For most time-crunched triathletes, the solution to the bike training quandary is fairly simple. By doing workouts indoors and ramping up the intensity of your training sessions, you’ll get the most bang for your buck, allowing you to roll on with the best of them on race day.
MOVE IT INDOORS
One of the biggest hitches many triathletes encounter when it comes to training in the saddle is the time and energy it takes to find a good place to ride. Not all of us have the luxury of rolling out the door onto pristine trails that stretch for miles.
“Finding safe roads to train on can turn a 60-minute workout into 90 or even 120 minutes very fast, effectively wasting an hour of your busy day,” Gardner said.
Fortunately, most coaches point to an easy solution when it comes to saving minutes: Move your workout indoors.
“With a bike trainer, there’s no getting dressed in layers, no worrying about riding in the dark, in traffic, or about the weather,” said Jackie Arcana of XCELL Performance Group near Las Vegas, Nev. This also takes out any wild cards when it comes to conditions or terrain, essentially locking in a good workout as long as you show up.
“It’s more than possible to get in a quality workout in one hour or less indoors,” said Gardner. “You set your bike up on the trainer and leave it there all week until you have time to ride outside on the weekends.” Even better, coaches say that the workout itself can be just as good, if not better, than going outside. “A one-hour trainer workout, when done with intervals and limited rest, is worth about an hour and a half of riding outside due to the fact that you don’t go downhill or have to stop at traffic lights,” said Arcana.
STRUCTURE YOUR TRAINING
While riding on the trainer takes out much of the complexity of bike training, it isn’t as simple as spinning your wheels as you mindlessly watch old Olympics or Ironman footage. When you’re looking for efficiency, intensity is key to getting in a great workout in less time. “Even for beginners I suggest small amounts of higher intensity training to get the biggest cardiovascular and muscular endurance gains in the shortest amount of time,” says Arcana.
With an organized training schedule, Gardner said that optimal bike fitness can be achieved in just two or three 60-minute rides each week, regardless of the distance you’re training. “FTP (functional threshold power) intervals, VO2 max intervals, hill climbing simulations and time trialing — these are the key sessions that will make you a stronger biker,” he said.
With a variety of these types of workouts, along with a long bike on the weekend focusing on race-specific pacing and distance requirements, you’ll have all your bases covered. “There’s no reason to fret if you don’t have a lot of time to train,” said Arcana. “All that time isn’t even necessary if you make every workout count.”
USATRIATHLON.ORG USA TRIATHLON 31
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