5 Fun (Seriously!) Bike Trainer Workouts—and Tips for Making Them Even Better

No matter how much you enjoy rolling around on Zwift, Wahoo RGT, Peloton or any of the other cycling platforms, indoor cycling fatigue can settle in mid winter—even if you’re someone who just watches movies or TV shows while pedaling. We can empathize. But there’s a silver lining: You can actually get some specific benefits from bike trainer workouts, considering the controlled environment they provide.

So, to bring you out of your rut and scaling your fitness to new heights, we asked top pro racers to share not only their favorite bike trainer workouts, but a few tips to make your indoor rides more fun.

Ashton Lambie’s VO2 Max Busting Workout

You don’t become World Champion and the first person to go sub-four minutes on a 4km pursuit without having a lot of power. And where does Ashton Lambie build his powerful, speedy legs? On the trainer.

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“This is one of my favorites to work in for a quick trainer workout that focuses on building anaerobic recovery, as well as comfort in the tempo zone,” he says. “The 30-second efforts in the main set shouldn’t be absolutely maximal, but they should be well into your VO2 zone [that’s zone 5]. They can also be done out of the saddle,” Lambie says. “With the decreasing ‘rest’ intervals, you’ll really have to focus on efficiency and recovering between the sprints! This is a great workout for some race-style efforts.”

The VO2 Max Bike Trainer Workout

Total time: 86 minutes

Warmup: 5 min easy spin

Mini-set building up intensity:

• 3 min – zone 1 (recovery)
• 2 min – zone 2 (endurance)
• 2 min – zone 3 (tempo)
• 2 min – zone 4 (threshold)
• Recovery - 2 min easy spin
• 2 min – zone 5 (VO2)
• Recovery - 3 min easy spin

Main set (3 rounds):

• 5 min – zone 3 (tempo)
• 30 second – sprint (all-out)
• 4 min – zone 3 (tempo)
• 30 second – sprint (all-out)
• 3 min – zone 3 (tempo)
• 30 second – sprint (all-out)
• 2 min – zone 3 (tempo)
• 30 second – sprint (all-out)
• 4 min – easy spinning between rounds

Cooldown: 5 min easy spin

Make It Fun

“As far as songs go, I’ve actually been updating my Bicycling playlist on Spotify regularly,” Lambie says. “For specific tunes, I’ve been pretty into Japanese funk lately, specifically the artist Masayoshi Takanaka. It’s definitely a jam but makes these go by pretty quick!”

Savilia Blunk’s Cadence Pyramid Workout

Reigning cross-country MTB National Champion Savilia Blunk (Rockrider) hits the trainer when the weather gets too dicey to ride outside, and she uses it as a chance to work on cadence. For off-road riders, being able to shift cadence while keeping effort consistent is key to getting through awkward sections of trail at a low cadence but a hard effort, or up tricky climbs, where you may need to spin faster while maintaining your sustainable effort level.

“This is a great short and sweet opener for getting the muscles firing and opening the respiratory system,” Blunk says. “I like it because there’s always something going on throughout the workout so the time goes by quickly.”

The Cadence Bike Trainer Workout

Total time: ~55 minutes

Warmup: 10 min easy spin

Zone 3 intervals at different cadences (keep effort in zone 3):

• 1 min 110 rpm
• 1 min 120 rpm
• 1 min 130 rpm
• 1 min 120 rpm
• 1 min 110 rpm

5 min easy spinning

12 sec seated sprint in a hard gear

5 min easy spinning

Zone 3 intervals at different cadences (keep effort in zone 3):

• 1 min 130 rpm
• 1 min 120 rpm
• 1 min 110 rpm
• 1 min 120 rpm
• 1 min 130 rpm

5 min easy spinning

12 sec seated sprint in a hard gear

5 min easy spinning

Zone 3 intervals at different cadences (keep effort in zone 3):

• 1 min 100 rpm
• 1 min 110 rpm
• 1 min 120 rpm
• 1 min 110 rpm
• 1 min 100 rpm

Cooldown: 10 min easy spin

Make It Fun

“Get some music bumping, set up a fan or put your trainer in a breezeway, or replay a World Cup on RedBull TV to get you through this one,” Blunk says. Her top hype song? On The Floor by J Lo and Pitbull.

Another tip for nailing this one: “Always have food and hydration, and I make sure to set up my snacks so they’re in reach and I never have to get off the bike,” Blunk says.

Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio’s Power Ride

When Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance - Soudal Quick-Step) isn’t racing in the pro peloton as one of the world’s fastest women, she’s crushing it on Zwift and motivating women around the world to join in with her Rocacorba Collective program, a membership-based indoor cycling community, on the app.

