One-Hour Workout: "Kitchen Sink" Bike Trainer Workout

Let’s be real: the bike trainer can be mind-numbing sometimes. That’s why coach Tony Zamora of Endorphin Hub designed this “kitchen sink” workout filled with various types of intervals and drills. It’s suitable for every level of athlete, regardless of the distance you’re training for, and it can easily be adjusted to make it longer by adding in more repeats.

“It’s short, hard, and has everything you need in less than 60 minutes,” Zamora says. “What I love about this workout is that it forces you to think in smaller intervals, breaking up the trainer workout into manageable chunks. By the time you know it, you’ll be all done with the workout and asking for more! Or a nap.”

The ride starts with an easy spin and single-leg drills. These are accomplished by unclipping one leg from the pedal and carefully placing on a chair next to you (or on the trainer). Spin for one minute with the other leg. Concentrate on perfect circles, pushing down and pulling through and up. Repeat on the other leg and alternate one minute of each leg for a total of 10 minutes.

After that, you’ll proceed to the main set, or the “kitchen sink” portion of the workout. This includes all-out efforts mixed with easy spins and cadence work. You’ll close it out with a 20-minute threshold effort – to break this up into more manageable chunks, Zamora recommends changing the pace every 2 minutes. One option could be to ride sitting for 2 minutes, stand for 1 minute, sit for 2 minutes, stand for 1 minute, and so on. Another option could be to vary the cadence, so do 2 minutes of high cadence (90–100 RPM) and 1 minute of low cadence (60–70 RPM). The key here is to keep the effort the same and hard throughout the 20-minute interval.

Finally, you’ll hit the cooldown – an easy spin in the small chainring – a well-deserved rest after this spicy session!

Looking for workouts, boredom busters, and indoor training advice? Check out our Indoor Training for Triathletes hub.

One-Hour Workout: “Kitchen sink” bike trainer workout

Warm-up

5-minute easy spin, at about a 6/10 perceived effort

10×1 minute single-leg drill.

Main set

5-minute blowout effort at an 8–9/10 perceived effort. Once both feet are clipped in, go all out for 5 minutes. Cadence is your choice.

5-minute easy spin recovery, at 6/10 perceived effort, keeping cadence high (100+ RPM).

10×20-second ALL OUT sprints (10/10), with 10-second recovery between each. (Don’t worry about pedaling during the recovery – it’s too short! Just coast, catch your breath, and go on to the next sprint.)

5-minute easy spin, at 6/10 perceived effort, keeping cadence high (100+ RPM).

20-minute time trial, at a perceived effort of 7/10, or your threshold effort.

Cool-down

5-minute easy spin at 6/10 perceived effort in the small chainring.