Practical Triathlon

Indoor cycling is growing in popularity in the sport of triathlon.  In fact, some triathletes have moved exclusively to indoor workouts on the bike.  Here are a few comments from some trusted sources on this trend:

Matt Fitzgerald on the indoor cycling trend:

Meredith Kessler is one of the better cyclists in triathlon. Her typical Ironman bike split is in the 5:10 range. Pretty good for a full-time office worker and longtime age-grouper who waited until she was 31 to turn pro.

So what’s her secret? Simple: riding indoors.

“I ride outside once every other weekend,” she says. “That’s it.”

The rest of Kessler’s bike training is done under a roof, specifically that of Velo SF, a facility for group indoor cycling classes in downtown San Francisco. The 2010 Ironman Canada champion teaches four or five 90-minute sessions there each week. Each session incorporates high-intensity efforts that seem to do more than merely make up for any additional saddle time she might have if she always rode outdoors.

In fact, Kessler knows for a fact that her indoor-based bike training program is more effective than outdoor riding, because she used to do most of her riding outside. That’s when she used to complete her Ironman bike legs in six hours. Her bike performance breakthrough coincided precisely with her move indoors, in 2007.

Kessler is not alone in finding success with indoor-based bike training for triathlon. In the past several years, indoor riding has become a bona fide trend at the elite level of the sport, and that trend has begun to trickle down into the age group ranks. Also at the vanguard of the trend is Kessler’s fellow San Franciscan Tyler Stewart, who teaches three classes each week at Velo SF and rides outdoors once on the weekend. All of the indoor rides involve high-intensity intervals, and most of the outdoor rides are fairly short—seldom more than four hours.

Comments from Duane Franks at Triathlon.com:

The reason you’re hearing more about athletes performing indoor bike workouts is because they are time efficient, convenient and they can be a very effective way to improve fitness. Indoor cycling allows you to quickly get to the focus of the workout without having to deal with traffic, inclement weather and other distractions on the road.
Coasting downhill and soft pedaling are essentially eliminated during an indoor ride, increasing the average intensity. Riding indoors eliminates environmental factors such as terrain and wind.

Furthermore, when riding indoors it’s easier to control important performance variables such as intensity of effort, cadence, gearing selection, heart rate and power—if you have a power meter. Controlling these variables enables us to dial-in precise workloads during training and measure the effectiveness of our training program with objective feedback.

The list of disadvantages of indoor cycling is short but worth noting. First, the most obvious downside is that indoor cycling lacks the specificity and feel of the road. Riding on a bike trainer doesn’t require the same balance and stability that riding outside does. Good road cycling skills are necessary for safe and efficient descending, cornering and group riding. Some triathletes complain that indoor riding is mind-numbing, so listening to music or watching motivating videos may help to reduce boredom.

Comments from coach Kevin Mackinnon:

Since that race-day revelation, I have seen time-and-time again through my own racing and coaching experiences that indoor bicycle training can be one of the best ways to improve both cycling technique and performance. Many of the athletes that I coach live in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, which is a terrible place to ride a bike. Rather than have people take time out of their already-busy schedules to drive out of town simply to get a reasonable ride free of traffic and stop-lights, I encourage many of the people I coach to ride indoors two-or-three times a week, and then try to get outside to ride in the country on the weekends.

There are a few different ways you can maintain your cycling fitness indoors. We’ve seen a huge boom in the “spinning-class” industry over the last few years, and many people like the group atmosphere that type of training affords. As much as I love spinning classes, I do try to encourage the athletes I coach to make sure they do at least one workout a week on their own bikes – even the best spinning bikes out there (like the Ironman 112m available from Keys Fitness) don’t truly replicate the position you’re likely to be in on your own bike.

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Whether it is the increased time efficiency, the consistent conditions, or the ability to gauge things like your cadence, power output and spinning efficiency, training indoors on your bicycle might just improve your cycling more than any other part of your training regimen.

Looking for your personal best performance in 2012?  Visit AllTriathlon.com for your 2012 personal triathlon training plan!