Lots of indoor riding - flexibility?

TLDR: yes. I have experienced it myself (especially in my hips) and was told by a physio and a bike fitter that it is common when spending a lot of time on a turbo.

I'm building a rocker plate, I want to start doing a polarized plan but spending more than 90 mins on the trainer in z2 is soul (and other parts of the body) destroying.

Mine with fore aft movement and on castors so it's movable is going to cost £240, without castors that'd be £200.

I purchased a rocker plate and tried it out for a fair few rides before I decided it made very little difference for the cost so sold it on. I also didn't like how it felt for standing out of the saddle when doing sprints and actually felt it cost me power.

I bought a rocker plate too. Unpacking it, I was initially disappointed to see how little movement there was. In use though, it's just about right. There's enough to improve longer-term comfort but not so much that you actually feel the rocking motion. I don't race on Zwift so if there's a power loss when using it then I don't care.

Can't say I've noticed any loss of flexibility, but then I'm 64 so maybe my expectations are different. I'm also mixing up Zwifting with IRL-riding, running, walking swimming, weights and yoga so hopefully not overdoing one specific exercise that might cause the problem.

I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced tightness or muscle imbalances because of too much indoor training?

I’m also mixing up Zwifting with IRL-riding, running, walking swimming, weights and yoga

IMO it’s impossible to tell what’s causing it

I'm pretty sure I know what's causing it - lots of indoor training and little else. I'm just wondering about other people's experiences. And yes, well aware of all the issues surrounding it.

Can you add in some out of the saddle riding in?

Should still be able to keep your heart rate down if you slow down your cadence.

I don’t find any issues tbh. I don’t get saddle sore, don’t get DOMS, vvv rarely get cramp, don’t really get stiff.

I’m about as flexible as a brick too 🤣

I do move about a fair bit. Often use the aero bars for a while, stand up for 50 revs, sit up straight no-handed to drink, change hand positions between tops, hoods and drops regularly.

Often use the aero bars for a while

I've been wishing I could do this, a brief experiment with puppy-paws on the rollers last week ended in disaster 😖

Interesting thread though, all my wee aches and pains tend to flair up around about this time of year, I wasn't sure if it was just accumulated injury and fatigue from summer riding or my ill-advised attempts at training for and racing CX...

Can you add in some out of the saddle riding in?

Yeah it's a good idea. Something else that helps is a 1-2m break every 15 mins. It's also a nice way to break up the tedium.

The standing desk at work really helps too in general.

I think it's simply your body's way of telling you that riding zone 2 on a turbo is mind-numbingly dull and you should do something else instead 😉

I think turbo really does exacerbate any little imbalances, or irritate old problems, that can go unnoticed riding outdoors.

I started a post a couple weeks ago now, about knee pain but only on the turbo. And to be honest, I haven't been back on since - just running instead.

I think it’s simply your body’s way of telling you that riding zone 2 on a turbo is mind-numbingly dull and you should do something else instead

I did wonder if solo winter riding in general (and Z2 indoors in particular) lent itself to 'introspection', which I've learned I don't generally deal with very well! I'm probably the only person currently considering joining a bike club, just to have a reliable source of social rides that I can flake out of last minute without mucking my mates about 🙄

There's nothing particularly unique about the turbo except in that you sit in a fixed position longer than you would outside, so if something's wrong you'll know about it quicker.

Rocker plates are dumb because they rock the wrong way to a bike outside. Also they introduce instability. If your knee is hurting, instability is the last thing you want.

IT bands can't actually be meaningfully stretched. They don't have the receptors. Also, stretching is by and large a waste of time (apart from the placebo effect of taking time to calm down).

My recommendation is: drop saddle by 1cm, push cleats back 5mm. See how that feels. If still there, repeat.

If outside knee pain, try bringing cleats inboard. Also try putting a proper insole in your shoe.

Actually just go get a bike fit.

Lower your saddle 1cm and move it forward on the rails 0.5cm. ITB is an over extension repetitive injury. Not moving around on the turbo may be exacerbating what is already an over extended position.

Whilst IT bands can’t be stretched, there are muscles down the leg that can tighten up and pull the knee out of line. Massaging with a tennis ball or roller can help loosen those muscles

I had something similar that was a dodgy cleat position being exacerbated on the trainer. Took some trial and error to fix but made IRL rides feel a bit better in the end.

If you fancy a rocker and want to see if a bit of movement suits you, I tried a red-neck rocker plate: cut up a closed-cell foam camping sleep mat (£7 at Sports Direct), put several layers under the body of my trainer and some more under each leg (took a few goes to get the left/right balance correct as the bike isn't centred on the trainer).
It worked really well, just a little bit of wobble, one hour max riding went up to a comfortable two hours... and it's still there and I've never got around to buying a rocker plate 😉