Winter indoor training has started

[Trek-chick]

I am actually looking forward to my indoor training this season. We have been doing some more home remodeling and decided to turn one of the spare bedrooms into my "bike room" for storage and training. I am not totally finished with the room yet but am very excited to have all my cycling gear organized into one space.

I will post photos once it is completed.

Still have to paint and install floor/door molding and move my stuff in......

[ny biker]

I am actually looking forward to my indoor training this season. We have been doing some more home remodeling and decided to turn one of the spare bedrooms into my "bike room" for storage and training. I am not totally finished with the room yet but am very excited to have all my cycling gear organized into one space.

I will post photos once it is completed.

Still have to paint and install floor/door molding and move my stuff in......

Color me green with envy. I live in a 1BR condo. I don't want a big house, but I would love just one more room for the bikes.

In the past couple of years I have expanded my winter wardrobe and am able to ride more in the winter, down to 40 degrees or so as long as the roads are dry and not covered with salt, which causes asthma problems for me. It works well because I can ride indoors sometimes but have never been able to do it regularly throughout the entire winter. But yes last spring I reached a point where I wanted a break from cycling, until I came down with the mother of all colds and missed out on some rides that I look forward to every year.

Some folks in my bike club do a weekly Sunday afternoon ride throughout the winter, weather permitting. It's a relatively short, flat route that ends at a popular coffee place so people can enjoy a hot beverage after the ride. Last winter I started leading a semi-regular weekend afternoon ride that started from a different location which allowed me to easily the change the route for every ride and has a coffee and donuts place nearby for a post-ride treat. This year I hope to do more of those rides but also alternate them with rides in a different area that also allows for good route variety. The funny thing about leading winter rides is the looks on people's faces at the start if you have any announcements to make -- everyone really wants to start pedaling so they can warm up.

[rocknrollgirl]

We are pretty hooked up for training at home too. The only thing I attend a class for is yoga. I also do not mind trainer sessions, but we ride outside all winter. We mountain bike regularly in the teens and we have been on the road in the 20's but we have not done that in a while. I have all the gear and then some so it is not bad. I am inside all day in a classroom with no windows, so running and cycling outside in the winter save my sanity.

[Crankin]

That's exactly how I feel. When I go to the gym for a class, it's in and out in an hour, usually very early in the AM, unless it's yoga. I might do a spin class on the weekends or on one of my days off during the week, if I can't do an outdoor activity. But, I also have all of the gear, and being outside cures pretty much anything for me.

[ny biker]

I think if I had room for a good workout space at home, I would use it when the weather is really bad, like when there are severe storms or icy conditions. I typically walk to and from the gym for weight training and I used to do cardio there too during the winter, until that became boring and I started to make more of an effort to bundle up and go for walks around my neighborhood instead. But sometimes I end up stuck at home because conditions are not good for any amount of walking or driving. I would still want the variety of going to the gym or outside, but a third option of a good workout at home would be useful.

Of course I say that in theory -- there are enough days when I could ride the bike on the trainer but can't get motivated to change my clothes and set up the equipment in my living room. But if the equipment was always set up in its own space, that would definitely help get over the inertia.

This is making me think -- maybe I could come up with a bad-weather workout routine at home that could substitute for the weight training I do at the gym. I don't have room for much equipment and can't jump around and make noise in my apartment, but maybe I could do something with elastic bands, for example. I'll ask my trainer for suggestions.

[Helene2013]

Most of the weight training I do is "noiseless". Bands, free weights - although my trainer prefers bands as you work hard to control the return on the bands, exercice balls to do some of the abs/buttock works. Bosu is good for squats and stability stuff, and of course your own weight when doing planks, lunges, etc. So I think that you can get a good workout without heading to the gym when not feeling/able to do so.

Unless you must get to a gym to get some stimulation or interaction with other people. My employer reimburses me for sports activities (although taxable benefit - and not for purchasing own stuff - bummer!) but I barely use it. I used it 3x only to register to some organized bike rides. Good enough.

So I'm sure your trainer will be able to get you something for weight training. Just don't know for warm ups what you could do as I either cycle or run on treadmill for 15 minutes or so before weights.

[Helene2013]

Tonight was a Sufferfest - There is no try. faster and faster intervals. Hard! Cut the program in half as it is too hard right now for me. Did 40 minutes and then a 20 minutes of physiotherapy for my ankle and some muscle workout.

I did get a calf cramp mid-way into the Sufferfest as I was pushing so hard without thinking as I had so much fun. I just love training at home.

So hooked up on Sufferfest and cycling that during dinner (now) we are watching a new video they got out on style... 90 minutes of this training. hihi Can't wait to try that one out on a weekend.

[qcuthbert]

We are pretty hooked up for training at home too. The only thing I attend a class for is yoga. I also do not mind trainer sessions, but we ride outside all winter. We mountain bike regularly in the teens and we have been on the road in the 20's but we have not done that in a while. I have all the gear and then some so it is not bad. I am inside all day in a classroom with no windows, so running and cycling outside in the winter save my sanity.

How do you get past the wind blowing in your face? I usually like to and find comfortable riding with humidity because of the no wind factor. I would like to ride outside still but the wind cuts my energy levels.

[Helene2013]

The more you will ride under those conditions (winds) the stronger you will be and able to push further.

[ny biker]

It also helps to find some routes that offer protection from the wind. In general, open spaces are bad on windy days and tree-lined roads are better. Sometimes you can modify your route to avoid the worst of the wind. Rail trails are often not good on windy days because you end up going in one direction for a long time, and if that direction is into the wind it will wear you down fast. Trails and roads near water (like the Mount Vernon trail on the Potomac) also tend to be windier, and colder too.

[ny biker]

So, I got the Jungle Gym XT for Christmas. I will probably try it out on New Year's Eve when the gym will close too early for me to get there.

For use in a doorway, the instructions say to use a three hinge door that opens away from you. I have no three hinge doors in my home. The only way to use a door that opens away from me is to use it in a hallway that's too narrow, on the balcony or in the stairwell outside my apartment. None of these options is good. But I think it should work okay if I use it in my living room with my front door. It has two big spring hinges and the frame is metal. It is always deadbolted and no one opens it except me.

My trainer also will start incorporating some suspension exercises into my regular gym workout, which is good because I would like his help to make sure I'm doing things correctly.