Moolman-Pasio builds power via her favorite Zwift workout: four-minute efforts up Alp du Zwift.

“This session involves sets of four-minute efforts in zone 5 at a low rpm with a five-minute recovery between the efforts,” she says. “This isn’t necessarily that much fun, but the reason it’s my favorite session is because I know it makes me so much stronger as it helps build my absolute power.”

Moolman-Pasio gets through the workout with some background music and strong focus. “I try to block out everything around me and focus on getting the absolute most out of my body and mind,” she says. “It hurts during the session, but the endorphin rush afterwards and reaping the rewards IRL and on Zwift in the following weeks helps to motivate me through the session.”

Don’t have Zwift? You can still emulate this effort on any trainer.

The Power Bike Trainer Workout

Total time: 74-84 minutes

Warmup: 10-15 minutes easy spin

Main set (6 rounds):

• 4 min in VO2 max (zone 5) at low cadence (50-60 rpm)
• 5 min recovery (zone 2) at comfortable cadence (70-90 rpm)

Cooldown: 10-15 minutes easy spin

Make It Fun

“What makes this session particularly fun is to do it with others, there’s nothing quite like suffering together and pushing each other through the process,” Moolman-Pasio says. “I’d recommend joining a group workout for this session and I’d especially recommend signing up to the Rocacorba Collective training tier as we have our in-house coach, Helen Bridgman, coaching you through this session by voice on Discord. Having someone motivate you through the session on Discord makes things way more enjoyable and really helps to get the most out of your performance.”

Moolman-Pasio’s Interval Ride

Moolman-Pasio doesn’t only hit zone 5 intervals. She also has some fun on the trainer with quicker intervals sets.

“When it comes to a fun session, I’d say my favorite workout is a 20/40, 30/30, and 40/20 session,” she says. “The great thing about this session is that it really helps improve your VO2 max, but the best part is that it tricks the body. Because the micro recovery period in the interval set is so short, your body thinks you’re holding the all-out power for the full six-minute period. This tricks your body into making a much bigger adaption than trying to hold your max power for the full six minutes, as you can usually reach a higher power for the short bursts.”

The Interval Bike Trainer Workout

Total time: 58 minutes

Warmup: 10 min easy spin

20/40 interval set (6 rounds):

• 20 sec all-out
• 40 sec recovery

10 min recovery

30/30 interval set (6 rounds):

• 30 sec all-out
• 30 sec recovery

10 min recovery

40/20 interval set (6 rounds):

• 40 sec all-out
• 20 sec recovery

10 min recovery

Make It Fun

“When it’s not possible to join others or have a coach motivating you on Discord, then I’d recommend the Rocacorba Collective Spotify playlist,” Moolman-Pasio says. “I really enjoy this playlist during my interval sessions on Zwift!”

Cole Paton’s Cadence-Based Tempo Workout

Even mountain bikers have to spend some time on the trainer in the winter. Cole Paton (Giant Bicycles) is a fan of workouts that are efficient and effective, with plenty of changeups to prevent monotony.

“Here’s a short and sweet strength effort pyramid for riding on the trainer,” Paton says. “I like it because there isn’t a whole lot of time to get bored!” Note that the strength comes from changing the cadence (rpm) in each tempo block, rather than changing the effort level itself.

The Tempo Bike Trainer Workout

Total time: 59 minutes

Warmup: 10 min easy spin

Tempo set 1:

• 3 min tempo (zone 3), 70 rpm
• 2 min tempo (zone 3), 60 rpm
• 1 min tempo (zone 3), 50 rpm
• 30 sec tempo (zone 3), 40 rpm

1:30 min easy spin

Tempo set 2:

• 30 sec tempo (zone 3), 40 rpm
• 1 min tempo (zone 3), 50 rpm
• 2 min tempo (zone 3), 60 rpm
• 3 min tempo (zone 3), 70 rpm

10 min endurance (zone 2)

Tempo set 3:

• 3 min tempo (zone 3), 70 rpm
• 2 min tempo (zone 3), 60 rpm
• 1 min tempo (zone 3), 50 rpm
• 30 sec tempo (zone 3), 40 rpm

1:30 min easy spin

Tempo set 4:

• 30 sec tempo (zone 3), 40 rpm
• 1 min tempo (zone 3), 50 rpm
• 2min tempo (zone 3), 60 rpm
• 3 min tempo (zone 3), 70 rpm

Cooldown: 10 min easy spin

Make It Fun

Be as prepared as possible. “I like to have three water bottles ready, all my ride food, a big fan and towel for sweat, and a mirror to do the workout in front of,” says Paton. “Riding inside in front of a mirror is a great opportunity to make sure your body position is aero and you’re maintaining good form while pushing hard.”