Is indoor cycling good for you?

Is indoor cycling skilful for you?

Training on a static exercise bike is more relevant at present than ever

(Image: © Peloton)

But is indoor cycling that skilful for you? That'due south a question many people have been asking themselves following the debut episode of Sex and the Urban center spinoff serial And Simply Similar That, in which the character Mr Big suffers a heart assault later on an intense spin sessions and dies correct by his bike.

Indoor cycling is certainly more than relevant these days than ever before. With more than people working remotely and a greater demand to stay in the prophylactic of habitation, practice indoors has get a very important office of fitness and overall health – physical and mental.

The rise in popularity of indoor cycling volition certainly attest to its uptake in recent years. Since services similar Peloton (the company at the heart of the Mr Big storyline) and Zwift gamified home cycling past calculation a big screen and the ability to ride with others, live, from all over the world, everything has changed.

Every bit Wattbike's Adam Daniel points out: "The inquiry suggests that riding indoors for i 60 minutes is the equivalent to riding outdoors for 90 minutes with regards to energy expenditure (if the intensity is similar)".

Now exercising in the home doesn't accept to hateful going into that hurting cavern alone. Information technology also, crucially, doesn't mean you have to push yourself, only rather simply need the volition to turn up and stay on the bicycle – and a trainer will take care of the rest.

Which indoor cycling cycle is best?

The big question, if you have decided to go for an indoor cycling bike, is which is the best for you? The big two categories to start narrowing it downwardly from are fixed practise bikes or turbo trainers that attach to a road-going cycle. Then indoor bikes break down into upright, recumbent, studio spin and smart bikes.

The reward of the turbo philharmonic is pretty clear – you lot get a existent world cycle for cycling out and virtually when the conditions is nice, and an indoor system for when you feel similar churning out the miles in front of Netflix. A fixed indoor bicycle, on the other hand, takes abroad that choice, keeping you indoors even on sunny days.

We'd like to say the cost reflects this obvious difference simply it really doesn't. A top end indoor Peloton bicycle volition set yous dorsum a few thousand but the same as a decent road wheel combined with a elevation-end turbo trainer volition. Of form in both cases there are more affordable alternatives.

One study did find that indoor cycling was actually more beneficial for health than regular outdoor bicycling. Just of course, this is based on an intense spinning form, which isn't ever what indoor cycling will pb to after a long 24-hour interval.

A top-end turbo trainer, which requires y'all to remove your bike'south back cycle, means you're direct driving a flywheel to get resistance. A cheaper option will just clip to your tire and work like a glorified brake. The reason the flywheel organisation is better is that it will offering great degrees of control on resistance, making it feel more like a real ride. These are commonly digitally smart as well, significant they can link to a screen and arrange the ride to suit what you're seeing – creating the feel of a real hill and even the incline as you see it on screen.

Of grade then y'all get onto the issue of which bikes work your body the best.

How does indoor cycling affect your trunk?

The basics here are pretty straightforward. You jump on an indoor wheel, of any type, and you get your legs spinning up. That means, yup, you're working your legs. What's less obvious is all the other systems and muscles you can be working too.

Your legs are a great starting bespeak, as they accept been shown to need a lot of calories and therefore assist you fire fat, build muscle and enhance cardiovascular wellness. Only get the correct bike and you tin practise more.

A roller trainer, which uses a roller on which your bike's rear bicycle balances, is a dandy fashion to likewise work on your upper body as it demands balance. That ways you'll be working your cadre muscles, your obliques and fifty-fifty your arms and shoulders to go along upright as you cycle.

Cardiovascular health, mentioned already, is worth another comment. This is, essentially, your blood flow – how your body is fed its energy through oxygenated blood. When this works well, your organs are nether less strain and operate better. That means lower chance of things like heart disease, infection and organ failure but it besides means a improve rest or hormones similar serotonin – the happy hormone. So, yes, indoor cycling can be good for both your body and your heed.

Muscles used in indoor cycling, in almost all cases, include core, upper trunk, dorsum, glutes, quads, hamstrings and lower legs.

Is indoor cycling proficient for injury recovery?

Equally mentioned, indoor cycling is great for cardiovascular health. But unlike other cardio sports, such as running, this doesn't put a great bargain of strain on the joints. Every bit Olivia Neely, personal trainer at Starks Fitness, points out: "Indoor cycling is low impact and can be controlled in terms of effort."

