The Science Of Sweat: The Health Benefits Of Cycling Indoors

Before the advent of smart trainers and quality indoor cycling apps, almost no one chose to ride indoors. If you had an early workout on your schedule, you got out and rode regardless of the weather. If you have a gap, you may have a favorite flat spot with little traffic and no traffic lights, or a favorite hill. A certain hill repeat or just a long collective effort to build up length is something you've heard discussed a lot among cyclists in the area. When winter hits, either buckle up and keep going, or take a break and switch between sports until the weather changes and allows you to ride outside again.

Magnetic wheels and running shoes were once popular, and indoor riding was almost a punishment. No one preferred to travel indoors unless absolutely necessary. You look out the window and see the weather, and then try to calculate in your head which of two evils is the lesser. The question has always been: will you face the cold outside or the boredom inside?

In the modern world, everything has changed. Today we have a collection of the best smart trainers and indoor cycling apps that you can use with them. When you combine great products like the latest Wahoo Kicker Move and Rouvy , you get a fun and exciting option for indoor riding. It's no longer torture, but is it enough to keep you riding indoors when summer calls for outdoor riding? Keep reading to learn why you should sweat indoors rather than outside, no matter the weather.

Today's smart machines are opening up a new world of indoor training (Image credit: Josh Ross)

Disconnect your drive from the time of day

This is where the health benefits of indoor cycling begin for many people. The simple truth is that driving frequently is a healthy choice for many people, and at some times of the day it is a barrier to entry. Anyway, this is one of the reasons why I spend a lot of time at home.

In the past, you had to figure out how to drive during sunrise and sunset conditions. Of course, driving in the dark is impossible, but few people will drive in the dark. This always means studying deadlines and often interferes with things like work and family. Only those who can devote hours of the day to intense training several times a week have the opportunity to pass their bike to a certain level.

Even for those who could devote that time and space, it was still a huge commitment. Only the most dedicated get up at dawn and go riding a few hours before work. More exercise is good for most people and has a number of health benefits. Your news is about indoor riding: choose to ride when it suits you and when life and sunshine coincide.

stay at home

This is another place where it all begins for many people. In some ways, this sounds a little obvious, but it's still important to say because it's especially important for those who care for family. If you have someone at home who needs you but isn't directly involved, cycling indoors can provide huge health benefits.

Babies are a good example, and this is really what comes to mind for primary caregivers. Children usually feel good on their own when they're at their next lesson, but not when they're riding their bike for hours. If you've been putting off skating because you can't leave the house, indoor skating is the answer.

You can start doing the exercises necessary for a healthy lifestyle without going anywhere. What's amazing is that it's practically perfect when it comes to our preferences in the modern indoor riding ecosystem. This is an option if you want to relax and exercise, but there are many ways to go cycling. You can explore the most remote places in the world and never have to leave home. If your child suddenly needs you, all you have to do is get off the bike and stay home in parenting mode.

You can also ride with other people from the comfort of your home. For some people, this means competition and competition. If this is you, chances are you don't need to compete to ride with other people. Driving and hanging out with friends is good for your mental health, and all you have to do is pick a time, don't worry if it gets dark, then grab your headphones and start driving. You can play sports together, or you can choose a place in the world and explore it on a bike while talking in your friend's ear.

You can ride a bike anywhere in the world, alone or with friends, which is very healthy (Image credit: Josh Ross)

Structured learning without distractions

One of the biggest health benefits of indoor cycling is the ability to ride more. For some, this means finishing the workday and finding time to get behind the wheel, even if it's dark. For others, this means biking out of class while the kids sleep peacefully. However, even if you can get out of the house and find time to exercise during the day, there are health benefits to riding indoors.

