You’re halfway through a hard indoor cycling interval.
Your legs are starting to hurt.
Your breathing is getting heavier.
You glance at the clock.
4:57 remaining.
A few pedal strokes later, you look again.
4:49.
Surely more than eight seconds have passed?
You ride for what feels like another minute.
4:36.
Suddenly that five-minute interval feels as though it might last forever.
Sound familiar?
Watching the countdown clock during a difficult cycling interval can turn a challenging workout into a mental battle.
Instead of concentrating on your cadence, breathing, power and technique, you’re thinking about one thing:
How much longer do I have to suffer?
That’s rarely the most useful place to direct your attention.
So during your next hard indoor cycling workout, try something different.
Stop watching the clock.
Why Does the Clock Seem to Slow Down When You’re Working Hard?
You’ve probably experienced this outside cycling as well.
Ten minutes chatting with friends can disappear almost instantly.
Ten minutes holding a demanding cycling intensity can feel considerably longer.
Interestingly, research suggests that exercise really can alter our perception of time.
A 2024 study had recreationally active adults complete 4 km cycling time trials and found that participants perceived time as passing more slowly during exercise than at rest. Earlier research also found that exercise intensity can distort subjective time perception.
That doesn’t mean the clock has actually slowed down.
Unfortunately, your five-minute interval is still five minutes.
But your experience of those five minutes can change.
And repeatedly staring at the countdown isn’t necessarily helping.
The Problem With Counting Every Second
Imagine I’ve prescribed:
5x 5min Level IV, 3min Level II RI
You start the first five-minute interval.
Initially, everything feels fine.
Then you reach the point where the effort becomes uncomfortable.
You look at the timer.
3:18 remaining.
Now you’re no longer simply riding at Level IV.
Mentally, you’re trying to deal with the entire remaining 3 minutes and 18 seconds at once.
You start thinking:
I don’t know whether I can keep this up for another three minutes.
Then:
And I’ve still got another four intervals after this.
Suddenly you’re not riding the pedal stroke you’re actually on.
You’re mentally riding the next three minutes, the next four intervals and perhaps the rest of the workout simultaneously.
No wonder it feels daunting.
Ride the Interval You’re In
One of the most useful skills in endurance sport is learning to bring your attention back to what you’re doing right now.
Not the final minute.
Not the next interval.
Not how many repetitions are left.
Right now.
If you’re completing a Level IV Threshold interval, focus on executing Level IV well.
Is your cadence where it should be?
Are you producing the appropriate power?
Are your shoulders relaxed?
Are you gripping the handlebars unnecessarily hard?
Is your breathing controlled for the intensity?
Are you still pedalling smoothly?
These are useful pieces of information.
Watching the seconds slowly disappear isn’t.
Research examining cyclists’ thoughts during exercise suggests that attentional focus and self-regulation are part of how riders manage perceived effort, with experienced cyclists appearing to engage with internal physiological cues and self-regulation differently as exercise progresses.
The objective isn’t to completely ignore how you’re feeling.
It’s to direct your attention towards information that helps you ride better.
Break Long Intervals Into Smaller Pieces
Sometimes you need the timer.
Perhaps the workout isn’t being controlled automatically, or you need to know when the next change occurs.
That’s fine.
But you still don’t need to spend ten minutes staring at the countdown.
Instead, mentally break the interval into smaller sections.
Let’s say you’ve got a 12-minute Level IV interval.
Don’t think:
“I’ve got 12 minutes of this.”
Think:
First three minutes: settle in.
Get your cadence established.
Find the appropriate power.
Relax into the effort.
Then:
Next three minutes: rhythm.
Focus on smooth pedalling and controlled breathing.
Then:
Next three minutes: maintain.
Keep doing what you’re doing.
Then:
Final three minutes: finish the job.
The physical demand hasn’t changed.
It’s still 12 minutes.
But psychologically, you’re dealing with a series of manageable tasks rather than one enormous countdown.
Use Process Goals Instead of Time Goals
Another approach is to give yourself something useful to concentrate on.
For example:
Cadence.
Hold your chosen cadence smoothly for the next section.
Breathing.
Settle into a strong but controlled breathing rhythm.
Technique.
Relax your shoulders and hands. Keep your upper body quiet.
Power.
Keep your output within the prescribed intensity rather than continually chasing individual watt fluctuations.
Position.
If you’re a triathlete, concentrate on maintaining your aero position appropriately.
These are all process goals.
They’re actions you can control.
And importantly, they contribute to the purpose of the workout.
The clock doesn’t.
Don’t Confuse This With Ignoring Your Body
There is an important distinction here.
I’m not suggesting you distract yourself so completely that you stop paying attention to what your body is telling you.
That’s particularly important during hard training.
You should remain aware of your breathing, technique, perceived exertion and whether you’re producing the intended intensity.
The goal isn’t:
Ignore everything and suffer until the timer ends.
It’s:
Stop obsessing over how much time remains and concentrate on executing the work.
Those are very different strategies.
