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This eBook is devoted to helping roadies
be certain that
indoor
cycling classes will improve their outdoor
riding performance!
Every dedicated roadie wants to
train during winter in ways that
will pay off in the spring with greater endurance and hill-climbing
strength.
Is it possible that indoor cycling classes
can help you achieve these goals better than riding at home on a trainer?
Yes! That's the key contention of indoor
cycling expert Jennifer Sage in this one-of-a-kind training
eBook. (Click
to see her credentials.) She delivers a detailed look into why organized classes
such as Spinning® can give you superior results compared to toiling alone at
home . . .
. . . however, organized indoor classes can
also be a disaster. They can waste your time, your energy, your
money and even cause injury!
Jennifer Sage is nothing if not opinionated. But
her opinions are authoritative -- grounded in experience, education, common sense and an understanding
of what really takes place outside on a road bike. Her mission is to "keep
it real" indoors so that the benefits are as real as can be
outdoors.
"I will be giving you tips
on how to
look for the best programs, clubs and instructors, and then how to
judiciously select what you will and won’t do in the class, based on
whether what the instructor is asking of you will enhance or detract
from your riding skills."
The author continues . . .
"An instructor who asks you to sprint
for a minute doesn’t know what he is talking about. An instructor who
turns every class into a high-intensity anaerobic-fest is doing a great
disservice to her students. And in my opinion, an instructor who looks
like a deer in the headlights if you ask him a question about aerobic
heart rates should be avoided at all costs."
"I’m here to tell you, indoor cycling
classes can really work IF you know what to avoid and what to focus
on."
What to focus on is the subject of
8 different chapters that explain the best techniques and training methods
for directly and powerfully improving your road riding. Go down to the
Table of Contents and you'll be amazed at the scope of
this eBook as well as the author's expertise.
The
2nd edition
went online on
1/24/10. Here's the author's overview of
what's new:
"Most of the changes are fairly minor. I've updated information on
various indoor cycling programs (there are more stationary bikes
available with power displays) along with updates on heart rate
training. Some of the workouts are modified.
"Because I recently resigned from Spinning, I am able to write even more
candidly. I'm concerned that some indoor cycling programs have not been
staying abreast of current science of training.
"The indoor cycling and fitness industry is unfortunately way behind the
endurance coaching industry, which is something I am trying to change
with this eBook and with my new
online
coaching program for indoor cycling instructors. Keep it Real
is an important part of what we teach."
In addition, Keep it
Real will teach you . . .
-
the differences among various indoor
cycling (IDC) programs and which are geared towards outdoor cycling
-
the differences among IDC bikes
-
how a weighted flywheel helps (or hinders)
your cadence and pedal stroke
-
how indoor cycling can make you a better
climber
-
heart rate training zones based on a lactate
threshold test that you can do indoors
-
how to periodize indoor training to improve
endurance, strength and power
-
the importance of recovery
-
more up-to-date and useful information than
any other publication about indoor cycling classes!
Ex-pro cyclist
Tyler Hamilton on Keep it Real, 2nd Ed.:
"If
you are a cyclist of any ability that rides indoors or in indoor cycling
classes and are looking to improve, then you should take a look at this
eBook. Spinning classes are great. However, if your instructor isn't a
cyclist, you may not be getting the most out of your workout. I believe
if you follow the guidelines in this eBook, you will surely see better
results.
"Jennifer's comments about what things you should avoid are very
important. She obviously knows her physiology and biomechanics, and as a
cyclist she knows how to help you 'keep it real' in your indoor classes.
I would recommend this eBook to all cyclists and Spinning instructors
who are looking to be stronger out on the road."
►PLEASE NOTE:
Keep It Real ― In Your Indoor
Cycling Classes!
is
written for the cyclist training in a class setting. If you will be training
at home, Indoor
Training for Cyclists is the eBook you want.
$19.95
eBook
In this excerpt from Chapter 8 of
Keep it Real, Jennifer Sage introduces her
list of 13 unlucky exercises that an instructor might want you to do (but you
should avoid) in
an indoor class.
EXCERPT:
Unsafe (But Popular) Movements and Techniques in
Indoor Cycling
Let’s take a look
at some of the most common form of unsafe yet popular movements and techniques
in indoor cycling (IDC) classes.
The preceding chapters discuss the basic movements
and techniques used in IDC classes and gave you information as to whether they
may or may not be appropriate for your specific cycling training, though they
are not considered unsafe for the general public.
The
following movements, on the other hand, are unsafe and/or ineffective for anyone, fit or unfit, healthy or injured, cyclist or non-cyclist. Some
are purely “fluff” and while they may not risk injuring you, they serve no other
purpose. Some are purely based in “ego” and have no other purpose than to show
off (to whom, I’m not sure). Others can truly risk pain and injury to joints and
muscles (like the "squats" shown here.)
Some of these moves or techniques I have already referred to throughout this
eBook, but I will restate them here as a compendium of what not to do. Note that
this list will never be complete, because instructors are “inventing” new things
all the time.
In their defense, some instructors simply haven’t
yet learned that these movements are unsafe or without merit. Other “senior”
instructors have taught them that these moves will make them more popular. Their
clientele is also ignorant about the efficacy of these movements.
The biggest reason why these are so popular is that
so many instructors bring the group fitness mentality, where constant
distraction is the norm, into their cycling classes. They believe (perhaps
rightly) that their students will be bored by just “cycling.”
What can you do as a participant when you
encounter these moves?
Just ride the bike!
And then send the link to purchase this eBook to your instructor or club
manager!
ISOLATIONS OR “FREEZES”
This is when a rider holds the body still and holds the abdominals tight and
eliminates all upper body movement. Or, an instructor might ask the class to
isolate a certain part of the body such as the shoulders or hips.
This movement (or lack of it!) often causes a “burn”
in the quads, glutes and/or shoulders. Students misinterpret this “burn” as an
effective workout for that part of the body, but the discomforts far exceed any
perceived benefit. In actuality, there is no benefit, no one will get
stronger, faster or better in any way by doing this.
Holding the body still on an indoor bike is biomechanically inefficient and
doesn’t allow for a smooth pedal stroke or fluidity in the upper body. The
biggest reason however, is that there is a high potential for discomfort to the
joints (knees, back, neck).
(A discussion of 12 additional unsafe movements and techniques follows, helping you avoid
potential injury.)
$19.95
eBook
