Nick and I squeezed in one last outdoor ride on November 2, just a few days before winter appeared and the temp plummeted to 17 degrees (I’m already questioning our sanity for living here another winter).
And, with temps like that, it can only mean one thing…
Trainer time.
I know I may be oddball out here, but after spending a LOT of time on the trainer last winter (50+ days of subzero temps… oof), I really started to enjoy it. Focusing on all the watts and some loud music (Girl Talk!) helped, too 🙂
Also making the trainer more bearable: Having a specific workout. Intervals are your friend when you’re in the saddle and not moving anywhere!
So, back for another round this winter is the “on the trainer” series, but this time I’ll be posting a trainer workout. Stop by every Tuesday (starting next week!) for a 60 to 90-minute lung and leg burner.
With that, here’s the first – a fun one I’ve done a few times recently as I ease back into a regular training schedule.
30-second intervals
30-minute warm-up, spin at an easy to moderate pace
3x (7:00 of {:30 hard + :30 recovery}) + 5:00 easy between sets
15-minute cool down
Total time: 75 minutes
Because everyone is at a different cycling level, all trainer workouts should be based on YOUR perceived effort. Hard intervals may be at 21 mph for some and 17 mph for others. Go by what feels hard for YOU. (For perspective, my hard intervals for this workout are currently between 230-250 watts and the easy ones around ~150. Don’t worry if you don’t have a power meter… it’s not absolutely necessary!)
One tip: Be sure to make the hard intervals consistent across the workout; the last should be the same hard as the first, so keep that mph consistent!
Have a specific trainer-related question or a workout suggestion / addition, leave me a comment below!
Happy cycling!
20 Comments
I’ve been so focused on marathon training that I have yet to set up my bike on the trainer. I am planning to do so this week and look forward to your “on the trainer” series! Time to start blasting the music and looking for new shows on Netflix! 🙂
I love this workout…thanks!! We did something similar this morning, but it was 20 sec intervals with 40 sec recovery. We’ll have to try this after Thanksgiving 🙂
I’m a big fan of the trainer. Full disclosure: I didn’t feel that way during my IMTX build. 4.5 hrs on the trainer because it’s snowing during your long ride really, really suck.
Now I really appreciate them, especially for focused intervals. I have my pain cave set up just so with all my race bibs pinned to the rafters, my hand made cheer posters from races, and my medals for inspiration. And a nice wifi enabled tv. I have shows that I will only watch while on the trainer, which actually makes me look forward to riding.
It’s funny the passion that the topic of the trainer inspires among triathletes. Some, pure hatred, others, love. Often I find myself dreading it, but then once I’m in the middle of it, it’s so intense and, well, just perfect. I created a Spotify “Jen’s Trainer Tunes” to keep track of the awesome tunes that come my way on various Spotify radio sessions. Looking forward to the series!
LOVE this post and that you are going to be posting trainer workouts. I’m just getting mine set up and am definitely in need of something to follow to keep me motivated!
Awesome, looking forward to trying this workout and the rest of the series! This is my first winter trying to maintain some bike fitness (just re-learned biking and did my first tri this past summer), so definitely will be good to have some ideas for workouts.
I’m contemplating buying a turbo trainer, but it’s not a major priority just now. The winters here are 50/50 for snow, so I may be okay without… I’m going to put this workout on my mental shelf just now 🙂
Thanks so much for the workout! I’ll definitely be trying it soon.
I spend a lot of time on the trainer, even though the winters here in NC are not as brutal as where you are! My go to workouts are Spinervals or the CTS spinning DVDs. They add a lot of variety, targeted goals and I don’t have to think about the workout…I just pop them in and jump on the trainer. However, sometimes I want to just blast some awesome tunes, so I look forward to your trainer series to get some other workouts to add to my library:)
I loved your ‘on the trainer’ series last year and am looking forward to this version! For the first couple years I really only rode my bike steady on the trainer. Over the last year I started to incorporate intervals and WOW does it ever make a difference in enjoyment level!
Thanks for sharing; can’t wait to try some of these out!
With snow and frigid temps already gracing us Canadians with their presence, I’ll be setting my trainer up this weekend. So I’m really looking forward to your “On the Trainer” series!! Thanks for helping to keep us motivated!!
We just rode our trainers last night! The key for me for enjoying a trainer workout is to actually have a workout planned. I can’t just get on there and wing something or just pedal and expect to be entertained. I’d get off after 20 minutes!
Great work-out! I think that I get better/faster after a winter on the trainer! Intervals are totally key! Looking forward to some new work-outs!!
Ha! I love that your “warm-up” is 30 minutes. 🙂
The above comment is Kerstin! Wild it pulled in my old blog name!
Love! I want to get a trainer. I’m out here in Portland, Oregon and there aren’t terribly cold winters but the rain is too much. Any tips on buying my first trainer? I have no idea where to start!
Definitely love/hate here! But I do think that I’m way more focused on the trainer which often leads to results, so I can’t fault it there. Also, you are right about intervals – it’s great (in a really painful way) to focus on them and on hitting certain numbers!
Great!! Always need more trainer workouts!! Keep’m coming!
[…] #bikelove…thanks Erin for the amazing workout 🙂 I love #intervals and this workout was a close second for my […]
[…] intervals may be at 21 mph for some and 17 mph for others. Go by what feels hard for YOU. In last week’s on the trainer workout, your hard intervals were probably around a nine for difficulty; for comparison, keep your moderate […]