The knees, specifically, are kept in a uniform position, which means less hazard of injury from jarring, every bit might happen in something like football or tennis where direction changes are regular and intense.

Apex instructor Duncan Leighton says: "Indoor cycling is great for injury recovery - every bit a physiotherapist I recommend this to lots of my clients. Once you are prepare, your lower limbs follow a fairly linear path with minimal impact - unlike running where the opportunity of flaring upwards an existing or old injury is quite high unless you take a fairly large corporeality of coaching."

Equally such, cycling, is a smashing sport for injury recovery, where torso weight is taken off the legs while still allowing you lot to build and tone muscle for enhanced strength.

Tin can indoor cycling be unsafe for health?

The flip side of any exercise that pushes your body difficult is that it can exist risky. Of form this simply really applies to endurance athletes or those with a pre-existing status. But by pushing your center to work hard on a regular basis it is forced to get stronger, just like those leg muscles. This growth has been found to cause scarring, aka cardiac fibrosis, which can lead to arrhythmia which is an irregular heartbeat.

To exist articulate, this is a very farthermost instance, for athletes training at a high level. But it'due south worth mentioning. Just don't use this equally an excuse to avoid exercise every bit it's going to be better for your health to get on the bike – just not to get too far into the extreme, in some cases.

Olivia Neely, personal trainer at Starks Fitness, says: "Information technology's a well-known fact that indoor air can be slightly poorer quality. Ensure that the room is well ventilated past keeping a window or door open up."

She likewise says: "Ensuring that you are well stretched and warm earlier sessions will foreclose whatever harm but, as with everything, sometimes likewise much tin be more damaging. It's important to mind to your body and manage whatsoever muscle that is not playing ball."

Wattbike Atom — (Prototype credit: Wattbike)

Which is the best fixed indoor bike?

Noon instructor Duncan Leighton says: "To proceed it simple, the thing to look out for is magnetic versus contact flywheels. Contact flywheels, where a band or disc adds concrete resistance to the wheel as you turn the dial upwards, can be noisy – not ideal if the baby is asleep or your housemate is trying to watch The Crown in peace.

"Bikes with magnetic flywheels permit you to get upward to a high resistance (if you want to!) while the bike as a whole remains fairly light. This means the bike can be transported and moved effectually your habitation easier, is quieter and requires very picayune maintenance over the years."

Naturally, Apex bikes utilise the magnetic flywheel, combined with its own app that offers a wide pick of training options. This is a relatively affordable style to get a decent indoor wheel along with training videos that will go along you motivated and progressing.

If you have more than money to spend, then Peloton is a popular option. This is a more expensive setup, with a born screen and weights. You have access to a bunch of trainers and classes which you accept with other riders, live, just like a spin class in a gym.

Wahoo Kickr Headwind — (Image credit: Wahoo)

Which is the best turbo trainer?

Zwift combined with the Wahoo Kickr Smart Trainer is the ultimate combination. The Zwift app lets you train in virtual worlds riding alongside real world cyclists, including some professionals you may bump into – or be overtaken by – from fourth dimension to time.

The Wahoo Kickr Smart Trainer has been the turbo trainer of choice for the Team GB cyclists as information technology offers supreme levels or resistance variation and smooth delivery. Information technology's also super smart allowing information technology to work seamlessly with platforms similar Zwift so you tin can train with lots of data and other riders to help keep you motivated and progressing to better wellness.

Determination

So, is indoor cycling salubrious? In brusk, yep. Provided you pick the right bike and utilize adept technique, regular indoor rides volition help you lot better your endurance, strength and cardiovascular fettle, without the touch on of many other forms of exercise (including treadmill running).

If you lot don't want to make a long-term commitment and just demand something to see you through a few months, it'south also possible to rent an indoor wheel. Equipment companies are regional, then burn up your preferred search engine to find one that serves your area.

This commodity is part of TechRadar'southward Get Fit in 2022 series – a drove of ideas and guides to assist get your new year's day'south health goals off to the right start, any your electric current level of fettle.

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Luke is a freelance writer and editor with over ii decades of experience covering tech, science and wellness. Among many others he writes across Hereafter titles covering health tech, software and apps, VPNs, TV, audio, smart home, antivirus, broadband, smartphones, cars and plenty more than. He besides likes to climb mountains, swim exterior and contort his body into silly positions while breathing equally calmly as possible.