How to train indoors on a budget
- RBS365
- Nov 1, 2020
- 6 min read
So you want to improve your cycling indoors this off season, but you don’t want to spend a whole lot of money. This post won’t be a review of the options out there, but rather give you an idea or a “hack” to get you started on some free training. All the popular cycling training apps out there use power as a measure. But what happens if you're sort of in the middle when you don't have a power meter, but you have a speed and cadence sensor and an older trainer? Some programs do have "virtual power" and estimated number, but what if you want to actually follow some sort of training plan to get faster or increase your power on the bike? I outline a sort of work around to help get you started.
You have a few paid options (sort of).
RGT Cycling - free - great option similar to Zwift (free to ride in their virtual world) but no training - however the only catch is, you need a power meter or a smart trainer that sends a power number to the game
Zwift - $20 a month - many training programs to get faster but apparent are not that good (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmVZshpLaqs)
- can use a dumb trainer with a speed and cadence sensor if you don’t have a power meter or a smart trainer
Trainer Road - $30 a month - probably the best cycling training for the money
- can use a dumb trainer with a speed and cadence sensor
There are a few more apps like Sufferfest and Rouvy (which I haven’t tried), but both are also paid subscriptions using a smart trainer, power meter or speed & cadence sensors.
But you're reading this because you don’t want to spend that much money or any money at all on a training plan and want to make some gains on the bike over the off season.
So here are your options:
Easy option:
GCN - The global cycling network have a wealth of videos on Youtube you can watch and pedal along using your RPE or effort level meter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiGE3-L4vyg)
Heart rate option - If below is too much work and you want to just ride using a heart rate number skip to #2 below and the Garmin Dirty Kanza heart rate chart
Harder option:
But if you want to follow a training plan and use some numbers to get faster it’s going to take a bit more work. It by no means is perfect but can get you into some level of structured training, without spending any money.
I used this option last winter with a magnetic trainer. Once again, it isn’t the best, but it’s better than nothing. Also, one thing to note to keep everything consistent, always check the PSI on your tire before starting, making sure it’s always the same (I use 100psi) and make sure the number of turns that applies pressure on the rear wheel is the same. I use 3 turns, starting to count once your tire makes contact with the drum. Finally don’t forget to loose up the knob after you have finished riding (so it doesn’t warp the tire).
Need
A dumb trainer (a fluid is better, but a magnetic trainer will do)
Speed & cadence sensor (bluetooth or ant - depending on your bike computer)
Bike computer (or phone app that reads those numbers)
Heart rate monitor helps but is not needed
Time (lol)
* if you don't have a speed and cadence sensor, then you have to revert to using a measure of your effort level and heartrate. But you can still use the training chart in #2
Use Zwift - I know I said this was going to be free, but wait, the best thing about Zwift is that it gives you a free 25km every month with your email address. The 25km restarts at the beginning of each month without ever costing you anything. Secondly, you can use it for as many rides per month (as long as you still have km remaining). I try to start my last ride for the month with 1-2km left as the last ride as it allows you to continue riding until you are finished (you will be prompted you ran out of kms, but you just click “ok” and keep riding)
Perform an FTP test - you can do a short FTP or ramp test to find out your FTP (you need this number to base your training for the training plans). Your FTP (functional threshold power - the power you can hold for an hour, so it won’t be the highest number of watts on the test).
Secondly, on your next ride, take note of a few numbers while you ride on your bike computer; speed, cadence, and your heart rate and make a chart with numbers watts. Note: use the speed on your garmin or bike computer, not the Zwift game (as that speed changes based on the virtual road/wind/hills/etc). Make sure you get a range of numbers every 20 watts or so, so you have an idea for future workouts. The whole idea is that you have a general sense of your speed and your virtual watts so that riding at 30km/hr, 90 RPM, 140 bpm is around 200watts (for you and your set-up). So you now begin to use your speed and heart rate instead of watts as a measure. Also, as you continue on your training plan, you can do a test every month or so to adjust your numbers as your FTP goes up as you improve.
2) So you have your numbers in your chart, the next step is to make sense of it. The following chart was taken from the Garmin Dirty Kanza training plans. It makes the connection to heart rate and training zones (you can also follow plans just based on heart rate, using the chart below - scrap all the virtual power stuff)
Now you need to combine the chart you made from riding on Zwift earlier and pencil in your speed/avg cadence/ and approximate heart rate for your training. Your FTP number after your test is 100% (in zone 4).
The reason why this is important is because many training plans work off your FTP number (ie. - 6minsx6 reps of 10% below your FTP)
Find a training plan. Easier said than done, but there are some general workouts that will aid in getting you faster.
Dylan Johnson has a great video how to get fast on 6 hours a week. https://www.youtube.com/whttps://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/#zwift-plansatch?v=H9SvLGv2c1E&list=PLdby61rADdxfGFlteoW5jm1uoE7sXLfbf
Triathlon Taren has a video on three key cycling workouts to raise your FTP. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8RFLT8fX1I
A good read and some workouts on the trainer road blog. https://www.trainerroad.com/blog/training-plan-guide/
What’s on Zwift training plans (without Zwifting) https://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/#zwift-plans
Dirty Kanza training plan. Garmin created a 12 week training plan for the dirty kanza race. This will get you into peak fitness for the race, however might not be ideal for just the off season training (they also removed the original plans and now only have the 100k plan).
I’m sure there are many more out there, so find one that suits your needs.
Now that you have your chart completed and have taken or created a general plan, you can now begin to plug it all in.
Here is an example of what I used: If you want the full plan click the pdf below.
No one ever said that being cheap was easy, but if you're willing to put in some work you will be able to scrape together something that might work for you at no charge. Will this be as good as any of the paid subscriptions or hiring a coach? I doubt it, but if you're just starting out or want to save a bit of money, this might be an option for you.
Final notes:
remember this idea isn’t perfect, but it will get you a general range for training
virtual power is probably not anywhere close to what is actually happening on the road if you had a power meter (so don’t assume your FTP # is valid, it’s just reliable for this training method)
Using a fluid trainer has more consistent numbers than a magnetic trainer, but still probably inaccurate
The idea here is getting numbers for a range for you to train at
Have fun and let me know if this idea works for you or if you have any questions. As a side note, I did move up to a fluid trainer with power, but it's not a "smart trainer", and also I'm currently not subscribing to any online training platforms. I use RGT Cycling and am following the Triathlon Taren FTP builder workout plan.
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