Totally agree!
About to get on the bike and train in the garage. Here is my indoor training setup, its basically identical to doing an outside workout. The only differences:
- where I put nutrition and hydration (workbench vs cages/pockets)
- step 2 to put trainer in resistance mode
- topping off air in tires vs turning on some form of entertainment before starting workout
- Hit top right button on bike computer to select today’s workout, and start pedaling:
- Fire up TrainerRoad app for 10 seconds to turn on Standard mode at level 2:
No overthinking, no differences between inside and outside. Just look at targets on bike computer, shift gears, and pedal away. In the past it seemed “old school” was a dumb idea, but then I really thought about the podcast discussions on cognitive load and specificity. So after two years of Erg I switched to this setup and it is so much easier on several levels.
My brain is pretty well calibrated at this point, without looking at bike computer I can sense when on/off target or when HR/breath ticks up during warmup or an increased effort. My bike computer can control resistance level, and it even supports Erg, but I found it easier to start pedaling and switch to Standard mode using my phone.