Your Power Display Can Become Another Clock
You can do exactly the same thing with power.
If your target is 280 watts, you might spend the entire interval staring at your screen:
- 277
- 278
- 279
- 280
- 281
Then you start reacting to every tiny fluctuation.
Power drops three watts, so you push harder.
It jumps above target, so you back off.
Then it falls again.
Before long, you’re chasing the number rather than riding smoothly.
As I’ve discussed previously, your numbers are tools.
They aren’t the workout.
Check your power periodically.
Make an adjustment if required.
Then get back to riding.
The same applies to cadence, heart rate and the countdown clock.
Use the information. Don’t become controlled by it.
Indoor Cycling Can Make Clock-Watching Worse
Indoor cycling creates a particularly tempting environment for this behaviour.
Outside, you’re moving through the landscape.
There are corners, hills, road surfaces and scenery.
You have natural landmarks.
Ride to the top of this climb.
Get through this section of headwind.
Hold the wheel until the next corner.
Indoors, you can be sitting in exactly the same place staring at exactly the same screen for an hour.
And sitting right in front of you is a timer.
06:42 remaining.
06:41.
06:40.
That’s a lot of temptation.
So change what you’re looking at.
If possible, alter the display so the countdown isn’t dominating your screen.
Look ahead rather than down.
Use the coach-led workout.
Listen to the instructions.
Focus on your riding.
Give your brain something productive to do.
This Is One Advantage of Coach-Led Indoor Cycling
This is something I particularly like about coach-led indoor cycling sessions.
You don’t necessarily need to manage every second yourself.
I’ll tell you what we’re doing.
I’ll tell you when the effort changes.
I’ll give you technique cues.
I’ll remind you about cadence.
I’ll let you know when you’re approaching the end of an interval.
Your job is to ride.
That can make a surprisingly big difference during a difficult workout.
Instead of thinking:
How much longer?
You can focus on:
What am I supposed to be doing right now?
Don’t Start the Final Minute Five Minutes Early
Here’s another common mistake.
You look at the clock during a hard interval and see:
5:00 remaining.
And immediately think about how difficult the final minute is going to be.
But you’re not in the final minute.
You’re five minutes away from it.
There’s no benefit in experiencing that final minute twice—once in your imagination and then again when you actually get there.
Deal with the effort you’re currently completing.
When the final minute arrives, then ride the final minute.
This principle extends well beyond indoor cycling.
It’s useful during long climbs.
Time trials.
Triathlon bike legs.
Running races.
Long training sessions.
You don’t need to complete the entire event right now.
You need to execute the section you’re currently in.
Hard Intervals Are Supposed to Feel Hard
None of these strategies magically removes the physical demand.
A Level V VO₂ Max interval should feel hard.
A challenging Level IV Threshold session should require concentration.
If I’ve prescribed a demanding workout, turning the clock off isn’t going to suddenly make it a recovery ride.
And that’s not the objective.
We’re not trying to make hard training physically easy.
We’re trying to stop adding unnecessary mental difficulty to an already challenging task.
There’s a difference.
If your legs are working hard because you’re producing Level V power, that’s part of the session.
If your brain is panicking because you’ve watched 17 individual seconds tick past and you’re calculating how many painful seconds remain, that’s probably not helping.
What Should You Focus on Instead?
During your next challenging interval, try using a simple sequence.
For the first part:
Settle.
Find your power, cadence and position.
Then:
Smooth.
Relax unnecessary tension and concentrate on good pedalling.
Then:
Hold.
Stay disciplined. Don’t surge simply because you’re feeling good, and don’t back off merely because the effort is uncomfortable.
Finally:
Finish.
When you genuinely reach the final section, commit to completing the interval well.
Four simple jobs.
Settle. Smooth. Hold. Finish.
That’s much more useful than:
4:37… 4:36… 4:35…
Stop Watching the Clock
The next time you’re halfway through a hard indoor cycling interval and find yourself staring at the timer, move your attention somewhere more useful.
Check your cadence.
Check your technique.
Relax your shoulders.
Control your breathing.
Make sure you’re riding at the correct intensity.
Break the interval into smaller pieces.
And concentrate on the work you’re doing now.
The clock will keep moving whether you stare at it or not.
Your job isn’t to make the seconds disappear faster.
Your job is to execute the workout.
Take Your Indoor Cycling to the Next Level With Velocity
If you’d like to spend less time managing timers and more time concentrating on your riding, Qwik Kiwi’s Velocity gives you access to coach-led video workouts where you can follow the session and focus on executing each effort.
There are hundreds of workouts covering Level II Endurance, Level III Tempo, Level IV Threshold, Level V VO₂ Max, cadence, technique, recovery and more.
You can also join the Qwik Kiwi squad for two live coach-led sessions each week at 6:00 a.m. New Zealand time:
Tuesday: 45 minutes or less
Thursday: approximately one hour, sometimes a little more or less depending on the workout.
Can’t make the live sessions? Coach-led workouts are also available on demand, so you can train when it suits you.
Stop watching the clock. Start riding the workout.