Often times,
multi-discipline athletes have difficulty locating the time to get it all in.
There isn’t enough daylight to swim, ride, run, paddle, climb, and trek in a
given week. Keeping our fitness at an optimal level and focusing on essential
disciplines while dealing with the shorter evenings and colder winter weather
dictates taking our training indoors. A stationary indoor spin bike is a great
way of maintaining and improving hard earned fitness.
While outdoor buffs find
it difficult to train indoors, the great features of a spinner shouldn’t be
overlooked. The adjustability of indoor spinners allows you to mimic the
position of your outdoor rig. While most health clubs have a wide variety of
electronic-resistance based machines, positioning and comfort are often
drastically different than what a cycling enthusiast is used to. Saddles are
customarily extra wide and handlebars at awkward angles. These bikes are
designed to let you dial your position to your outdoor measurements. Brands may
vary, but adjustability and positioning is similar. Saddle and bar positions are
closer to the real deal.
Resistance on a spin
bike is self-adjusted, just like shifting your bike.Different workouts will dictate varying
levels of heart rate, resistance, cadence, and perceived exertion. The
self-adjusting nature of a spin bike is quite conducive to targeting those goals
(whether self- or coach-prescribed) and staying within workout ranges. The lack
of the ability to freewheel/back pedal on many spin bikes creates the benefit of
fixed gear riding which can improve an imbalanced pedal stroke.
Indoor cycling group
classes are popular in many health clubs around the country. Suffering with
goal-oriented friends provides incentives to tough it through a training
session. Just like a weekend group ride, there’s strength in numbers. The
camaraderie of the group, upbeat music, and a motivating instructor makes time
fly. Seek out a quality instructor that trains or races a bike outdoors. True
cyclists doubling as indoor cycling instructors will always include more
realistic cycling-specific work in their classes. Non-cycling instructors often
include drills that are successful in raising the heart rate, but have no
cycling practicality.
While group classes
typically offer a high intensity workout in a short period of time, longer
intervals performed close to your lactic threshold are much more beneficial for
aerobic system development. Enjoy a group hammer session on occasion, but
remember that longer lactic threshold based intervals are your keys to laying a
strong aerobic foundation. Perform 2-4 intervals of 10-20 minutes at 75-80%
aerobic effort. To make workouts more exciting or event-specific, include
over-under efforts in your session. For an over-under effort, you begin the
interval at a pace below your lactic threshold. Spend 8-12 minutes riding at
75-80% aerobic pace. As you end this block of time, ramp your exertion up to a
maximum 1-2 minute effort. Transition back to an 8-12 minute block at 75-80%
pace. This completes one cycle. Perform 1-3 cycles based on your current fitness
level and past experience. Modify resistance to simulate climbing or flat ground
riding, offering additional variety in your workout.
While outdoor junkies
might rather be bombing twisty single-track or doing a city limit sign sprint on
the weekend group ride, a spin bike can be a valuable training tool when a lack
of daylight or weather forces us indoors. Follow these tips to maximize your
progress indoors.
·Transfer measurements from your
personal bike to a spin bike. Measure your effective top tube length (center of
seat tube to center of handlebar), saddle height (center of crankbolt to top of
the saddle, along the seat tube), and handlebar to saddle height difference. An
experienced cyclist can ballpark these measurements just by jumping on the bike.
Less experienced riders should carry their measurements and a small measuring
tape in their gym bag. Matching measurements of your outdoor bike will minimize
the risk of a poor bike fit, which can result in injury.
·Take a group class and seek out a
quality instructor.
·Perform longer intervals around
your lactic threshold.This assists
aerobic development, making a more efficient use of training time. You’ll finish
your workout feeling pleasantly fatigued as opposed to
exhausted.
·Include over-under intervals in
your workout sessions. These efforts will train your body to endure large doses
of lactic acid while jumping from a steady pace to a maximal effort and back to
a good steady cruising pace, similar to a group ride.
·Use entertainment (music, movies,
training DVDs) as tools to increase your indoor time on the bike.
·Focus on any cycling deficiencies
you may have picked up during the race season or summer months. Many cyclists
need to focus on high cadence work to improve their leg speed while others need
to push heavier muscle tension gears, focusing on strength building on the
bike.
·Keep workouts short when
concentration is fading. Two hours of total ride time broken into a morning and
evening one-hour sessions might be more productive. Many athletes have a mental
shut-off valve when it comes to indoor training. Some can ride for 4-5 hours
indoors, while others last 1 hour.
·Variety is the spice of life. Use
new workouts, invite friends for suffer fests, expand your video or music
library, and ride into spring with your best fitness ever.
James Herrera
is an Elite Coach and Director of Coaching for Carmichael
Training Systems (CTS). To find out what James and CTS can do for you, please
visit www.trainright.com.
