damage to your car etc etc.

This is like comparing throwing a rock at you vs throwing a snowball at you.

THIS ^^^^ While I'm not a parent, it seems like common sense to do all your cycling inside if you are one. Anything happens, you are home with the kids/wife/husband.

---

OlympicHopeful.com - Interviews with aspiring Olympians | Strava
Supported by: Skechers|Zwift|Squirt Lube|TYR|Rubber Ducky Sunscreen|Riplaces|MultiSport Canada|Joshus Bikes
“More often than not bad luck meant bad plans” -Joe Abercrombie

Honest question for the indoor trainers, why do you think we never have these threads about treadmills?

Do most of my rides during the week on the rollers inside or stationary trainer mainly due to time constraints and having run out of daylight, especially during this time of year. Weekends I typically do my long ride early Saturday or Sunday morning as I try to be aware of traffic patterns on the roads I ride. I figure early morning rides will reduce the drunk driver chances, just have to worry mostly about distracted drivers.

As for why this discussion has not come up about treadmills I think most people do not run with traffic on the roads. Even when I run on main or secondary roads running against traffic gives you another layer of defense to take evasive action, just my opinion.

Short Course racer here. I'm on TrainerRoad's High Volume Sprint plan which is a lot of sweet spot and VO2 max work during the week which I do indoors on my computrainer. On the weekend I head out the West Orange Trail (great bike trail here in central florida) and get in a 2 hour Z2 ride.

I have a little comfort as I drive a big truck. My chances of dying on a bike by getting hit by a car is much higher than getting hit by the same car while in my truck.

That said (and to the OP) I ride inside because I enjoy it. I also run on the treadmill because i enjoy it.

Outside is fun, but inside is better in my opinion.

Part of that could be all the allergy inducing "things" in the outside air that I don't have in my air-conditioned house.

Because I can't run 30 mph.

I train almost completely indoors on a smart trainer. I have a 7-month old, 2 year old, and 4 year old, and a wife who is putting up with my 70.3 goal. Once the weather warms up I will be doing some of my long rides outdoors.

Random reasons why I choose indoor training:

Personal safety

• I work and get home at rush hour. By the time rush hour is over it is dark.
• No shoulders / unsafe roads around my house.
• I see distracted drivers every day on my drive home from work.

Balance family life

• If my wife needs me I can stop and not be 10 miles away. <-- HUGE for her
• Kids see their dad more.
• A lot of my rides are after 8pm when family is in bed.

Better training

• I can see my power on my smart trainer and train using power.
• Zwift and Trainer Road workouts are a far better use of my limited time than the roads around here.
• I can do group rides without planning a week in advance and no one showing.
• I can do a race if I want to and there is no fee.
• I can climb a mountain in my basement that is 6 times higher than the mountain behind my house.

Comfort

• I can watch or listen to whatever I want to pass the time.

---

"If it costs you 30 minutes at Maryland so what" -dwreal

I now ride Monday-Friday all indoors. I put about 6 hours a week on my trainer, then about 6-7 hours on the roads on Saturdays/Sundays.

My workouts are structured to fit into a 1 hour and 12 minute timeframe that I have to train in the mornings before my long-ass commute. That puts me up at 4:00AM, on the trainer by 4:25AM, and on the road by 6:10AM. I get home at 6:00PM. A little family time, dinner, get ready to do it over again.

I envy the folks who have a better work/life balance with a more flexible work schedule. We work in such a connected world; I struggle to figure out why I need to commute to an office to sit and do what I could do . . . anywhere.


ETA: I'm a roadie only. Cat 3. Focusing on road races and time trials.

I am also a 9 to 5 er-ish, so m-f I also ride the CT,weekends outside.

Doesn't bother me a bit, the hour I spend on the CT is much more enjoyable as I do not have to deal with traffic, weather, as well as being more productive as I am available to the family if needed and the workout is way more intense. Can get caught up on TV/sports as well. Between terrain, traffic, and stoplights getting the kinds of intervals done outside that I can get done inside would be very difficult if not impossible without riding for :45 to get somewhere safe enough to do them

Been doing this for several years, including training for IM Canada and Coz and tons of halfs. Granted, for the fulls I do have a few weekends of 80 + mile rides

As someone who is working toward base training for the first time, i am currently deep in base training based on TTB. In that, he has you doing a lot of zone 1-2, with some zone 3 thrown in. How does the Trainerroad/Zwift workouts align with this type of training plan, which I have to imagine a lot of people are following?

Back when I was doing half training, I did it almost exclusively on my trainer+TR. Even my long rides. Not only did I not regret it, I'm glad I did. It helped me face my weaknesses and address them. It meant I could train more late at night (when I had free time). I could measure my progress and see how nutrition/hydration/rest affected performance. In the end, I was dialed in, confident, and ready; even if it was a bit mentally brutal.

---

----------------------------------------------------------------
Life is tough. But it's tougher when you're stupid. -John Wayne

Echoing what a lot of people have said:

Personal safety
Less things to worry about when riding the TT bike which has a more compromised position than the road bike


Balance family life
A lot of my rides are after 8pm when family is in bed.
Trainer time is way more efficient, just add ~30mins to the duration of the workout to account for pre-ride prep and post-ride shower and that is all the time it takes.


Better training
Kickr and TrainerRoad make it so that there's no cheating on the intervals, only perfect efficiency
Allows to focus on TT position adaptation, and easing in to it over time.


Ex-triathlete, now Cat3 roadie aiming for early-season (end of Feb) stage race w/ flat TT to seal my upgrade. So far, with 3 months of focused trainer time over the winter I've managed in the past 3 weeks to equal or outperform my best 2016 power numbers for almost everything from 5s to 1h.

