I have never loved the trainer. I love riding my bike.
I would encourage you to try to get out on more actual bike rides, and ‘work’ on rekindling your love of riding. Focus on the fun, not performance, not training. I think this is the foundation for building less fun training on.
On the trainer side, maybe giving up the expectation that it will be ‘fun’ can help? For me, training has really become part of my weekly habit. Sometimes it is more structured than others (right now, not much structure 
) Echoing what others have said, I think process goals rather than end-point goals are important as well.
Forgive yourself for not training like you thought you would (or worse, like you think you “should” be training). Quite honestly, consider if this lack of motivation for training might be a symptom of other life challenges - please consider that talking to a counselor can be really helpful - it really has been for me.
Agree… sometimes I just ride for fun… don’t worry about power, speed or Heart rate… don’t even use the Garmin… just go for a ride like I did as a kid.
As others have pointed out, hyper structured intervals on a trainer are certainly effective but they are not the only way to train. I follow a couple pro and retired pro riders on Strava and it is interesting to see how they train. Of course the volume is way higher but, I do notice that most of their work and structured work at that is done outside. One downside to TR is it has inadvertently convinced some people that exact to the second/watt interval compliance is necessary for “good” training. The reality is that you can do effective structure anywhere outside with just a clock and a power meter and in fact, that is the way pros train 95% of the time.
And FWIW from my Strava/YouTube feeds, Ted King appears to be only cross country skiing this month; Phil Giamon (very) briefly held the Everesting record last year and I don’t think he even owns a trainer (and he lives in LA which is admittedly good for weather but bad for traffic).
While free riding is a great suggestion, if you do want to try outdoor training, a good challenge for you to shake things up is commit to doing this Saturday a 3x8 sweet spot workout outdoors with the rule being you have to do it starting from your house. I am certain if you commit, you can find a route that will be more than good enough. And 6:50; 8:15 and 7:45 in the SS range is as effective as 3x8 done at exactly 95% of FTP!
I love the trainer, so maybe I’m a bad person to chime in, but let’s talk about a few of the reasons WHY I love the trainer.
- It’s crazy convenient. I make my bottles the night before. I wake up, have a coffee, grab the bottles and go. I don’t have to check the weather, worry about when traffic is heavy, pump tires, etc. Without the trainer, there is zero chance I stay complaint to a plan.
- It’s pretty much the only time of day that I watch television. I’m looking forward to starting the next episode of Reacher tomorrow morning.
- It’s what my friends and I do. I look forward to joining our group check in on Monday morning and saying “I had 100% compliance to my plan”, or telling the story about why I didn’t. Or laughing along with them because I got half as many miles as anyone else because I was busy trying to complete some stupid Zwift climbing challenge so I could maybe win a smart bike that I don’t need. Or talking about saddles and bar tape. It’s “my thing” and I love having friends who love the same “thing”.
- If I don’t ride, I get fat just LOOKING at food. I love being able to have splurge night ice cream with my daughter without worrying about how many calories I take in, or having enchiladas with my friends after a long and dusty gravel ride.
Do any of those motivate you too? If not, what does? Maybe “if I meet my training goals every week for 3 months I’ll let myself buy that mirror saddle I’ve been wanting”? Or maybe you just went too far into the red and just need to take some time to go for long walks in nature and listen to the birds?
My advice is, don’t force it. Take a break, do something different, then come back to it when you want to.
Phil is a promoter for wahoo systm. just posted an instagram post about an indoor event he’s hosting. I don’t think i’d seen him post much indoor stuff, but clearly at least he’s on the payroll.
I love it too, for similar reasons.
Take a break from training and go enjoy riding again. Come back when you feel motivated to do so.
I second this recommendation. Half the battle is making sure everything is working smoothly - headphones charged, fans in place, clean dry towels, PM reading accurately, etc.
Agree with this as well. When you exhaust Netflix/Hulu/ATV/etc, I’ve found audiobooks or narrated magazines (Audm) are a great change of pace.
