7 min read
If the sweltering summer heat forces you to take your rides indoors, don’t sweat it. Bike trainer workouts, while not as exciting as riding outside and enjoying the views, can have pretty positive payoffs for your fitness. They may even offer some benefits outdoor rides don’t, thanks to the controlled environment. (It’s true!)
Indoor rides also don’t have to be boring—despite pedaling toward nowhere. With the right setup, a good playlist, and a workout that keeps your mind engaged, time will fly by as you crank out watts.
🚴🏻♀️ Take your cycling performance to the next level with Bicycling’s Guide to Interval Training, featuring four follow-along workouts you can do almost anywhere.
And it’s not just everyday riders that can utilize indoor workouts in their training—the elites hop on their bike trainers, too. Bring a little excitement to your indoor spin sessions with some favorite rides recommended by national champions, elite mountain bikers, and even a UCI Esports world champion. The following recommended workouts help some prominent pros boost their power, improve their VO2 max, and increase cadence, and you can add them into your own training weeks to improve your cycling fitness from the air-conditioned comfort of your living room or gym.
Ashton Lambie’s VO2 Max Busting Workout
You don’t become the first person to go sub-four minutes on a 4,000-meter pursuit without having a lot of power. And where does Ashton Lambie build his powerful, speedy legs? On the trainer.
“This is one of my favorites to work in for a quick trainer workout that focuses on building recovery from anaerobic efforts, as well as comfort in the tempo zone,” he says.
By working in repetitions that push the intensity, you’ll train your body to become more efficient at quicker paces, making it a helpful session for performance gains.
“The 30-second efforts in the main set shouldn’t be absolutely maximal, but they should be well into your VO2 zone [that’s zone 5]. They can also be done out of the saddle,” Lambie says. “With the decreasing ‘rest’ intervals, you’ll really have to focus on efficiency and recovering between the sprints! This is a great workout for some race-style efforts.”
The VO2 Max Bike Trainer Workout
⏱️ Total time: 86 minutes
WarmupMini-set building up intensity:3 min – zone 1 (recovery)2 min – zone 2 (endurance)2 min – zone 3 (tempo)2 min – zone 4 (threshold)Recovery – 2 min easy spin2 min – zone 5 (VO2)Recovery – 3 min easy spinMain set (3 rounds):5 min – zone 3 (tempo)30 second – sprint (all-out)4 min – zone 3 (tempo)30 second – sprint (all-out)3 min – zone 3 (tempo)30 second – sprint (all-out)2 min – zone 3 (tempo)30 second – sprint (all-out)4 min – easy spinning between roundsCooldown
MAKE IT FUN: “As far as songs go, I’ve actually been updating my Bicycling playlist on Spotify regularly,” Lambie says. “For specific tunes, I’ve been pretty into Japanese funk lately, specifically the artist Masayoshi Takanaka. It’s definitely a jam but makes these go by pretty quick!”
Savilia Blunk’s Cadence Pyramid Workout
Multi-time cross-country MTB national champion Savilia Blunk hits the trainer when the weather gets too dicey to ride outside, and she uses it as a chance to work on cadence.
For off-road riders, being able to shift cadence while keeping effort consistent is key to navigating awkward sections of trail at a low cadence but hard effort. You also want to have the power to increase your cadence heading up tricky climbs, where you may need to spin faster while maintaining your sustainable effort level.
Blunk’s pyramid-style indoor workout helps you get comfortable changing cadence—a skill you can carry over to the outdoor trails.
“This is a great short and sweet opener for getting the muscles firing and opening the respiratory system,” Blunk says. “I like it because there’s always something going on throughout the workout so the time goes by quickly.”
The Cadence Bike Trainer Workout
⏱️ Total time: ~55 minutes
WarmupZone 3 intervals at different cadences (keep effort in zone 3): 1 min 110 rpm1 min 120 rpm 1 min 130 rpm 1 min 120 rpm 1 min 110 rpm
——
5 min easy spinning12 sec seated sprint in a hard gear5 min easy spinning
——
Zone 3 intervals at different cadences (keep effort in zone 3):1 min 130 rpm 1 min 120 rpm 1 min 110 rpm 1 min 120 rpm1 min 130 rpm
——
5 min easy spinning 12 sec seated sprint in a hard gear5 min easy spinning
——
Zone 3 intervals at different cadences (keep effort in zone 3):1 min 100 rpm1 min 110 rpm 1 min 120 rpm 1 min 110 rpm 1 min 100 rpm Cooldown
MAKE IT FUN: “Get some music bumping, set up a fan or put your trainer in a breezeway, or replay a World Cup on RedBull TV to get you through this one,” Blunk says. Her top hype song? On The Floor by J Lo and Pitbull.
Another tip for nailing this one: “Always have food and hydration, and I make sure to set up my snacks so they’re in reach and I never have to get off the bike,” Blunk says.
Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio’s Power Ride
When Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio isn’t racing in the pro peloton as one of the world’s fastest women, she’s crushing it on Zwift and motivating women around the world to join in with her Rocacorba Collective program, a membership-based indoor cycling community, on the app.