We do have these threads about treadmills. The reason we have them is that for a lot of people (myself included) a lot of the enjoyment of both running and cycling lies in being outdoors, getting fresh air in your lungs, sun (and rain, wind, and recently sleet...) on your face, conquering hills (and mountains if you're lucky) and hopefully exploring and seeing places you've never seen before. The reason we get more of these threads on cycling than running is that cycling trumps running on all those factors - you can go faster, further and for longer, so can have some pretty epic outings. I also think there are less people doing all their running indoors than cycling - it's easier to run outdoors when it's dark, there's less of a safety concern, structured running training is less likely to be messed up by traffic or gradient, etc.

I have no issue with people who don't feel the same way about training outdoors as I do. I get all the arguments about higher quality, time-efficiency and having more control, and I do some indoor bike training for those reasons. But if those things somehow became more important to me than being outside, I wouldn't be cycling at all, I'd be doing things which are even more time-efficient and give a better all-body workout like indoor rowing or CrossFit.

A few years back, training for 70.3, I'd do 2 hours super hard on the weekends, all done on my Fluid2 trainer. Super hard being ~90% FTP. I think I biked a 2:17ish and managed to run well (for me anyways). Probably the best biking shape I've been in, I've always credited those 2 hours of power on the trainer.

With so many triathletes seemingly training indoors, is it any wonder that their bike handling at actual races is often so poor? Cornering, bottle hand-ups, weather etc cannot be trained in a pain-cave. Similarly, how many Olympic distance pros have ever raced more than one Crit or road race?

I'm sure it's a factor, but not sure it's a major one, and I also think the poor handling of triathletes is often over-exaggerated. I'd put the poor handling of triathletes mainly down to:
1) Triathlon has a lot of beginners and people doing it as a one-off to tick off their bucket list. You don't really get these people in bike racing, you get more of it in gran fondo type events, but the bike handling at the back of the pack in those events can be pretty terrifying as well
2) Triathletes tend to o a lot of solo training, since they race solo. So they don't have much chance to learn from other people, and don't have a lot of incentive to learn to handle their bike in a way which works well when surrounded by other riders
3) Triathlon bikes don't handle great anyway
4) There really isn't much need to be a great bike handler on most tri courses. They're rarely particularly technical and the drafting rules mean there shouldn't be anybody too close. If you're riding in a tight group and can't hold a straight line while taking a drink, or can't get out of the saddle on a climb without decelerating your bike, then you're going to either cause an accident, get shouted at, or find that nobody wants to ride with you. In a triathlon, those things might cost you a few seconds in an event lasting hours.

Personally I think it is a good thing to try and become a good cyclist, not just a good triathlete on a bike. So learning how to descend, how to ride fast in a group, riding offroad, etc. Not sure any of it translates directly to performance on a non-technical course, but learning is always good and if it mixes up your training and gets you riding more then it translates to better fitness. But then I've had swimmers tell me the same about swimming, and that I should be learning to do butterfly, backstroke, tumble turns, etc in order to be a better swimmer, and I have to admit I just tend to ignore them and stick to freestyle with open turns (or better yet, freestyle in a lake with no turns), so I can't really take the high ground!

If you mean threads where someone comes on and says "I love training indoors for these reasons:", at which point it becomes an "us" versus "them" argument, I'd say it's because treadmills are less ubiquitous than bike trainers (If you search for treadmills you can still find the same type of "I love the treadmill" versus "The treadmill sucks" threads, there is just fewer of them).

If you mean threads where someone asks for workout ideas, I'd guess it's because there is [seemingly] less variation in treadmill workouts than bike workouts.

That's my hypothesis, anyway.

I wanted to chime in on why I ride indoors. I ride indoors because I enjoying doing a lot of volume, and the trainer is the most efficient way to do this. A 2 hour ride on the trainer is 3 hours outside. There's not a lot you have to do on the trainer to get ready. To get ready for a ride outdoors, there's so much to do. Then you have to worry about a flat or cars or if you're riding with someone else.

After 2 years of being 99% on the trainer I've actually gotten to the point where I prefer it over outside. Zwift has done a great job of making the trainer more enjoyable. They have group rides, races, workouts etc. You don't have to worry about the elements or stop signs. Riding indoors has improved my bike segment in triathlons so I keep doing it.

Maybe I just like video games and hate cycling. But check out Zwift.

I guess your point would make sense if he were commuting on his bike... but strictly for training purposes, there is no (or less) need to expose yourself to that potential danger whereas driving a car--for the vast majority of us--is necessary to daily life.

I like to see the perspective of another roadie using the trainer for a lot of training.

I am a Cat 3 as well--struggling for any upgrade points because I SUCK at short-duration power, my preference is getting into breakaways and time trialing. Trying to improve my 1' and below power is where I am not sure if I'm doing much good at improving on the trainer. I am trying to focus on developing that end of my power curve, but I'm not sure if it's entirely possible with my training restrictions. I am tending toward very hard, short intervals but I am hesitant to really 'sprint' on the trainer. I have a Cycleops Fluid 2 and feel like I'd damage my bike if I really 'sprinted' on the trainer. How do you train for those efforts to get ready for crits and road races while using the trainer? Or is the Kickr that much better for those types of efforts?

What ever my coach sets for me, what ever sets the training group can do on the road i can do on the trainer much easier.

The lead up to my last two races i did almost 100% of my training on a Kickr and Zwift, i think i did 1 one long ride outside. I was happy with my bike performance in both races and not riding didn't effect my bike handling ability at all, TTing is pretty simple as far as the skill set required.


Intervals are so much easier on a trainer if you don't have pancake flat roads to ride or a good hill to go up and down. Plus i can ride with brother who lives 500km away.