At the beginning of this article, I talked about how cyclists use it to instantly create their favorite hills or chasms. The reason is that it is difficult to do structured exercise outside without getting distracted. Structured training works because interval training targets specific muscle groups or types of lifts and puts enough stress on your body to change it. If you run a light or the wrong car, it could stop you in the middle and now you will lose your benefits. Taking breaks, including rest periods, will make you a stronger cyclist and will provide huge health benefits.

It is also worth noting what density is needed to fill certain voids. The more advanced intervals are incredibly challenging and you'll often be focused on the bike computer while pedaling. Going beyond this is risky thinking, and you may miss out on something dangerous or take unsafe risks to fill a void. You can use the smart trainer in ERG mode to map your internal energy to where it needs to be, and then focus on the clock without worrying about external threats. I don't think I need to go out of my way to point out the great health benefits of riding safely indoors. At the same time, it's good for your health to be able to do targeted workouts.

How much to eat and when to exercise, and it's easy to do (Image credit: Josh Ross)

Learn successful nutrition strategies

If you've ever experienced a large power surge, known as a "bonk," you know it can be dangerous. If you're away from home and stuck, it's harder to concentrate and harder to pedal. It can be very dangerous, but you should go home or at least go to the store.

Understanding your body and eating what's right for your ride has definite health benefits, and when you're riding indoors, feel free to experiment. While it's true that having to get off your bike to take care of the baby makes it easier to bike home, this side effect extends to you. If you're not going anywhere, you can always get off the bike and grab a snack if your fueling strategy goes awry.

There is less chance of making mistakes when riding indoors. Structured learning is easy to do at home, as is self-feeding and knowing when to do it. When moving indoors, the screen will always be on and you will not be distracted. You can see your energy results and eat whenever you want. Confusion is much less likely to ruin your plans. Because the more you practice, the better you get at it, so you can practice with wood indoors and outdoors it will become second nature.

temperature increase

So far, I've looked at the health benefits of indoor cycling in a somewhat roundabout way. When you board, remain in your home. This makes driving easier because you can still be a parent, caring for an elderly family member or a pet. This means you don't have to worry about the sun going down, you can check your fuel away from home without risking an accident, and you can focus entirely on intense exercise. However, there are also more direct consequences.

I recently spent some time delving deeper into the heat-related effects of indoor riding. One of the things I've found with the Nix biosensor is that I sweat about twice as much as I do indoors. Part of that discussion was the impact of warming temperatures and what that means for cyclists when it's very cold outside. This conversation led to a connection with The Heat Laboratory, a company based in Sydney, Australia.

The Temperature Lab is "Sydney's first and only temperature enhancement service". The goal is to help athletes of all levels, as well as a workout "for anyone interested in changing their endurance or looking for a new challenge that can improve their physiology." While the brand is quick to point out that “training indoors at normal temperatures of 18-25°C is unlikely to result in full adaptation,” the brand definitely achieves greater HA than cycling outside. This results in a direct link between the health benefits of indoor cycling and thermal adaptation. When I asked specifically about the health benefits of indoor cycling, I learned more about a perspective that was unfamiliar to me.

Heat Lab notes that "well-developed sweat glands are critical to life as the world's population continues to warm and tolerance to heat in extreme environments increases." Because “when the ambient temperature is higher than skin temperature (~35°C / 95°F), we can cool ourselves through the evaporation of sweat. But as sweat use decreases, the ability to sweat decreases. Glands." The company went on to explain "how to better adapt health to hot environments and, if exercise cannot be done indoors, improve the sweat response and maintain all the traditional benefits of exercise and health in older age." in a hot country."

In other words, not only do you get all the secondary health benefits associated with fewer obstacles to more cycling and increased stability, but there are direct benefits as well. We all love cycling outdoors, but indoor cycling is good for your mental and physical health. If you always thought it wasn't for you, there are new technologies and new tools that will make it more fun and exciting than ever. Give it a try this summer and maybe keep it up next summer.

Cycling News created this content as part of a paid partnership with Rovy. The content of this article is completely independent and reflects solely the opinions of the Cycling News editorial team.

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