30 Minute Bike Trainer Workouts – 60 Minute Indoor Cycling Workout

30 Minute Bike Trainer Workouts

Luckily for those time-conscious people, 30 minutes is all you need for an effective workout to increase and maintain your fitness. Below we have gathered some of the best 30 minute bike trainer workouts that you can do when you are limited in time.

How to perform these workouts: Each workout provides a detailed summary of how long the session is and the level of intensity required for each interval. The intensity is then dictated by RPE (rate of perceived exertion).

RPE runs off a scale of 0-10, with 0 being the easiest possible pedaling effort, and 10 being the maximum.

Each 30 minute bike trainer workout can be performed up to 3 times a week for increased fitness and weight loss gains.

1. Cadence Drills (30 minutes)

How do I do it? After a steady warm up of 10 minutes, complete 60 seconds with a cadence of 110-120rpm. Make sure you stay as smooth as possible and don’t bounce on the saddle. If you find you are moving off the saddle, reduce the cadence by 5rpm. After each high cadence effort, pedal at a steady 60rpm. Warm down to finish the session.

Workout:
10 minutes – Warm up (RPE 3-4)
10 minutes – 60sec at 110-120rpm, 60sec at 60rpm (RPE 6-7/4-5)
10 minutes – Warm down (RPE 3-4)

2. Low Cadence Workout (30 minutes)

How do I do it? Warm up for 10 minutes at an RPE of 3-4 Then shift to a higher gear and perform 60 seconds at an RPE of 7-8 and with a cadence of 50-60rpm. Focus on force around the pedal stroke and stay seated. After each low cadence effort, increase the cadence to 90rpm and pedal steady with an RPE of 4-5. Repeat for 10 minutes.

Workout:
10 minutes – Warm up (RPE 3-4)
10 minutes – 60sec at 50-60rpm, 60sec at 90rpm (RPE 7-8/4-5)
10 minutes – Warm down (RPE 3-4)

3. High-Intensity Trainer Workout (28 minutes)

How do I do it? Warm up at a steady pace for 5 minutes. Perform a seated maximum effort sprint for 30 seconds. Recover with easy riding at an RPE of 2-3, then repeat but this time standing up. Complete the remaining sprint intervals then do 8 minutes of easy riding. Repeat the intervals for the second time.

Workout:
5 minutes – Warm up (RPE 4-5)
30 seconds – Seated maximum sprint effort (RPE 8-10)
30 seconds – Easy riding (RPE 2-3)
30 seconds – Standing maximum sprint effort (RPE 8-10)
30 seconds – Easy riding (RPE 2-3)
30 seconds – Seated maximum sprint effort (RPE 8-10)
8 minutes – Easy riding (RPE 2-3)
Repeat – Complete the session for the second time
10 minutes – Warm down (RPE 3-4)

4. Threshold Trainer Workout (29 minutes)

How do I do it? Complete 5 minutes of steady riding mixing building up the cadence to over 90rpm. Begin your first interval at an RPE of 7-8. At this level of intensity, you should be breathing hard but controlled. Keep cadence above 90rpm. Recover by riding easy for 1 minute, complete the remaining intervals at the duration specified below. Then warm down at an easy RPE of 3-4.

Workout:
5 minutes – Warm up (RPE 4-5)
5 minutes – Threshold effort at 90+rpm (RPE 7-8)
1 minute – Easy riding (RPE 2-3)
5 minutes – Threshold effort at 90+rpm (RPE 7-8)
1 minute – Easy riding (RPE 2-3)
7 minutes – Threshold effort at 90+rpm (RPE 7-8)
5 minutes – Warm down (RPE 3-4)

5. Tempo Trainer Workout (30 minutes)

How do I do it? Warm up for 5 minutes at an RPE of 3-4. Perform 10 minutes at 75rpm and an RPE of 6-7, followed by another 10 minutes at 90rpm at the same intensity. Cool down easy for 5 minutes.

Workout:
5 minutes – Warm up (RPE 3-4)
20 minutes – Threshold effort at 75/90+rpm (RPE 6-7)
5 minutes – Warm down (RPE 3-4)

60 Minute Indoor Cycling Workout

60 minute indoor cycling workouts are an effective way to focus on specific workouts without the interruptions you encounter outside. They are a great way to target fitness improvements without the influences of weather, traffic, or gradients. This allows you as the rider to control the most effective intensities for each interval or session.

Below we have provided some of the best 60 minute indoor training workouts that can be implemented into your training throughout the season.

