Keep it Real in Your Indoor Cycling Classes
Announcing Keep it Real in Your Indoor Cycling Classes: Master Spinning® Instructor Jennifer Sage’s crusade to “clean up” Spinning and Indoor Cycling classes.
About the Book
About the Author
Table of Contents
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Cyclists must maintain their training schedules during the winter months, but all too often their commitment drops off simply because it’s boring to ride a trainer indoors. They would like to take indoor classes, but may have had a bad experience or found the classes were more like aerobics on a bike and had very little to do with actual cycling.
Keep it Real solves that dilemma by providing suggestions on how to keep classes relevant to outdoor cycling.
Some of the highlights:
- The instructor does it – but you shouldn’t! Thirteen popular movements that you should avoid in any indoor cycling class to prevent injury.
- Indoor cycling bikes are different from your outdoor bike: preventing the effects of the weighted flywheel from ruining your pedal stroke.
- Making the proper choices to maintain your on-bike form, and how to choose cadence and resistance indoors.
- How you can maximize your climbing skills and improve endurance for your outdoor riding better than you ever have before during the off-season!
- Learn how to periodize your training even when the rest of the class isn’t.
- Heart rate training techniques and field tests.
- Specific drills to optimize technique.
Keep it Real in your Indoor Cycling Classes is must-read for both cyclists and indoor cycling instructors alike. Some well-meaning instructors would like to be able to cater to their cycling clientele but they may not know what the specific needs of a cyclist are. Everything you need to know is in this eBook!
Jennifer Sage, author of Keep it Real, is a Master Instructor for the Spinning® program since 1998, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, and an avid cyclist for 25 years. She writes about indoor cycling at her popular funhogspins blog (http://funhogspins.blogspot.com) and is a frequent co-host on the Indoor Cycle Instructor Podcast (www.indoorcycleinstructorpodcast.com).
Jennifer is the owner/operator of Viva Travels, a European bicycle touring company. She provides her clients with training plans for using indoor classes to prepare for epic climbs such as Alpe d’Huez or Mont Ventoux in France (www.vivatravels.com).
She can be reached at jennifer@vivatravels.com.
PART I: INDOOR CYCLING AND THE COMMITTED CYCLIST – CAN IT WORK?
Chapter 1: Training Indoors
Your first indoor cycling class
What you’ll learn from this eBookChapter 2: Why Choose to Ride in a Class Environment?
Trainers are boring and not always practical
Camaraderie
Music and energy
Motivation
A great place to work on form and technique
AdherenceChapter 3: The Evolution of Spinning® and Indoor Cycling
The Origins of Spinning®
Spinning® is a brand
Other IDC Programs
Qualities of a good IDC program
The instructor’s role in leading an indoor cycling class
Qualities of a good IDC instructor
What happened to Indoor Cycling?
Author’s DisclaimerChapter 4: Differences Between a Road Bike and Stationary Bike
Indoor bicycle options and features
Using power on IDC bikes
Differences between a road bike and an indoor bicycle
The frame doesn’t flex or bend
Weighted flywheel and fixed-gear system
Preferred cadence indoors is higher than preferred cadence outdoors
Difference in quality of componentsChapter 5: Proper Set-up Indoors
Indoor set-up can only partially replicate set-up on a road bike
Saddle height
Fore/aft – KOPS (Knee Over Pedal Spindle)
Handlebar heightChapter 6: Movements Used in Indoor Cycling Classes
Seated Flat Road
Proper form in the saddle
Knee position
Foot position
Hand position
Cadence
Standing Flat
Would a cyclist ride like this?
Proper form
Common errors in a standing flat
Jumps
Would a cyclist do these?
Proper form for jumps
Constant cadence jumps
Increasing cadence jumps (power jumps)
The “wrong” way to jump
Seated Climb
Adding resistance
Why stay seated?
Proper form while seated
Cadence
Standing Climb
Why stand?
Upper body movement while standing
Proper form indoors in a standing climb
Common form errors indoors in a standing climb
Raising the front end of the bike?
Running with Resistance
Jumps on a Hill
Sprints
What is a true sprint?
What a sprint is not
Flat road sprints vs. sprints on a hillChapter 7: Cadence and Resistance Indoors: Keep it Real!
Selecting cadence and resistance on a flat road
Selecting cadence and resistance while climbing
How slow is too slow?
Fear of resistanceChapter 8: Unsafe (But Popular) Movements and Techniques in Indoor Cycling
Unsafe moves in Indoor Cycling
Isolations or “freezes”
Sucking the abs in
Squats
Hovers
Contrived upper body movement
The aero position
Riding with a lowered or with no saddle
Popcorn jumps
One-legged pedaling
Pedaling backwards
Excessive cadence
Excessive resistance
Using weights or bandsPART II: TRAINING TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE
Chapter 9: Measuring Intensity Indoors
Power
Speed
Rate of Perceived Exertion
Heart RateChapter 10: Exercise Physiology
The Body’s Trainable Energy Systems
The Aerobic System
ATP-CP
The Lactate SystemChapter 11: Heart Rate Training and Lactate Threshold
Common training zone methodologies used in indoor cycling
There is a better way!
Lactate threshold
How can you raise your lactate threshold?
Lactate Threshold Field Test on an indoor stationary bicycle
Protocol for indoor field test
Training zones based on LT
Spinning® Energy Zone HR % comparison with Field Test LTHR
LT Zone MethodologyChapter 12: Periodization and Indoor Cycling
The Basic Fitness Elements
Endurance
Strength
Speed Skills/Efficiency
Advanced Fitness Elements
Muscular Endurance
Anaerobic Endurance
Power
The Phases of Periodization
The Preparation Phase
The Foundation Phase
The Build Phase
The Peak Phase and Competition Phase
A Word About RecoveryChapter 13: High Intensity Training
Five Different Types of Intervals
Aerobic System
Lactate Threshold
VO2 Max Intervals (Aerobic Capacity)
Lactate Tolerance
Power (Anaerobic Capacity)
Some sample interval class profiles for indoor cycling classes
A. Threshold Interval Class #1
B. Threshold Interval Class #2: Hill Repeats
C. Threshold Interval Class #3: Cruise Intervals
D. Threshold Interval Class #4: Steady State LT
E. VO2 Max Interval Class # 1
F. VO2 Max Interval # 2 – Pyramid
G. Mixed Interval Class #1
H. Mixed Interval Class #2
I. Mixed Interval Class #3Chapter 14: Technique Drills in Indoor Cycling to Improve Skills
Cycling Economy and Pedal Stroke Drills
The Face of a Clock
The Generator
Scraping Mud or the Skateboard
Top/Front of Shoe pedaling
Links of a Chain
Stair Stepping, or “Unweighting”
The Olympic Rings
The Locomotive
Cadence and Leg Speed Drills
Physiology of cadence
Measuring your cadence
The bounce test
Cadence pyramid on a flat road
Accelerations or “Spin Ups”
Cadence pyramid on a hillAppendix A: Abbreviations used in this eBook
Appendix B: References and training resources
Appendix C: Clothing, hydration and eating tips for IDC classes
Appendix D: Music and resources for downloading
BPM vs. RPM
Music selection
Appendix E: Would you like to become a certified Instructor?
Appendix F: Master classes available from Jennifer Sage
Appendix G: Using indoor cycling to train for a European bicycle tour
Buy now direct from Jennifer Sage!
