off hand and general comment - always fascinating to see the default pause setting in apps/computers. There is some actual recovery happening, I realize not many will agree with me but I consider it a fail to not keep recording straight thru the break
I very rarely stop - like once every couple of months and usually because itās a long workout and I need a bathroom break that just canāt wait. I make sure I have everything I need within reach before starting every workout - plenty of fluids, nutrition, towel, remote, etc.
Youāre not wrong - I am in the habit of pausing for trainer rides because thatās how my cycling computers outside have always done it (from long before I realized it wasnāt the ārightā option).
This got me into the habit of pausing, and then I started to do ride analysis over elapsed time - so the pause duration is visible when I look at things afterwards regardless
My life would certainly be simpler if I kept recording in between but I implemented the workaround and am a creature of habit
I end up pausing almost every indoor workout to blow my nose. I have allergies, and indoors my nose just runs pretty constantly. But I make it a point to not stop during a tempo or above interval. If Iām doing an endurance ride, I will pause when I need to blow my nose.
I agree, I am type 1 diabetic and sometimes if I have diving sugar levels it is sometimes dangerous to go into a 20 minute interval, itās not because I canāt do the interval (cycling wise), itās just not going to be safe for my heath, so sometimes I have to take a break and wait for things to settle, so I donāt want to keep playing the session, I want to live within my limitations and do the interval, just TR makes out that didnāt have that pause, so I no longer upload from TR and dual record on my Garmin (or in Zwift) as that gives a more accurate indication of what I did
I always stop after the warm-up and take five minutes to drink a cup of coffee. Depending on how long the workout is or if I am going to do a run afterwards I will stop during rest intervals and take in some carbs. If the workout is close to 2 hours I sometimes hop off for 2-3 minutes to give my butt a break.
This is probably gross, but I have several small micro fiber towels stacked in the exercise room and I always keep one by the bike. I use one end for sweat and the other for my nose. It just goes in the laundry after the ride. The front tire is a good place to store it if you donāt have a table.
I used to stop to turn on/up the fan. But now I just wear a light jacket; I take it off and throw it on the floor after 10 minutes.
I chose never because Iāve only briefly stopped one or two workouts in the past four months and that was because of a BT/TR signal issue, I restarted TR both times and was back in action.
My pre-workout routine is annoying long at 10-20 min but it also means once Iām on the trainer, Iām good to go. I get my bottles ready, and bloks if its a long ride (although I always leave a packet on my RAD desk just in case), my shokz headphones are always charged and on my desk (when I turn them on they connect to my BT transmitter hooked up to the TV), I fire up my laptop and pick a Zwift route to ride during my TR workout, I connect my cell to my TV to play my YouTube playlist that I put together for each ride based on the time I need, I also connect my cell to the charging cable I leave hanging over my desk so the battery is never an issue, I also always have two hand towels hanging to use, then I get geared up and the last thing I do is turn on my fans once Iām ready to go.
Almost a year now on TR. Iāve only stopped to use the restroom. If the intensity is too much I drop it 10% or 20% and chalk it up as fatigue. I then accept the training adaptions. Seems to work for me.
I stop once in probably every workout, usually for a toilet break. If Iām doing a hard workout, I treat it as Iād be preparing for a race: standard warmup, pee break and then Iām good to go. If itās a long, 2+ hour session, I usually stop at 2 hour mark to stand up for a while. No harm done.
I stop quite often for any number of reasons. Iāve never had a āfailā because of it. Itās never for long.
Donāt worry about it if you do stop.
Rarely do I ever perform an indoor workout over 2 hours, but the only reason I ever stop is a mechanical. I have all of my chargers set up next to me, prep everything ahead of time. I normally have time constraints so I have become very disciplined in my prep habits.
If I looked back I would be hard pressed to find more than a handful of workouts where I have stopped at all in the last year or two.
Almost never. And if I do, only very quickly in a rest interval. Only valid reasons I can think of: very fast picking up an ear bud or towel, workout often doesnāt even pause if I do it fast enough. Rarely to pee. Never for a rest or a break or to get more food. Have food or drink ready and drink/eat on the bike.
Personally, I almost never stop, it only happens once in a blue moon. My most frequent reason is that one of my kids needs my attention. Since I typically get up between 4:30 and 5:00, this isnāt too often. During the weekend, I might train during the day and have to answer the door or some such. But this is really rare these days. On 2:30±hour rides, I sometimes have to go to the rest room
What you are describing is definitely not the norm. I would split your reasons into two groups:
Lack of preparation
- Dropped towel/earbud
- Refill water
- Grab a charger
- Getting a phone call
- Giving your bottom a rest
This can be reduced to essentially zero by proper preparation:
- Make sure your earbuds fit properly or buy different ones where the two buds are connected.
- Make sure to have enough water and snacks with some to spare. I always leave an extra liter bottle of plain water behind me. I can cool down my body with it or drink it. Or both.
- Make sure your devices are charged or are charging before you begin a workout.
- Schedule workouts so as to minimize intrusions. You can call back people later. Make sure your family understand that this is your time. (Or do it while they are sleeping.) Etc.
- You noted that your butt hurts. This should be solved by making sure your bike fits you (e. g. get a bike fit), getting a saddle that suits your anatomy and getting quality bib shorts with a good chamois. The dumb thing with bib shorts is that you cannot see visually what is and isnāt a good bib short. But in my experience, it is really worth investing at least in mid-range bib shorts. I have tried several cheap bib shorts from DHB and other brands. No bueno.
Actually workout-related
- Intensity. So here I think you need to dig deeper and ask why? Is it lack of sleep? Really too much intensity? In principle, if the workouts are too intense, indicate that they were too hard in the post-workout survey. Adaptive Training should suggest easier workouts to you. This should not happen permanently.
I usually get off to turn on the fan during the warmup. Otherwise only for bathroom emergency
I usually start workouts with my fan turned off, and after awhile I need to stop pedaling to turn it on once warmed up. itās only a few seconds but enough to pause the workout. Iāve also paused a workout during a rest interval to attend to the washing machine. (Multitasking in the garage!)
If this affects my AI FTP calculation then so be it.
I really doubt it, especially during warm-up or cool-down. Even during rest intervals, I donāt think you will get penalized for short breaks.
Seems there are several people who should have remote control outlet switches on their Xmas list.
Iām surprised by how many people are hopping off the bike just to turn on a fan.
My fans have remote controls. I never use them: I just put them on max before I hop on the bike and that is that. Even with a window open behind me and sub-zero temperatures outdoors, I donāt feel cold.