Moolman-Pasio builds power via her favorite Zwift workout: four-minute efforts up Alp du Zwift.
“This session involves sets of four-minute efforts in zone 5 at a low rpm with a five-minute recovery between the efforts,” she says. “This isn’t necessarily that much fun, but the reason it’s my favorite session is because I know it makes me so much stronger as it helps build my absolute power.”
Climbing workouts train your body to produce more power, attack ascents smoothly, and work efficiently when you head up a hill.
A key tip for conquering the climbs? Queue up some tunes to stay mentally prepared. Moolman-Pasio gets through the workout with background music and strong focus. “I try to block out everything around me and focus on getting the absolute most out of my body and mind,” she says. “It hurts during the session, but the endorphin rush afterwards and reaping the rewards IRL and on Zwift in the following weeks helps to motivate me through the session.”
Don’t have Zwift? You can still emulate this effort on any trainer.
The Power Bike Trainer Workout
⏱️ Total time: 74-84 minutes
WarmupMain set (6 rounds):4 min in VO2 max (zone 5) at low cadence (50-60 rpm)5 min recovery (zone 2) at comfortable cadence (70-90 rpm)Cooldown
MAKE IT FUN: “What makes this session particularly fun is to do it with others, there’s nothing quite like suffering together and pushing each other through the process,” Moolman-Pasio says. “I’d recommend joining a group workout for this session and I’d especially recommend signing up to the Rocacorba Collective training tier as we have our in-house coach, Helen Bridgman, coaching you through this session by voice on Discord. Having someone motivate you through the session on Discord makes things way more enjoyable and really helps to get the most out of your performance.”
Moolman-Pasio’s Interval Ride
Moolman-Pasio doesn’t only hit zone 5 intervals. She also has some fun on the trainer with quicker interval sets.
Interval training pushes your body outside of your comfort zone, which helps you not just improve your VO2 max and fitness on the bike, but also increase your mental stamina and overall health.
“When it comes to a fun session, I’d say my favorite workout is a 20/40, 30/30, and 40/20 session,” she says. “The great thing about this session is that it really helps improve your VO2 max, but the best part is that it tricks the body. Because the micro recovery period in the interval set is so short, your body thinks you’re holding the all-out power for the full six-minute period. This tricks your body into making a much bigger adaption than trying to hold your max power for the full six minutes, as you can usually reach a higher power for the short bursts.”
The Interval Bike Trainer Workout
⏱️ Total time: 58 minutes
Warmup20/40 interval set (6 rounds):20 sec all-out 40 sec recovery Recovery30/30 interval set (6 rounds):30 sec all-out30 sec recovery Recovery40/20 interval set (6 rounds):40 sec all-out20 sec recovery Recovery
MAKE IT FUN: “When it’s not possible to join others or have a coach motivating you on Discord, then I’d recommend the Rocacorba Collective Spotify playlist,” Moolman-Pasio says. “I really enjoy this playlist during my interval sessions on Zwift!”
Cole Paton’s Cadence-Based Tempo Workout
Even mountain bikers have to spend some time on the trainer, especially when the weather doesn’t cooperate for outdoor sessions on the trails. Cole Paton is a fan of workouts that are efficient and effective, with plenty of changeups to prevent monotony.
“Here’s a short and sweet strength effort pyramid for riding on the trainer,” Paton says. “I like it because there isn’t a whole lot of time to get bored!”
Note that the strength comes from changing the cadence (rpm) in each tempo block, rather than changing the effort level itself.
The Tempo Bike Trainer Workout
⏱️ Total time: 59 minutes
WarmupTempo set 1:3 min tempo (zone 3), 70 rpm2 min tempo (zone 3), 60 rpm1 min tempo (zone 3), 50 rpm30 sec tempo (zone 3), 40 rpmRecoveryTempo set 2: 30 sec tempo (zone 3), 40 rpm1 min tempo (zone 3), 50 rpm2 min tempo (zone 3), 60 rpm3 min tempo (zone 3), 70 rpmEndurance10 min endurance (zone 2)Tempo set 3: 3 min tempo (zone 3), 70 rpm2 min tempo (zone 3), 60 rpm1 min tempo (zone 3), 50 rpm30 sec tempo (zone 3), 40 rpmRecoveryTempo set 4:30 sec tempo (zone 3), 40 rpm1 min tempo (zone 3), 50 rpm2min tempo (zone 3), 60 rpm3 min tempo (zone 3), 70 rpmCooldown
MAKE IT FUN: Be as prepared as possible. “I like to have three water bottles ready, all my ride food, a big fan and towel for sweat, and a mirror to do the workout in front of,” says Paton. “Riding inside in front of a mirror is a great opportunity to make sure your body position is aero and you’re maintaining good form while pushing hard.”
Molly writes about cycling, nutrition and training with an emphasis on bringing more women into sport. She’s the author of nine books including the Shred Girls series and is the founder of Strong Girl Publishing. She co-hosts The Consummate Athlete Podcast and spends most of her free time biking and running on trails, occasionally joined by her mini-dachshund.