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Okay I need some insight into something.
A friend who likes to run and has done long bike rides has an indoor trainer.
We live in Atlanta, and the weather is perfect. I don't understand the training inside?
Not saying it's good or bad but what is the desire to stay inside and miss all the hot guys out biking and running?

Latenight30 saidOkay I need some insight into something.
A friend who likes to run and has done long bike rides has an indoor trainer.
We live in Atlanta, and the weather is perfect. I don't understand the training inside?
Not saying it's good or bad but what is the desire to stay inside and miss all the hot guys out biking and running?

Hayfever for me. Until someone makes a giant plastic hamster bubble for me, I won't go outside at this time.

In track we had to do indoor training twice a week, even when the weather was nice. It conditions your mind to withstand running for extended periods of time. Outside you have things to look at and distract you (like the mens) but indoors you can get bored easily and your body will try to tell you that you should stop. Not sure if he's training for an event or race of some sort, but it's a smart tactic.

training on a machine lets you have greater control over your speed, no? i like doing interval training on a treadmill purely because i have exact control over the speeds and time intervals.

Training indoors is easier to control (speed, resistance, etc.). I run with a heart rate monitor and use a specific program to challenge my heart rate. It's very difficult to do outside unless you have a very flat place to run.

Different people like different things.

All great answers. Thanks guys.

Training on rollers forces you to develop a smooth circular pedal stroke, and helps to develop great balance.

Especially if you live urban, an indoor trainer's a good option for shorter sessions so
- you're not interrupted by the stop-start of traffic lights
- you're not constrained by the local speed limit
- you can get on and ride straight away*
- your laundry's limited to bibs/socks
- you won't get hit by a truck

* instead of packing spare tubes, food, water, rain gear, etc. and locking the house

Rain?

there are benefits, as stated above, but i just hate it and thus never ever do it.
living in the great white north, off season is for xcountry skiing, running, snowshoe-ing and the occasional mtbike ride on hard packed snow trails.

of course i draw the limits at -20 C ,skiing is for the shit, running is bearable but not fun , snow shoe is ok and forget biking. So i'll run on treadmill then , if i feel like it... i usually don't .

but indoor down South ... i'd never dream of it.

Agreed, There are benefits to indoor training, as well as personal preferences. I, for one, can't stand the monotony of it...not that mile after mile of high tempo solo road riding isn't equally monotonous! ;)

When I was racing, did quite a bit of "off season" (winter) roller and resistance trainer (indoor) riding. Always hated it. The one big benefit for me, was it made those early March & April morning rides all that much more bearable (temps still in the 20s), as you were finally thankful to get outside again.

Now I just ride year round outside. Some days are more enjoyable than others, but I love riding in the rain too. The cold isn't so bad as long as you keep warm. I dislike high winds and riding on snow covered streets the most.

xassantex saidthere are benefits, as stated above, but i just hate it and thus never ever do it.
living in the great white north, off season is for xcountry skiing, running, snowshoe-ing and the occasional mtbike ride on hard packed snow trails.

of course i draw the limits at -20 C ,skiing is for the shit, running is bearable but not fun , snow shoe is ok and forget biking. So i'll run on treadmill then , if i feel like it... i usually don't .

but indoor down South ... i'd never dream of it.

The down south part is what I also wanted some support with. I don't do a lot of ridding but we do have THE PATH (pathfoundation.org) that provides 19 miles of 90% off street wide sidewalk that connects 4 towns together.
I did the whole thing this weekend all 38 miles round trip. I hurt but would never have gone that long in a gym or on a trainer.

ever try a computrainer... really good. they have course simiulators.

training is more concentrated. 1hr on trainer =1.5 hrs on the road.

I like training outside more, but training on a treadmill is more challenging imo because you could set the incline to 10 or 15 and run/walk up a hill constantly.

Latenight30 said

xassantex saidthere are benefits, as stated above, but i just hate it and thus never ever do it.
living in the great white north, off season is for xcountry skiing, running, snowshoe-ing and the occasional mtbike ride on hard packed snow trails.

of course i draw the limits at -20 C ,skiing is for the shit, running is bearable but not fun , snow shoe is ok and forget biking. So i'll run on treadmill then , if i feel like it... i usually don't .

but indoor down South ... i'd never dream of it.

The down south part is what I also wanted some support with. I don't do a lot of ridding but we do have THE PATH (pathfoundation.org) that provides 19 miles of 90% off street wide sidewalk that connects 4 towns together.
I did the whole thing this weekend all 38 miles round trip. I hurt but would never have gone that long in a gym or on a trainer.

exactly.
if you want small sessions, or intervals and the weather is crappy, an indoor trainer can be useful. But i see crappy weather as a divine intervention to tell me i need to lay back ... or get laid ... or both...