I was just looking for time in zone on the TR dashboard and wondering why I couldn’t find it.
I’m already using intervals. . . it has the best equipment / maintenance management by a long shot. And competitive across the board with that other site that shall not be named.
If pro’s do all intervals outdoors I’m not sure why we would consider them to be less effective. My suspicion is TR drives this narrative because it fits into their “time crunched athlete” narrative.
Personally I find indoor sessions in erg mode harder and more productive but outdoor workouts more fun and more sustainable long term. In saying that, I also have a five mile uninterrupted climb within 30 min of my house so I have the luxury of doing most efforts outdoors. Longer SS is tougher though,
I wouldn’t think they’re inherently less effective. The pros, I’m sure, also have the luxury of being a little picky about where they do the bulk of their outdoor training. I occasionally rode with a team in the Los Angeles area and there was an outdoor fit for about any kind of interval duration/effort combo you could think of.
Also the pros, if they don’t have other obligations, can probably afford the time to drive to the right location for a multi-hour workout. Compare to those of us with full-time jobs & families, just fitting in an hour on the trainer can be difficult, let alone commuting to the best still-not-100%-ideal location, to have your single 40-minute threshold interval ruined by a long red light, a 200-car 6-engine coal train, or a car that decided to overtake & turn in front. Then there’s risking your neck in fog or with ice or other road hazards. So I’d say no, inside is not inherently more effective, but if one is only on four hours per week, the controlled environment of a pain cave could be more conducive to just getting the work done without having to deal with the above. I’m lucky to have ideal facilities nearby so the lesser of two evils is being outside: Any damage done to the quality of my workouts by doing them outside would be far eclipsed by non-compliance caused by a dropoff in motivation if I had to do them all inside.