I think everyone has there own views. I enjoy riding inside. I enjoy workouts. I have a great set up indoors and recently added rocker plates. It is just plain and simple enjoyable for me. They are a distraction from the stress of work. They are definitely safer then outside. I ride these days 5-6 hours indoors. Come better weather I will do half my rides outside and bump the time outside but outside rides are the fun stuff. It is the group rides or a good hard two hour ride. We all have different goals. No judgement here.
To the OP.,…if it isnt enjoyable dont do it. Do what you enjoy.
Ditto on actually liking inside training. I have spent plenty of time to dial it in and am the type of person who likes this type of work about as much as riding outside. They are each different and rewarding in their own ways. For me, seeing the benefits of each and applying them appropriately seems to keep me happy on both ends.
One word of warning - comedies and VO2 max intervals don’t mix. I failed intervals several times as I burst out laughing. Apparently laugh muscles and leg muscles are and either/or thing 
I resistance train 5 days a week and ride TR in the winter 3x a week. There are definitely times I don’t enjoy the process but I enjoy the results more. I find if I get more out of something than I put into it I will keep doing it. If the scales ever tip the other way it isn’t something I will stick with. I think you need to reframe your mindset. So much of this is mental. To steal a point from Yogi, training is 90% mental and the other half is physical.
I am a DC and in my office most people come to me because of their symptoms. Actually though, that isn’t really why they come. They come because of what their issues are stopping them from doing. Being active, picking up their small kids, etc… They really are in my office so they can go back to living their life the way they want. It isn’t directly because of their pain or issue. They also don’t like some of the things I have to do to fix their structural issues but they like what it results in so they put up with it from time to time.
So again, I would recommend taking a good hard look at what being better, stronger and faster will give you. Why you want to train and what you would get out of it. My main motivation that helps me keep pushing though similar issues is that at 58, I am probably in the best shape in my life even though I have trained for a long time. I want to give a big FU to the aging process. That really helps keep me focused. Keep your eye on the prize so to speak. Don’t beat yourself up for your feelings. Feelings aren’t right or wrong, they just are. You know if it was easy, every one would be incredible athletes. Best to you.
I feel you. I have been off the bike (with very few exceptions) since the end of last summer. First for a planned training break (was planned to last until the end of last year), but I haven’t found the motivation yet to start a proper plan. Whenever I sit on the trainer to try again, it’s just a chore and I want to get off.
In my situation, it surely has to do with the 3 strength sessions per week that I “have” to do because I want to get rid of my back issues of the past 2 years. It feels like even a low volume TR plan might be a stretch, with work and everything that is going on besides sports.
So what did I do? First I started running 2-3 times a week, just to see if I can do it again (after the back issues…). That was very motivating, and I did that for 2 months in fall. After the weather got worse, I took up swimming instead of running, also 2-3 times a week. Fantastic, I really enjoyed my noobie gains
Next, I will spend 2 weeks on the beach to recharge my batteries before I will give cycling another go. Spring is coming, and I will define a few fun cycling goals for summer/fall. If it feels too hard to follow a plan, I may just switch to swimming/running for the time being.
Sorry, this was more about myself - what I wanted to ask you:
- Maybe you are somehow drained (work/life balance or physically stressed)?
- Maybe you are just lacking a cycling goal that gives you motivation such as last year?
From my own experience I would suggest not to force yourself to “just follow the plan”. This would only dig a deeper hole for yourself. Cycling should be fun, unless you make a living off of it. Maybe there is a sport or hobby that can keep you busy until you find your passion for cycling again.
I tend to go to music when I go over Threshold. I suffer a lot better with Rage Against the Machine yelling in my head.
Either 1) take a total break and come back again after some real quality time off
2) Go to only riding outside in group rides and run rides . . . even embrace getting dropped and finish out rides chillin’ by yourself and cruising
3) if attempting TR, just aim for just 2x per week with no plan and use TrainNow for mainly 30, 45, or 60 min rides - no more. Add 1, maybe 2, days per week of something outside unstructured as long as fun seems to be.
