Biking in Gym

[jllmom]

I don't have an IPOD, so can you use these on an MP3 player? And how effective are they?

[indysteel]

Jllmom, congrats to you for your work at the gym. I would definitely suggest taking some spin classes. Assuming you have good instructors at your gym, they will put your through your paces. Spinning is a very effective and fun cardio workout. If you go regularly, you'll end up doing both speed and resistance work. Go easy with the high resistance stuff though, especially at first. It's really easy to put undo stress on your knees during spinning if you push too big of a gear. I went to a class the other day where the instructor was barely able to turn her pedals over. In my opinion, that's an invitation to injury. Just listen to your body. If it hurts (in a bad way), pull back.

My best advice is to get a heart rate monitor and use it regularly. You didn't necessarily indicate that you're working on cardio fitness, but in my opinion, it's the foundation upon which to build all other fitness, especially in cycling. I'd recommend spending most of your time on the bike for the next couple of months at around 60-75% of your "maximum heartrate" (you may have to do some further research on how best to determine your max HR). Assuming you do this consistently, you will develop a good aerobic base. From there, you can work on increasing the intensity and duration of your indoor cycling and, hopefully, start riding outside as well. It may not be as immediately awarding as a sweatfest, but it will pay off in spades.

Cycling does build leg strength, especially in your quads, but since it's not weight bearing, it's not as effective as, say, running. You will notice changes in your muscle tone and definition as you continue to ride, but if muscle toning is your primary goal, I would also recommend doing some weight/ resistance training for both your upper and lower body. Interestingly, cycling requires core strength but isn't great at building it so cyclists benefit from supplementing their workouts with resistance, balance and flexibility training. In addition to riding outside and spinning, I lift weights and do yoga twice a week and do a ton of squats, lunges and crunches. I'm sure I could even do more than that, but that's all I really have time for on regular basis.

Good luck. Several people on TE that are training gurus, so I'm sure you'll get some good advice here.

Kate

[bike4ever]

jllmom - Where in MO are you?

[Cassandra_Cain]

jllmom - can you be more specific about what you mean in saying 'muscle tone'? It is one of those terms you hear a lot but in of itself, it doesn't mean much.

Cycling will not make your legs stronger unless you have some sort of physical limitation. Studies have shown that people who do not ride at all, are actually stronger on average, in terms of outright leg strength, than elite riders (aka TdF, etc). Forces in the endurance type of cycling the vast majority of people do, are very low - no higher than climbing stairs for instance.

If you want stronger legs in terms of how much you can lift and such, then do weight-training. Cycling can help you lose weight, it is also a phenomenal way to gain cardiovascular fitness, and burn fat, but not for gaining strength.

The one type of cycling that could potentially make your legs a bit stronger would be all-out sprints from a standstill.

So it comes down to something like this.....do you want bigger muscles? Then lift weights. do you want more definition? Then ride you bike, other cardio, and have a sensible diet. do you want to be stronger? Lift weights.

[KSH]

Cycling does build leg strength, especially in your quads, but since it's not weight bearing, it's not as effective as, say, running. You will notice changes in your muscle tone and definition as you continue to ride, but if muscle toning is your primary goal, I would also recommend doing some weight/ resistance training for both your upper and lower body.

Well, you are very right... it's not a weight bearing exercise.

From my own experience though, I use to go to the gym and do squats/lunges/running/etc. etc. (This was before I got into cycling.)

My legs looked good, but they weren't "WOW".

Ever since I started cycling... I always get compliments on my legs when I wear shorts. Now days, my legs are "WOW". So, even though it's not weight bearing, it sure did help me out a lot.

Jill, go to a spin class. Those bikes in the class are 100 times better than a stationary bike. Otherwise, you can follow the instructor on what to do.

For me, though... I never follow the instructor. What they do in a spin class, I would never do on my real bike. For example: They will turn the tension all the way up and mash on the pedals. In a real-life biking scenario, I would downshift and make it easier to pedal. The key in cycling is having high cadence. It's not about muscling through the pedal strokes. So, I basically go in there and spin (literally) for 1 hour.

Good luck, and get a real bike as soon as you feel comfortable with the idea. It's so much fun. My time flies when I'm out on my bike where as the minutes slowly tick by in a spin class.

[Veronica]

Cycling will not make your legs stronger unless you have some sort of physical limitation. Studies have shown that people who do not ride at all, are actually stronger on average, in terms of outright leg strength, than elite riders (aka TdF, etc). Forces in the endurance type of cycling the vast majority of people do, are very low - no higher than climbing stairs for instance.

Huh?

[Cassandra_Cain]

Huh?

Huh? and a picture? What part of my statement is unclear?

Strength is defined as the ability to apply maximal force. Endurance cyclists are no stronger (not able to apply any higher maximal force), as a group, than your average untrained person. Forces in cycling are low. Where endurance cyclists are markedly superior is in their cardiovascular abilities, lactate threshold, vo2 max, and anaerobic work capacity. It is that, not strength, which gets you to the front of the peloton and up the mountains fast.

[Trek420]

Those your legs, V? Oh, no, that's a Specialized, never mind.

The other way we can tell it's not you is....that's not your CA Triple Crown Jersey. In other words there are a lot of things that go into a deffinition of strength, it's more than just numbers.

In the gym it's spin class or the eliptical trainer, Precor I think is the brand I like. If spin class is full I head there.

The movement feels fluid and more natural to my gimpy body, more like climbing unseated. I'm a sit and spin kinda gal on climbs or more often get off and walk But I'd like to have the strength to "dance in the pedals" or accelerate.... like if I need to catch up with a car full of young folks who used a megaphone to yell at me while riding my Bradley tank-like commuter like V did one fine day.

If both are busy? Rowing machine, or go outside and walk. I don't like stationary bikes at all. they feel rigid and artificial.

I want to get in the habit of the yoga class. I have a Cycleops fluid trainer at home in front of the TV but no yoga instructor, or PTA (ahem).

I like to think of strength as that sorta hard to define new agey whole body thang including all those numbers and things, flexibility and movement, mind body stuff, body awareness but also the hard to define does-not-show-up-on-the-HRM-program ability to "dig deep in your suitcase of courage"

If I don't have that last bit, none of those numbers mean much.

[KnottedYet]

I like to think of strength as that sorta hard to define new agey whole body thang including all those numbers and things, flexibility and movement, mind body stuff, body awareness but also the hard to define does-not-show-up-on-the-HRM-program ability to "dig deep in your suitcase of courage"

Don't forget the ability to fling full-grown adults across a room, Ms. 2nd Degree Black Belt!

(when a 5'1 50 year old chickie is tossing around folks a foot taller than her, I think that counts as strength!)

[Trek420]

nah. You don't have to be strong to do Aikido. It's timing and balance and energy and all that new age'y stuff.

[aicabsolut]

Huh?

I wish **my** legs were that strong and cut. Fantastic shout-out to my bike as well (ok, the fancy S-works version of my bike but still... ain't it pretty?)