After reading the great thread on reading books(no pun intended), I am wondering if any of you read while on the trainer. I have tried it and find that my mind wonders and I have a hard time sticking with the reading. I would love to read and bike at the same time and get through a lot of those great books but can’t see it happening. I’ve heard of people getting themselves through med school and training for IM by studying on the bike but any of you have suggestions, experiences, etc?
If you can read while training, you aren’t training (hard enough).
when i try to read during my longer rides, i’ll only read during the easy periods (warming up, 5 minutes of rest between hard sets, cooling down). anyway, i’ve stopped doing that, because i always find myself riding “no-hands”, sitting straight up, which doesn’t feel right at all biomechanically.
so i’d recommend not doing it… then again, i’m not even remotely close to being knowledgeable
I was going to write exactly what efernando did, and I agree with him.
While I know you shouldn’t be going hard 24/7 I think you do need to concentrate on what you are doing. Taking your mind off what you are doing kind of falls into the category of “disassociation” as opposed to “association”.
Studies have shown most athletes who have optimal performances for their fitness levels are “associators” and that “disassociators” are the ones that have a tough time or are consistently disappointed with their performance.
Short story: Depending on how important it is to you it may be a slightly better strategy to try to concentrate on what you’re doing. We do 4.5 hour Computrainer rides in here that are pretty intense and I guarantee you no ones’ eyes leave that screen for the entire 4.5 hours.
I would agree with both of you and especially in regard to the association aspect. I think that’s the main reason I have a tough time of reading while riding but only on long, slow rides. I like to associate and think about all that I’m doing. In fact I don’t like to listen to music while I ride but it sure would be a great way to get some good reading in. Thanks.
p.s. 4.5 hours on a computrainer!?!
I read all the time on the trainer. I can read easily up to about a heart rate of 155 - above that it gets a little tough. I can run or ride outdoors for hours without a problem but indoors I get very very bored. I live in the snow, so its indoors on a trainer or nothing…My Aet is in the 130’s, LT in the low 170’s. Music, movies, books - its all good in my book and I think its better to “disassociate” and ride than do nothing…is it better to concentrate/“associate”? Probably - but I get really bored.
When I ride on my trainer I’ve always got a towel across the top of my bars to soak up the drops of sweat so I figure that reading would probably end up in a lot of destroyed books 
I always turn on the tv and watch movies or sports to keep my interest or distract me from the hurts.
I’ve read on a stationary bike at the gym, they conviently have the reading stands so I just put my book on the stand, my butt in the seat, and my feet goin around in circles. I’ve only done it a couple of times, I’ll probably be doin it again come Jan/Feb when it starts gettin wet around here (we can still ride doors here now). You gotta take all the time you can get to read when your in grad school.
Anyways, I find that my mind wanders alot when trying to read and ride. I can only finish 5-10 pages in a hour on the bike. Its also hard to keep your cadence up. I had a tendency to get myself up to 115ish, then I’d fall down into the 80 until I caught myself. Basically it tough to do 2 things at once. I my opinion anyone who says they can multi-task and not lose any quality in their work is lying.
Out on my bike, when I’m actually moving my mind rarely ever wanders, but indoors, I just can’t stand it.
Well I have cranks mounted to the toilet. I can read, train, and not have to worry about a potty break. It has also confused the wife as she is not sure if I’m wasting time anymore.
I read my medschool books all the time on the trainer. I find I cant read ‘normal’ books/novels too well, due to mind-spaz-- I find myself re-reading the same paragraphs over and over. But, having to re-read paragraphs over and over is generally a good thing when having to memorize med-facts.
I put my book on my aerobars-- holds it nice and open. Try and take it in little chunks at a time, then look up, focus on technique, breathing, then read a little more. I can only manage it during steady rides, warmups, or recovery efforts.
Used to read all the time, school books, magazines, novels etc on the recumbent in the gym. I dont go to that gym anymore, but I really miss that recumbent. Probably spent 1hr/6x a week on it, either as an afternoon recovery session, or after weights to stretch down. Got a lot of reading done that way.
LOL, that was great!
Are those PC’s?
4.5 hrs! My pr is 2.5 hrs, of course that was on trainer, while looking at the garage door.