Keeping your mind off indoor traning.

Often music on my mp3 player, so that I can change the playlists.

I read somewhere however, and have found this to be true (surprisingly) - when I need to do a tough workout on the trainer I perform better without any distractions.

Yes, on my 'easy' days I listen to music, but when it is time to hammer I prefer to ride staring at the wall.

Course, I cannot last more than 45 minutes, so I try to go for intensity...

The longest I have done is just over an hour. Beyond that and suicide is a very much considered option... 🙄

I find that I train better on the indoor trainer when there are no distractions.

I have developed a method of managing the time mentally that really helps:
[INDENT]No matter what kind of training I am doing (recovery, hills, long intervals, sprints etc.), I mentally focus on 5 minute segments, and take a sip from my drink every 5 minutes (of course, sprints and long hills require more frequent drinking, but I still drink at the 5 minute spacing), that way I have conditioned myself to accept the pain/boredom for 'just another 5 minutes', of course as soon as 5 minutes have ended, another 5 have begun.
[/INDENT]
My indoor sessions are usually between 1h05 and 1h30 in duration.

I have discovered that the body part that ALWAYS quits first (on the road OR indoors) is the mind, and to really improve you have to recondition the mind to handle the burn in managable chunks, and the 5 minute segmentation does it for me
It allows the mind to accept that each 5 minutes of load is no worse than the previous 5, that if you did not quit during the previous 5, there is no reason to quit now, you've handled it before, so handle it now.

I'll usually have the TV on, thinking I"m going to catch up etc. (I never watch TV). I find that I rarely pay attention to it though, it's like I'm looking at it.. but have no idea what's going on.

Leads me to believe that I prefer trainer riding with no distractions. It can be rather boring. I ride 1 hr. or just a little over. My biggest hindrance is my butt getting numb though. Sitting in one spot, for an hour, not switching positions at all, is about all I want. 🙂

Strangely, road riding doesn't cause that numbness at all, I guess because I'm moving around much more.

John

Julian Radowsky said:

I find that I train better on the indoor trainer when there are no distractions.

I have developed a method of managing the time mentally that really helps:
[INDENT]No matter what kind of training I am doing (recovery, hills, long intervals, sprints etc.), I mentally focus on 5 minute segments, and take a sip from my drink every 5 minutes (of course, sprints and long hills require more frequent drinking, but I still drink at the 5 minute spacing), that way I have conditioned myself to accept the pain/boredom for 'just another 5 minutes', of course as soon as 5 minutes have ended, another 5 have begun.
[/INDENT]
My indoor sessions are usually between 1h05 and 1h30 in duration.

I have discovered that the body part that ALWAYS quits first (on the road OR indoors) is the mind, and to really improve you have to recondition the mind to handle the burn in managable chunks, and the 5 minute segmentation does it for me
It allows the mind to accept that each 5 minutes of load is no worse than the previous 5, that if you did not quit during the previous 5, there is no reason to quit now, you've handled it before, so handle it now.

What trainer do you have? I have the trainer that works on you back wheel.

theresa123 said:

What trainer do you have? I have the trainer that works on you back wheel.

Tacx Cycleforce Swing

Julian Radowsky said:

Tacx Cycleforce Swing

Do you have a program?

TDF DVD's...or my five year-old who loves to come in and talk to me while I ride.

Patrick88 said:

What do you do? Music, TV ect? Any different alternatives?

I got a trainer last year at the end of the season. It was my first year of cycling. Actually I only rode about 2.5 months before the weather put an end to my riding. I couldn't stay on the trainer for more than 20 minutes before I boredom set in. I tried tv and music.

Well Now I am much more motivated to stay in shape with a full season behind me. So I bought another trainer(the last one I sold on ebay) Its a cycleops fluid2. It came with a cts training video and I picked up a couple of Spinerval dvd's. I have only used it 4 times since the weather is still good. Daylight is really the only issue now.

What I have found is that if I have a specific workout I have no problem staying on the bike for the duration. The video workouts are 45-60 minutes. I also have a book with a few indoor routines that I got through no problem listening to music. Just sitting on the bike spinning with nothing specific to do and watching tv will make me way too bored to stay on the bike for any useful length of time.

So I suggest either trying one of those videos or creating your own specific workouts. It works for me. Hopefully it will for the duration of the winter anyway.

Nick

Patrick88 said:

What do you do? Music, TV ect? Any different alternatives?

It reminds me of those that I see at the gym allegedly working out on a machine as they read. Give me a break!

Patrick88 said:

What do you do? Music, TV ect? Any different alternatives?

Music, yes, but most of the time, I'm so focus to the task at hand that I'm like, somewhere else. I guess that's intensity as I do get bored fairly fast on a trainer, that's why I train 5 in the morning when distractions are at a minimum.

What I am doing right now is listening to a book on CD. It seems to help time go by faster than a TV show or music...music actually makes it go by slower for me.

I agree with Nick too. When I have a set program to do the time flies by. I did a 40 minute program today and it felt like no time at all. A day where I just spin, anything longer than 20 minutes is mentally painful.

This may sound weird but I have found the best way to deal with boredom and, more importantly, pain is to count pedal strokes. I started this when I used to run up long hills (1+ miles). I would say to myself that I could survive 1000 strides or so and that would get me to the top. I do most of my riding on a trainer so I count very well. Highest number acheived to date was 7600, but that was jumping rope (went until the first miss). That's what happens to the mind on acid (lactic acid that is).

