Even if time crunched you don’t need to have super short breaks on intervals. Depending on the workout you are probably better off being more recovered than trying to have super short recovery intervals just so the ride is 1hr long rather than 1:15.
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I have a drafting table for my tv, and another one to the right to hold water bottles. I took the cage off of the Neo Smart and just stack things up on the table. I already know that I’m not getting ‘the experience’ because the Neo Smart is rock solid, so why do the water bottle too. But if I had a rocker plate that did two dimensions, I would consider it. (I did have rollers for a short time, and got to the point I could do 10 minutes without hitting the wall, so I threw in water bottles and instantly hit the wall and nearly dislocated my shoulder. There comes a time when faking reality just isn’t worth it. I actually had a bruise, and the wall seemed fine which means I hit a stud.
But don’t stop riding! Keep moving the meat!
Personally I see the ‘breaks’ as just going to zero and catching my breath. It gets really humid in the pain cave and with people talking about CO2 buildup, even though it sounds outlandish, I guess it’s possible. So there are times when the temp spikes 3 or 4 degrees and it just starts getting oppressive. But there are times that I just power through too. I think I pick harder rides and then realize that I will have a hard time doing it, and pausing to compose myself and stop trying to drain the room of all nitrogen/oxygen just works.
Ride on!!
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Depends on the workout.
Pausing mid interval for 1-2m during a 6x5m vo2 max session is going to greatly affect that intervals impact.
Pausing mid interval on a 3x30m SST is going to have a much lesser impact.
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Personally, When I have paused, it’s almost always on a ‘recovery’ interval, and I just need to catch my breath and stop my life passing before my eyes. If I can’t handle the on intervals, the off intervals aren’t going to do much.
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Yeah that is (imo) completely fine. Taking an extra breather during recovery and hitting the work intervals with more power than you could otherwise is great.
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Others have given good advice regarding the workout, but is there a reason you stop for water besides wanting a break? You should learn to fuel on the go…
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First of all, I calculate that you increased FTP about 7% after only 10 TR workouts. So it looks like you & TR got something goin’ on, there. Good job.
Second, I think it was Coach Jonathan that said…if you do a workout & take a minute break between intervals, that’s still a lot of good work & you will get some adaptive response. BUT, if you can do that same workout without any breaks…then you feel like you have a little edge over an identical cyclist that did take that little break. Not a huge edge, just a little something.
I’ve adopted that little cognitive trick from @Jonathan & always strive to avoid breaks or backspinning during a workout.
Just a comment to say you should absolutely learn to drink while pedaling. It’s a pretty critical skill, and there’s nowhere better to practice than on the trainer. You’ll get it down quickly.
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I think it is ok to start with short breaks, but try to make fewer and fewer of them. You can play games with yourself, giving e. g. 2 break vouchers that you can use, but no more. You can also try and figure out whether the need to take a break is just mental exhaustion or physical. If it is mental, you can try to push through on occasion. Learn that you can push through these boundaries. Just don’t expect something unrealistic from yourself.
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Hey! Welcome to TrainerRoad, and congrats on the progress you’ve already made! 
So excited to see the improvements you’ll continue to see 
There have been a lot of great insights shared here, so I’ll just hop in to reinforce some key takeaways.
Your workouts—and the balance of work and recovery—are intentionally designed to give you the optimal training stimulus. TrainerRoad reccommmends specific workouts based on it’s analysis of your training history and what it has learned works for you.
These workouts aren’t about pushing you to the absolute limit every time. They’re structured to drive the best FTP gains and performance improvements in a sustainable way.
Since your goal is to be your very best in the long run, I’d encourage you to stick to the prescribed structure as much as possible.
That said, if you’re struggling to complete a workout, don’t sweat it—that’s useful info for us. Let us know why in the post-workout survey, and we’ll make sure your training adapts to keep you progressing at the right rate.
And remember—you’re human! If you need a quick pause now and then, it won’t derail your progress. Just aim to keep breaks minimal so you don’t miss out on the intended benefits.
Keep up the awesome work, and let us know how things are going!
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It’s not a problem. I’m 65 and with my leaky kidneys and (ahem) larger prostate, I almost always have to take a pee break. Honestly I don’t think it changes a thing.
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When Couch Chad was around he would often suggest a simple 10-15 second back pedal rather then completely stopping during the hard intervals. You get the benefit of keeping your legs moving so the by-products of the hard work don’t pool in your legs which can happen if you completely stop. if you feel like stopping, just the mental break you can gain from doing a quick 10-15 second back pedal will surprise you and often allows you to re focus and finish the interval. I often do them right after hard intervals as the resistance lowers for the rest period to drop my heart rate down quicker then pick up and spin easy until the next interval during hard workouts. Having to stop once in a while is no big deal. If it happens more often it can be an indication something is off. Either the current workload is too high or you are carrying too much fatigue. both can cause things to go off the rails quickly
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May I ask a follow-up question?
For me, training on rollers gets uncomfortable after about 45 mins, so I set 60mins max due to that, and its comfort not “needing to catch my breath or take a breather”. To do 1hr 15 and 1hr 30 I would want a few minutes off and perhaps a cup of coffee at 45 mins in, so sort of a 45 min and 30 mins session with coffee stop. Is there a problem with that, or is keeping to 60mins and no break better?
I dont know if you have to stop to drink but drinking while riding should be easy to do especially in any recovery valley
If you haven’t had a bike fit you may want to explore that. You should be able to sit on your bike for that period of time without getting uncomfortable.
I am going to be the voice of reason here, generally, it is best to follow the structure of the training. If you are taking a short comfort break, I would not do it:
- in the middle of an interval
- during a short rest (less than 5 min) that is part of an interval structure
Other than that, if you have a longer rest, or if you are in the middle of an endurance ride, or a long endurance portion of an interval workout, it is just fine to take a couple minute break, fill your water, stretch your legs. I don’t care how TR is going to dock your score for the workout or what anyone else says about a break like this - if they think this is going to make ANY measurable difference in your long term fitness, that is some magical thinking.
I try to never take a break during an interval. Some of us old guys have the use the bathroom more than the young guns, but I only take bathroom breaks in between intervals.
And I’ll admit I’ve taken a few 15sec-30sec breaks after a killer over/under interval. As long as it’s not a regular thing, I think you’re OK.
The general advice is don’t take breaks if you don’t have to, and if you do take breaks due to intensity, you need to reconsider your current FTP setting (or maybe you were just having a bad day/under fueled, etc).
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I am in a similar situation, fairly new to TR and doing all my training on rollers, and even though I have done 21 rollers workouts it is still very sketchy trying to take a drink or food. So I have been stopping in between hard intervals ie on the recovery intervals to take on food and or water. I decided it was better than doing the whole workout without either. For what it is worth i am trying to get more comfortable on the rollers ie practicing trying to take a drink
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I have been riding rollers for over 15 years and still can’t ride one handed.
It’s numbness hands and undercarriage that gets me, not needing a breather or drink. I don’t have a problem otherwise with the workouts, get through them fine.