The structured workout, Zwift and smart trainers have done wonders to make indoor riding more engaging. And yet, it can still be terribly boring. You need more to focus on to distract yourself from the ticking of the clock.
The Toolbox is a place we can turn to and find several different aspects of our riding to work on: our breathing (respiration), pedal stroke and even things like cadence can all be layered on to your workout to keep it more interesting.
Indoors is a great spot to work on this stuff as we won’t be distracted by potholes, stop signs and generally trying to stay upright. The respiration, cadence and pedal stroke are described as being layered onto a workout. A good description, as it captures how much is going on at any given moment when on the bike. Can you work on your respiration, keep pedaling well and maintain your position in the peloton all at once? To maximize your performance these things all need to happen together, without distraction. The hope is that if we work on these ideas enough indoors they will be happening automatically once we get outdoors, and so not distract us from the act of pushing more wattage!
Cycling is about more than just pushing on the pedals and making these different aspects of your riding better will mean better performance without more watts. The whole concept behind the Toolbox. Layer on a few ideas and keep those indoor rides more engaging!
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