Indoor Bike Training: Benefits, Workouts & Plans

Indoor bike training is an effective way of improving your performance on the road, getting race-ready, and supporting your cycling power. From insights into your pedal technique, improving your endurance for sportives, and harnessing your cycling data to achieve your goals. We’re looking into the benefits of indoor bike training and how it can help you reach your targets.

Table of Contents:

• Benefits of Indoor Bike Training
• 4 Indoor Bike Training Methods to Improve Speed & Endurance
• Indoor Bike Training Workouts to Achieve Your Goals
• Indoor Bike Training Plans to Set & Reach Cycling Targets
• Performance Tests on an Indoor Bike
• Apps for Enhancing Your Indoor Cycling Experience

Benefits of Indoor Bike Training

Indoor bike training allows you to make the most of every pedal revolution because you don’t have the distractions you might get out on the road. With an indoor bike trainer, you can be sure you’re making the most of the effort you’re putting into your indoor bike training. The benefits of indoor cycling include include:

1. Improve your power, cadence, & fitness without leaving the house- Cycling helps to support your physical fitness through improving your cardiovascular endurance and building strong leg muscles. With the Wattbike Atom smart bike, you can do this from home, and improve how effectively your body uses oxygen to supply your muscles.
2. Train more efficiently- Indoor bike training means you no longer need to plan routes, avoid potholes, or pump up your tyres. You miss out on freewheeling downhill and waiting at traffic lights which hinder how much effort you can put into your ride. Coach Matt Rowe, of Rowe & King, suggests that an hour indoors “is worth at least 1.5 hours, if not more on the road”. 
3. Never miss a workout- You won’t have to miss out on a session when the weather’s bad or your bike needs some maintenance. Your smart bike is ready to assist through winter training and beyond. 

4 Indoor Bike Training Methods to Improve Speed & Endurance

There are various types of training you can complete indoors, each which can help target a different aspect of your performance. 

Distance 

Indoor bike training can still allow you to train for distance, despite being a stationary way to exercise. You can train for sportive distances with your trainer, and cover ground virtually.  

Sprinting

Improving your cycling sprinting doesn’t have to be completed out on the road. Without a physical peloton to compete against, you can still achieve those higher input workouts and improve your cadence. 

Power

Indoor bike training allows you to improve your power output as you ride. When riding your bike out on the road, power translates into your ability to move mass (yourself and your bike), so increasing your power abilities means you’ll reach faster speeds. It also means measuring your fitness levels becomes more accurate. 

Off-feet Conditioning

One of the core benefits of indoor bike training is that you can still get an intensive workout without the burden on your musculoskeletal system you’ll find in running or out on the playing field. This is known as off-feet conditioning and is used by the top sports coaches to prevent injury and maximise performance. 

Indoor Bike Training Workouts to Achieve Your Goals

You can target these different areas of cycling that indoor bike training offers with curated workouts. With the Wattbike Hub cycling app, our free training partner, you’ll find 100s of workouts dedicated to the essential aspects of cycling. 

You can also build custom workouts with Hub+ which allows you to create your own workouts quickly and ride them immediately. With a monthly or annual subscription, you can take your indoor bike training to the next level. 

Indoor Bike Training Plans to Set & Reach Cycling Targets

Workouts aren’t the only benefit to indoor bike training, you can also make the most of your sessions with a dedicated training plan. Depending on your goals, you’ll find a plan to go alongside your targets. Some of our plans available include:

• Sportive training plans - A sportive training plan can help you prepare as best as possible for a 50 or 100 mile sportive race, so you’re prepared when it counts. You’ll also find beginner and intermediate levels to assist your ability.
• Rugby training plan- Get match day ready by training on an indoor bike, designed with Wattbike Sports Scientist Eddie Fletcher. 
• Cycling fundamentals- This plan helps you establish a solid base of your indoor bike training technique: strength, threshold training, and endurance. 

Performance Tests on an Indoor Bike

Indoor bike training offers the chance to test your performance conveniently because all of the performance data is right there in the Hub. You can take regular assessments of your progress with performance tests to benchmark your endurance, speed, power, or cadence. 

You’re able to complete performance tests on the Atom, which showcase the progress you’ve made and highlight areas to improve. These include:

• Health Assessment Sub Maximal Health Test- You can use this test to set personalised training zones, give structure to your indoor cycling training and inform your fitness compared to your age grouping. 

• The 3 Minute Test- You can use this information to set personalised training zones and give structure to your workouts.

Apps for Enhancing Your Indoor Cycling Experience

In order to get the most from your indoor bike training, you can utilise the very best cycling training apps available. They’ll help you feel connected to your training, share your successes with others, and complete virtual races to benchmark your progress. 

Wattbikes are compatible with 6 training apps to help you stay on track:

• Zwift - Reach goals and compete in virtual races with an online community. 
• TrainingPeaks - Find accredited coaches to support you through an indoor bike training plan.
• TrainerRoad - Achieve your goals with personalised, AI-powered training.
• Rouvy - Complete realistic virtual rides and augmented reality workouts. 
• FulGaz - Pedal through real-world terrain with cutting edge coaching. 
• Strava - Track, analyse and share your bike training through the fitness app.

Each of the apps can be connected to the Wattbike Hub to harness your cycling data all in one convenient place. 

Train Better with Wattbike