Have an Organized Plan
Especially if you live in a climate where you need to ride on an indoor trainer for most of the winter, you need an organized plan for moving your fitness forward. Riding three times a week for an hour or 90 minutes at the same steady speed will only get you so far, and then your progress will stall. Plus, for most people, it's mind-numbing.
You should always have a program that has progression in it and in which there's a goal to every workout. Great ways to incorporate progression: Adding intervals into your indoor cycling program and increasing the workload by increasing the duration or number of intervals.
Go Hard
"Shorter, harder intervals of 2 to 4 minutes—or more sustainable intervals of about 12 minutes that have some cadence variations in them—are often good on the trainer," Rutberg says. "The shorter, harder efforts help you get the workload in a shorter amount of time. And they're more interesting because you have to pay attention more. If you're doing two minutes at maximum intensity and two minutes off, you're always watching the clock and the time tends to go quickly."
More: 2 Workouts for the Indoor Trainer
And Then Get Off
"As a coach, I typically don't have anyone ride for more than 90 minutes on the trainer. You can get the work done within that time, and you have to be conscious of not frying the athlete. If an athlete is going to be primarily on the trainer for three months and you have them frequently do two-hour sessions, they're going to be burned out before they get back on the road," he says.
Plus, evidence from power meters suggests that the workload you accumulate over 60 minutes on the bike trainer often takes 75 minutes to produce on the road. "So if you had a ride planned and you're forced indoors, you can take about 20 percent of the total time off your workout when you ride on the trainer," he says.
Caveat: If you're training for an Ironman-distance triathlon or ultra-endurance cycling event, you may need more trainer time.
More: The 4 Common Bike Indoor Trainers
Do Something Else Sometimes
Keep yourself mentally healthy while you're getting fit by giving other outdoor exercises a chance. If you're cycling in three times during the week, try getting outside on the weekends for other aerobic activities such as cross-country skiing, uphill hiking or mountain biking.
Distract Yourself, if you Have to
"If you have a progressive program for your indoor training and know what your goals are, then what you're watching or listening to isn't necessarily going to be the source of your motivation," Rutberg says. But there are days when you really want a little extra energy from some entertainment.
There's no magic "best" thing to watch or listen to—do whatever works. Rutberg's tip: "Sports that don't stop as frequently, like hockey, NASCAR racing, basketball or—of course—bike racing can be very useful for people."
So give your indoor trainer a chance. It just might love you back.
More: 8 Distracting Options for the Indoor Trainer
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