Episodic Middle

If your protag is doing essentially the same thing over and over, readers are most likely going to get bored and be in a hurry for the story to start. Your instincts sound right on target for noticing that and being concerned.

I'd suggest two options:

1. Cut those non-plot moving chapters. You can always jump ahead in time and do a "after six months of training he was good to go" type summary paragraph.

2. Put something plot-driving in those other chapters so it's not just about him learning to fight. Give him a real "side quest" maybe and add a subplot where he needs to use those new skills to accomplish something else.

The best way to hook readers, regardless of the type of story or plot, is to give them a mystery of some type they want to know the answer to. And by mystery I don't mean in the genre sense. Just a story question they want the answer to, whatever form it takes. You always want them wondering what will happen next and how your protag is going to deal with it.

Gammer said:

I was planning out the middle portion of my story, and realized that only like three or four of the chapter moved the actual plot along. Everything else was very episodic and a lot the chapters felt like one-shots.

But I feel they were necessary because the MC is learning how to fight, be a warrior and learning about the magic of the world. So the chapters are basically the equivalent of the RPG Side-Quest to level up your character and gain more experience. Plus I really wanted to avoid the whole "instant expert" cliche that fills the fantasy genre and really go into what the MC has to go through both mentally and physically to get up to speed with other more experienced characters.

So is there any way to hook the heroes warrior journey into the main plot?

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You have to blend the warrior journey in a little at a time, a bit here, a bit there.

I don't think there's an "instant expert" cliche in most published fantasy fiction. A lot of it goes though the journey, but it's expertly woven in.

You're writing a novel, not a how-to book on martial arts.

The chapters may not be relevant to the outer plot, but they could be an important part of the inner plot. What age is the character? Is he growing up, developing a sexual identity, coming to realize he isn't like others or isn't like his family (oh dear, or thank God, depending on the family)? Is she making friends that will be with her through the rest of the book? Helping people, hurting people, learning about people? While the character is learning magic and warcraft, he can (and probably should) be learning other things--that other people are real, not just spectators, that honor is sometimes tricky, etc., etc.

From what you said, I don't think you have to cut all of those training and learning scenes, just reduce their face time. Personally, I would want to see that in the story because it seems to me it is part of the MC's journey, and therefore, relevant.

But the entire middle can't be just that. To me, it looks like you need to weave in some other elements. What's happening in the world and with the other characters during this time? Is any of that directly affecting the MC? What's the antagonist up to? What's your B story? (and if you don't have a B story, I think you just found your main problem, but I can't assume anything) All of those things (and more) keep the middle tight and moving along smoothly.

Anything that will take the reader out of the story has the potential to lose that reader, so the weaving of information suggested by others is a good idea (based on what was said in the original post). But you are in the difficult middle-book. If you find this problem is slowing (or threatening) your progress, press through as you have been doing so you can get to The End. You can take care of all side-jumps, dead-ends, and bothersome chapters in the editing stage. In fact, some of the problems with these chapters will likely jump out when you give the first draft a straight-through read. And none of this will matter unless you finish the story.

Is it possible to integrate hero's training into the main story, learning as he go? Might be fun that he's still green during his quest, has to learn on the job and gets his ass handed to him a few times.

Unless/until he's trained or capable who's going to give him a quest? So where does the story begin?

There's nothing cliche about a character in a warrior environment being able to fight.

Don't know what you mean by 'getting him up to speed with other characters'. Why does he have to get up to speed with them? Is he earning points? Don't confuse a novel with gaming.

Is he just a kid? You know your story, but is he a kid because that's where the story really starts, or simply because you want to avoid what you feel is a cliche.

Learning basic skills chapter-by-chapter could end up being dull background and set-up and delay the real start of the story unless the training per se is incidental and major incidents occur during the training to start the story rolling and put him on a changed and irreversible path.

Any reason why he can't start off capable and have to learn special additional skills once he learns his quest and/or discovers the superior power of his enemy?

Just thoughts for you.

Often the real beginning of a story doesn't make itself clear until one has reached the end.

Good luck.