Indoor cycling training: Five mistakes and how to avoid them

A smart trainer that works properly is not enough on its own to make for a suitable training session. The conditions during the ride and a workload that matches your training goal are crucial. The guide explains how to set up the trainer and the app, TOUR Checklist for Basic Indoor Equipment. This section looks at the mistakes that can make it difficult to have a good training session, even when the equipment is working properly.

1. Riding without a fan

There’s no wind resistance on the trainer. The body generates heat during exercise, but finds it harder to dissipate this heat in the living room without a draught. This makes the session more uncomfortable, particularly during intense periods. Anyone comparing their indoor training performance with previous rides should also bear in mind the cooling factor.

The simple solution is a fan; it doesn’t have to be a specialised indoor model. Before setting off, check that the airflow reaches your upper body and face, and that the fan can be adjusted if necessary. The following shows the differences between specialised models: TOUR review of four fans for indoor cycling training.

2. Do not prepare the water bottle

When you’re indoors, it’s easy to forget to drink: the bottle’s in the kitchen, whilst the next interval is already starting on the screen. Combined with the lack of a breeze, heavy sweating can then become a practical problem. How much fluid someone needs depends, amongst other things, on the duration, intensity and individual rate of perspiration. A one-size-fits-all amount for every session would be of little help.

Before you start, make sure you have water within easy reach. If you’re doing a longer or more intense session, check in good time whether the amount you’ve set aside is enough for your needs. You don’t necessarily need special drinks for this. The available TOUR Guide to Indoor Essentials shows how to organise drinks and food before roller training.

3. Not having a towel to hand

A Towel It prevents you from having to deal with sweat on your face or on the handlebars after every intense stretch. Sweat should also not be left on the bike and its components for long periods.

A normal towel next to the bike or on the handlebars is enough. After your ride, you should wipe down the handlebars, stem and other parts if sweat has dripped onto them. If you want to protect the floor, you can also use a A mat or some other suitable surface Use it. It’s simply a matter of looking after the existing material; there’s no need for yet another specialised product.

4. Select only tough sessions

For many people, intervals and virtual races are more enjoyable on a bike trainer than riding for hours at a steady, low pace. They also make sense from a training perspective: on a smart trainer, you can precisely control periods of exertion and recovery without having to rely on traffic lights or downhill sections. Intense intervals provide a different stimulus to longer, steady endurance rides. When structuring your training, it is important to use both types of exercise in line with your goals and to allow for sufficient recovery between challenging sessions.

So the mistake isn’t riding intensively indoors. It arises when your entire training programme consists almost exclusively of hard workouts and races. If you do longer, relaxed endurance rides outdoors, you can make good use of the trainer for intervals or an indoor race. Those who ride predominantly indoors should also schedule some easy sessions there. What matters is the total volume of training and how the intensity is spread throughout the week, not a fixed rule about what proportion must take place indoors or outdoors. Robert Kühnen demonstrates in his strategies for combining indoor and outdoor training, and how this can be approached in different ways depending on the training objective.

Before you set off, it’s worth asking yourself a simple question: is this session intended to be a targeted challenge, a gentle endurance ride, or a recovery session? On a relaxed ride, you should still be able to hold a conversation. A training plan helps you spread intense and gentle sessions throughout the week and factor in recovery time. Kühnens provides an example of this Four-week training plan for the winter. It is a suggested weekly schedule, not a mandatory intensity target for everyone.

5. Training without a suitable FTP value in watts

You don’t necessarily need an FTP value for free, relaxed indoor cycling training. The situation is different for workouts where the wattage targets are set as a percentage of FTP. Without a reliable baseline value, these targets may not match your current performance. This also applies if the app still shows an FTP from a previous training phase and your fitness level has changed in the meantime.

Before starting a structured workout, therefore, check what value is stored in the app. If the intensity consistently feels significantly too light or too heavy, do not simply follow the instructions blindly; instead, check the value. An FTP test is one way to get a new benchmark; it doesn’t have to be done on your very first day of indoor training. The guide explains how to determine your FTP using a 20-minute test and how to interpret the result. TOUR Guide to the FTP Test.

A sensible start to the indoor season therefore doesn’t require a thorough technical check: just get your airflow, water bottle and towel ready, set the aim of the session, and only use the wattage targets if they suit your current fitness level.