- If something is really eating at you and this is merely a symptom for something else - talk to a friend, a loved one, a professional counselor, etc. Maybe you need to address a different something or other going on.
“Assessment: I don’t like the trainer anymore. But I know its important, and its really the only way I have to get structure training in. Any experience with similar situations? And how did you gain your love for the trainer back?”
I am in third TR season (MV). I did the first one diligently. The second was disciplined for the early part. Then it kind of fell apart. Travel was one legit excuse. But that for a divorce and not much fun. I was training for a rando event, for various reasons could not do it. These and reading that my vanity goal (4 kg/w) was not very likely at 53 resulted in the “just could not get myself out of bed at 0445 to finish the workouts”. I had also stopped following the podcasts and the forum and also the local cycling chatter.
Have restarted.
Just two weeks in, so early days and the motivation is high. I’ve told myself I will trust in the process. I know that results are not immediate. I am working on the micro habits of the routine and it is begining to fall into place. Why do all this ? I know this is very efficient and should set me up really well to enjoy the 200 - 400 km rides I want to do. And that I cannot get the structure without TR. And this time I am not looking at the FTP or w/kg carrots, basically it is to get fitter and faster while making the most of my time. I also like the whole eat healthy, don’t drink, goto bed on time to recover thing discipline that is necessary. Let’s see how it goes. But somehow it is fun again. Finished Galena this morning and feeling good after the 90 minutes
One thing to consider is that you switch to a low-volume plan. That makes it easier for you to consistently stick to a plan. You can still ride more if you feel like it (e. g. use TrainNow), but you can consider those rides extra credit. When you are trying to form new habits, it is easier to start with something you consider easy. That’s why I start with 2 x 30 minutes of strength training rather than 2 x 1 hour.
I’d also see what motivates you about cycling. Is it the routine and structure? The feeling of being fast? A particular event? If it is just a number, that’s a tough one, because you may or may not make that number. IMHO it is easier if you aim for process goals rather than outcomes.
It’s funny you say and I really agree. Cycling compilation with crashes don’t go well with VO2Max either, it really throws me off my effort.
Thanks all,
To address some of the questions asked:
- I don’t think I went too deep for my Leadville training. I don’t think this is an overtraining syndrome, beit physical or psychological.
- I still love riding my bikes. Best hobby I’ve ever gotten into by far
- I used to love the trainer - hitting hard intervals feels awesome. I used to look forward to it, but now I just don’t want to even start
- I hate running: Don’t you put that evil on me!
- I have work/family stress, but nothing too deep right now. I think I would have good insight if that was a contributing cause for my trainer-loathing,
- The reasons I want to continue structured/trainer training are: be faster on the bike (keep up with the road team, rip my friends legs off on the MTB), lose some weight (I have too much fat) for better self-confidence, and just being able to climb hills on my MTB and feel like a champ.
Outdoor riding is the best, enjoyment-wise, but I really only have time for that on the weekends. My trainer sessions are limited to 45-60 minutes, starting at 0415 before my workday, because I NEVER do them after work as my priority then is my family-time.
My plan is this, based on the tips you all have said:
- Two workouts per week on weekdays on the trainer, using ‘Train Now’. Nail them, and give up on the expectation of them being fun, but knowing that I’ll enjoy the outcome
- Try to substitute these two trainer sessions for outdoor rides (more enjoyable) if the weather is good.
- Ride outdoors on the weekends when family obligations allow. I’ll go out just for fun, but still push myself cause I do like the exercise.
- Forgive myself for not training like I “think” I should. Honestly, between all the “you should be strength training, you should get your nutrition right, you should be consistent, you should get at least 8 hours of sleep, you should do range-of-motion exercises” maybe I’m just too hard on myself and its leading to the unenjoyment of my trainer.
- Choose my entertainment on the trainer beforehand - setup some basketball games on YouTube TV to catch up on weekly
Please, keep the discussion coming. I can’t reply to everyone, but I very much can relate to many of the above comments, and hopefully its helping someone else.