Structured workouts: indoors or outdoors?

Many of the workouts will have a structured workout attached to them. These tend to work very well when riding indoors, but don't feel that just because a structured workout is attached that you can't take your ride outdoors.

The structured workout should be thought of as a guide. The one thing it does very well is give us a visual understanding of what the workout is about. It is also very good as a timer for the micro-interval (short on/off work) type work. But there is no need to feel completely constrained by it and having to match it moment by moment.

While we tend to use the structured workout format indoors - ERG turned off of course😉 - the ideal training mimics the outdoors. That means that even indoors, when it is appropriate, we want to be doing our workouts on a course without the structured workout running. It will feel more natural and help us to continue refining some of our toolbox elements - wattage control through shifting and cadence, and generally keeping us attuned to the bike. Something we lose in the ERG mode format. If you feel that you need a timer you can always run the structured workout on your head unit to get prompts across the workout.

Generally speaking, as long as a workout doesn't call for a big long endurance day, we should be able to do the same workout indoors or out - it is simply a case of finding the right terrain for the work we need to do.

Once we are training on a course, or outdoors, then the structured workout does really become a guideline. The timing of the steps may not match exactly to the terrain you are riding, so finesse it a bit.

The only thing we do want to try and maintain is the work-to-rest ratios in any interval sets. Aside from that, hit up the course on Zwift or get outdoors. It will make your riding far more engaging than rolling along in ERG mode - which we really don't want to be doing anyway!