Do you feel inefficient and awkward when standing on the indoor trainer?
Of course you do because the bike does not move with you like it does outside.
But this is not a reason to give up trying to stand. Practicing standing indoors can greatly help you riding outdoors, however, done wrong can result in bad habits forming.
The bad habit that often forms standing indoors also is the same focus we have to eliminate inefficiency. This is an “up and down” motion, almost bobbing, when you are standing.
Instead, replace with the head and upper body moving side to side while standing. This is to assist dropping your body weight into each down stroke. Moving side to side sets up a very efficient distribution of your bodyweight into each downstroke that reduces the demand on the legs to produce power. It also allows you to increase the power if you need by assisting your effort with your body weight.
Watch in the video and you will see how the shoulders move to the side of the downstroke and time it to arrive right at the beginning of the downstroke. This is at the “1 o’clock” position if you were looking at your cranks like a clock.
Work on this next time you are on the indoor trainer. You can place a mirror or your phones camera in front of you to visually see your motion to improve it real-time.