Inside Look: Wahoo Fitness presents – the importance of indoor cycling
Editor’s Note: This content is courtesy of Wahoo Fitness and is not an independent review by Mtbr.
Compared to the open trail, indoor cycling is drastically different. There is no wind in your face, you don’t have to balance the bike, and there is definitely no threat of flying off a mountain or into another rider. But for those who love outdoor biking, from cross country to Enduro to riding fat bikes, the indoor stuff provides a convenience that can’t be matched. Weekend warriors can escape the harsher outdoor conditions while competitive cyclists can improve their endurance and technique without a trip to the trail. While some of the benefits of indoor and outdoor riding coincide, taking your workout inside has its own set of perks. Let’s get down to them.
It’s Convenient
Let’s face it. Cycling outdoors can sometimes be a hassle. You have to worry about loading up your gear, traffic, weather, other cyclists and pedestrians. While some of these factors can play into the excitement of the ride, for everyday workouts, they can sometimes just get in the way. That’s where indoor cycling comes into play. Whether you are killing it in a spin class or working out in the comfort of your own home with a device like the KICKR indoor bike trainer, you can’t beat the convenience of indoor training. Plus, getting rained on isn’t really that fun on a daily basis.
It Helps Perfect Your Technique
Whether you need to work on keeping your heart rate in the right zone or you’re tracking your cadence, cycling indoors can be the perfect way to work on your technique. It offers you the opportunity to focus on key components that you wouldn’t be able to tackle as easily outdoors, like teaching yourself to pedal in circles, all the way through the pedal stroke or wrapping your thumbs so your hands don’t slip. Many cyclists don’t focus on their form, like relaxed elbows and shoulders and keeping your head up, as much when they are cycling outside.
The KICKR Snap from Wahoo Fitness is a great choice when looking for an indoor trainer with solid build quality and high tech features.
It Provides Optimal Training
For those avid mountain bikers that prepare for weeks or even months in advance, it isn’t always easy to get out and train properly. That’s where indoor cycling comes in handy. Unless you live in the perfect area, you can’t find the same elements you would on a mountain outside your home. With indoor cycling devices you can apply the perfect amount of resistance to replicate the incline of the mountain trails you are training for without wasting tons of time loading up gear or driving. You can replicate your rides accurately by using the ELEMNT GPS Bike Computer to ride previous routes from your history. Add in the constant pedaling on an indoor trainer, and your endurance levels will skyrocket.
It Keeps You Social
The motivation from your peers can keep you going longer than your stamina usually would. In spin classes or even on outdoor rides with friends, we often find ourselves pushing past our limits and striving to keep pace or push past what our fellow cyclists are doing. By being compatible with apps like Zwift, indoor cycling devices like the Wahoo Fitness KICKR allow you to keep track of your friends’ workouts in real-time, meaning you can still have the competitive factor without ever stepping foot in a spin class. Many of these apps also offer a virtual riding component, so you can sync with your television to experience a complete virtual reality during your indoor session.
No matter your mountain biking discipline, indoor cycling can be a huge benefit to your ride. Looking to learn more about indoor cycling? Check this out.
For more information visit www.wahoofitness.com.
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