I am happy to hear that I am not the only one who gets bored when I'm on a trainer. I use rollers so I mostly work on being smooth and developing proper pedal technique however...I do find that I get bored and although physically I am not working as hard mentally it becomes torture. I have tried music which seems to take my mind off the ride a bit but I constantly find myself counting down to the end of the workout.

I plan on trying intervals to work on more intensity and hopefully get my mind off the workout. Larger gears do offer decent resistance so if there are other workouts that anyone has found to be "entertaining" on rollers I would appreciate it. The miles I am completing on the rollers are more fundamental in my training so the "real" training miles for me will come outdoors on the flats and mountains.

Patrick88 said:

What do you do? Music, TV ect? Any different alternatives?

Personally I find that engaging my mind, rather than distracting it, makes for a more effective and enjoyable workout.

1) Increase the intensity (at least periodically) to the point that some degree of focus is needed just to sustain the effort.
2) Make changes to the ride at fixed intervals. Every 2-5 minutes, change intensity, gear/cadence, body position, in/out of the saddle, etc. and hold it until the next change. If you're listening to music, coordinate the changes with the music changes.
3) Concentrate on your body. Feel what your muscles are doing at each part of the pedal stroke and experiment with changes. How does cadence/gearing affect your breathing? How does it make your legs feel? What part of the body hurts first if you pedal up/down, back/forth? Is it different when you're in the drops vs. on the hoods? What about at different points of the ride? Etc.
4) Visualize the ride. Think about what the road looks like and what the other riders are doing. Are you pushing them, working in a paceline, or drafting? Climbing? Attacking? Make a game of breaking away, like "It's 10 minutes to the finish/top of the climb/etc. and I need to hold XX mph for that period to stay ahead of the chasing pack."
5) Think about ride tactics. How long can you hold a certain intensity before you feel like you've blown up? How much recovery do you need after a hard effort before you can go hard again?
6) Practice riding in a more aero body position. How low can you go? How long can you stay there?
7) Think about what you're going to do with all your training once you're able to ride outside. Visualize pushing your buddies/rivals on your favorite routes, or staying with that faster group that always drops you. Visualize how much more enjoyable riding outside will be as a result of your higher fitness.

Much more training can be done indoors than just moving the legs while watching TV.

frenchyge said:

Personally I find that engaging my mind, rather than distracting it, makes for a more effective and enjoyable workout.

1) Increase the intensity (at least periodically) to the point that some degree of focus is needed just to sustain the effort.
2) Make changes to the ride at fixed intervals. Every 2-5 minutes, change intensity, gear/cadence, body position, in/out of the saddle, etc. and hold it until the next change. If you're listening to music, coordinate the changes with the music changes.
3) Concentrate on your body. Feel what your muscles are doing at each part of the pedal stroke and experiment with changes. How does cadence/gearing affect your breathing? How does it make your legs feel? What part of the body hurts first if you pedal up/down, back/forth? Is it different when you're in the drops vs. on the hoods? What about at different points of the ride? Etc.
4) Visualize the ride. Think about what the road looks like and what the other riders are doing. Are you pushing them, working in a paceline, or drafting? Climbing? Attacking? Make a game of breaking away, like "It's 10 minutes to the finish/top of the climb/etc. and I need to hold XX mph for that period to stay ahead of the chasing pack."
5) Think about ride tactics. How long can you hold a certain intensity before you feel like you've blown up? How much recovery do you need after a hard effort before you can go hard again?
6) Practice riding in a more aero body position. How low can you go? How long can you stay there?
7) Think about what you're going to do with all your training once you're able to ride outside. Visualize pushing your buddies/rivals on your favorite routes, or staying with that faster group that always drops you. Visualize how much more enjoyable riding outside will be as a result of your higher fitness.

Much more training can be done indoors than just moving the legs while watching TV.

Good suggestions...thanks for the input!!!

I feel your pain, winters up here in alaska are long as hell so there's no choice but to do indoor training, been doing it since October. To me, 1 hour sessions aren't anywhere near long enough for base building. A lot of people would probably puke if they knew how many hours I spent in the garage pedaling a bike. My one savior is the motivation to do well in this summer's racing season. Also, I bought all the Armstrong TDF wins on DVD. Another cool thing about those is that you can learn racing tactics too. If you get all the longest versions it adds up to about 60 hours or so, I finished them and am going through them again. You do get a break every 2 hours to put a new DVD in, how's that for motivation!? Man, maybe what they tell me is true, I do need to get a life... Nah, it's all worth it in the summer.

I am building a base indoors now consisting of 7 1 hour rides at heart rate 127 - 147.Or 65%-75%.It is borring but i look at it now as a job.It will pay off :-) as well. I average 140 miles a week so(but indoor ocourse 140-180 watt, 100-110rpm).Just think it is way more intresting than a job in a factory since your mind can go to other topics :-).Also put on a radio.Mp3-player will kill your ears.
tv is a bit to distracting i find(like previous poster stated,for 120 heart rate no problem but to get smething aerobic its to hard.)

Before sitting on the bicycle, I have a thought about poorest countries in the world. What their citizens have to do in a day. I think about all the suffering, and the bad things in this world.

Suddenly, those 120min spent on my lovely wind trainer appears to be a great deal, a little piece of paradise 😉

But I should admit that I recently discovered that I get a huge kick in listening to jazz music, as much as world beats as much as heavy and speed metal during training. That helps too 🙂

im just starting to do it seriously (3-5 times a week). a while back i did it off and on...anyways

i find that riding with music makes it go by so much faster and you dont think about the pain you're going through as much. it also depends on what kind of music i listen to. the other day i listened to sublime instead of the usuall tool or mars volta and it was a lot harder. i guess pick music that will get you pumped up and not make you just want to chill.