1. 60 Minute Threshold Trainer Workout

How do I do it? Warm up for 15 minutes and gradually increase the effort. Perform 8 minutes at an RPE of 8-8.5 and stay seated. Keep the cadence above 88rpm. Recover for 4 minutes, pedaling easy before performing the next interval. After all the intervals are completed cool down for 10 minutes.

Workout:
15 minutes – Warm up, gradually increasing the effort (RPE 2-4)
8 minutes – Seated threshold interval above 88rpm (RPE 8-8.5)
4 minutes – Recovery (easy riding) (RPE 1-2)
8 minutes – Seated threshold interval above 88rpm (RPE 8-8.5)
4 minutes – Recovery (easy riding) (RPE 1-2)
8 minutes – Seated threshold interval above 88rpm (RPE 8-8.5)
13 minutes – Warm down (RPE 1-3)

2. 60 Minute Endurance Trainer Workout

How do I do it? Warm up for 15 minutes by progressively increasing the intensity. Complete 5×30 seconds of high-intensity efforts (RPE 8.5-9) while staying seated. Recovery for 15 seconds between each. After you have performed the 5 efforts, ride easy for 5 minutes and then repeat for the final two sets. Warm down easy for 15 minutes.

Workout:
20 minutes – Warm up, progressively increasing the effort (RPE 2-4)
5×30 seconds – Seated hard effort above 95rpm (RPE 8.5-9)
15 seconds – Recovery (easy riding) (RPE 1-2)
5 minutes – Easy riding between sets
5×30 seconds – Seated hard effort above 95rpm (RPE 8.5-9)
15 seconds – Recovery (easy riding) (RPE 1-2)
5 minutes – Easy riding between sets
5×30 seconds – Seated hard effort above 95rpm (RPE 8.5-9)1-2)
20 minutes – Warm down (RPE 1-3)

3. 60 Minute Steady State Trainer Workout

How do I do it? After warming up for 10 minutes at RPE 2-4, complete 3 minutes at steady state effort (RPE 7.5-8) followed directly by 2 minutes at an RPE of 8-8.5. Repeat this 4 times before warming down for 10 minutes.

Workout:
10 minutes – Warm up, progressively increasing the effort (RPE 2-4)
3 minutes – Seated steady-state effort 88+rpm (RPE 7.5-8)
2 minutes – Seated steady-state effort 88+rpm (RPE 8-8.5)
3 minutes – Easy riding (RPE 1-2)
2 minutes – Steady aerobic riding (RPE 3-4)
Repeat – Repeat the above block 4 times.
10 minutes – Warm down (RPE 1-2)

4. 60 Minute Tempo Trainer Workout

How do I do it? Cycle easy for 10 minutes, then build into an effort of 7-7.5 RPE and hold for 40 minutes. This should start to feel uncomfortable but you should feel that you can keep going. Hold a cadence of above 85rpm. Mixing both seated and standing positions are fine. Warm down for 10 minutes to complete the session.

Workout:
10 minutes – Warm up (RPE 2-4)
40 minutes – Tempo effort at 85+rpm (RPE 7-7.5)
10 minutes – Warm down (RPE 1-2)

Long Bike Trainer Workouts

Long bike trainer workouts are often dreaded by cyclists, I mean who wants to sit on the trainer for 3 hours? Luckily we have some tips to help you make the most out of those long bike trainer workouts.

Focus on Kilojoules rather than time. If you are a cyclist that uses a power meter, kilojoules are a great way to measure mechanical work (kilojoules/time yield power in watts). This means the stimulus from the training can then be measured by the amount of work. Outside most endurance rides come at a cost of 600 KJ per hour, while inside on the trainer you can experience 800 or more kilojoules when combining efforts over a range of intensities. This can allow you to set targets of the amount you want to reach during any one session.

Join Zwift. Nothing beats having some company on a long ride. Even though you may be stuck indoors on the trainer, apps like Zwift allow you to pair with others in the online world. You can join races or pair up with other riders for a long ride over varying terrains and courses right in your own home.

Try varying the intensity. Riding for hours on end at the same intensity often drives people crazy. By varying the intensity through your ride you can break up the monotony of the 2 hour plus ride. This can be done through periods of tempo riding, simulating hill climbs, or sprinting every 10 minutes. There are many variations you can implement into your long ride to keep the boredom away.

It is important to remember long indoor trainer rides require you to have a purpose or a goal, this will help you stay focused on the task at hand.