9 Tips For Indoor Cyclists
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00:00 With the emergence of a whole raft of turbo trainers,
00:02 indoor training bikes, and accessories by the bucket load,
00:05 indoor cycling has all but established itself
00:08 as an entire discipline.
00:10 But as the niche continues to grow,
00:12 so do the list of faux pas one can make.
00:15 So I'm gonna tell you everything that I wish I knew
00:18 when I started training indoors.
00:20 So let's jump on the bike and get into it.
00:23 Not drinking enough can be a mistake that we make
00:29 when we're outdoors as well.
00:30 But the level to which you can go wrong indoors
00:33 can be amplified to the same level
00:35 of not drinking enough outdoors in summer.
00:39 And this is because the strong fans that we use
00:41 when we're riding indoors,
00:43 obviously help blow away the sweat
00:45 that's coming off of us when we're riding hard.
00:47 But that means you might not notice
00:49 how much liquid you're actually losing.
00:52 Also, while riding at home,
00:54 I for one know that I can get complacent
00:56 about filling up enough water bottles
00:58 and that's because I think that when I finish my session,
01:02 I can go and drink as much as I like.
01:03 But really, I should be following the same example
01:07 that I would set for myself when I ride outdoors.
01:10 For most of us, that means 500 millilitres of water per hour
01:14 and if you want to mix in some electrolytes,
01:16 well, that's only gonna be a good thing
01:18 because of course, you'll be losing them through your sweat.
01:21 The importance of regulating body temperature
01:28 was made incredibly apparent in recent times
01:30 when Philippo Ganna and his team
01:32 went to the incredible lengths
01:34 to keep his core as cool as possible
01:37 in the run-up to his hour record attempt
01:39 so that he wouldn't overheat
01:41 in the final 20 minutes of his ride.
01:43 And that's because if you get too hot,
01:46 then your body can't operate at its best.
01:49 This is why ventilation is so important.
01:52 If you don't have a fan, then get one
01:54 and if you do have one, then get another
01:57 and ensure that your head, your chest, and your legs
02:00 are all getting a breeze.
02:02 Now, there are plenty of high volume fans out there
02:05 that do the key job of keeping you cool
02:07 and to help you find the ones that I'm a big fan of,
02:10 well, I've left a whole bunch of links
02:13 down in the description box below.
02:15 One thing that I've learnt recently
02:17 is that if you want to make your training sessions harder
02:20 and you want to put more strain on your body,
02:22 then you can train without a fan.
02:24 Just be prepared for the fact
02:26 that you may not be hitting as high a numbers
02:28 as you may do with a fan.
02:31 Also, do be sure to stay on top of your hydration
02:34 because you will be losing a lot more liquid a lot faster.
02:37 We're all familiar with junk miles,
02:43 those being the miles that we put in on the bike
02:45 that don't really assist us
02:47 in getting to any sort of end goal.
02:49 And it can be quite easy just to roll around
02:52 the Watopia landscape in zone three
02:54 that doesn't really provide you with any sort of benefit
02:57 compared to maybe foundation building zone two work
03:00 or riding at threshold or above
03:02 to really start to push the envelope.
03:04 So if you're training indoors,
03:05 try and stick to a training plan or structured workout
03:09 to fully maximise your time on the bike
03:11 because after all, riding with no sort of end benefit
03:15 would just be the biggest waste of time.
03:17 I for one love my food.
03:23 In fact, my love for food is probably equal
03:26 to my hatred of bonking.
03:28 Now, one mistake which I used to make
03:29 and I'm sure some other people may be making out there
03:32 is actually not having enough food
03:34 either before, during or after your training session.
03:38 So I think ensuring you have something even little
03:41 in your stomach when you start a session is important
03:44 because it will mean that you can execute
03:46 your training sessions with more conviction,
03:49 which means they'll then end up being more beneficial.
03:52 Now, you may be saying, Sam, what about fasted sessions?
03:55 Aren't they any good?
03:57 Well, to answer that, I would say, yes,
03:58 they do have their place in training,
04:01 but they're better suited to professional cyclists.
04:04 For us more normal cyclists,
04:06 I would say that it's about working on consistency
04:09 and getting the basics perfected.
04:11 If you then go on to take your training really seriously,
04:14 then I would be looking at everything around your training,
04:17 such as your nutrition and your recovery
04:19 before you then start going into fasted training.
04:22 (upbeat music)
04:25 Sitting up whilst you're training
04:29 isn't a bad thing by any means at all.
04:31 And actually we all need to stretch out
04:33 and take a breath every once in a while.
04:35 However, if you're undertaking the entirety
04:38 of your training sessions sat up,
04:40 then you could be missing out on the opportunity
04:42 to engage and activate your core.
04:45 And as we all know, a strong core plays a massive role
04:48 in being able to put out your best amount of power.
04:51 Now, another reason to train in your riding position
04:55 is so that when you do go back to riding outdoors again,
04:58 you haven't lost any flexibility
05:00 and actually you're still incredibly comfortable on the bike.
05:03 As someone who used to work in a bike shop
05:09 and more specifically in the workshop,
05:12 I have seen my fair share of salted up stems and headsets.
05:16 I cannot stress how important it is to use a towel
05:20 or some sort of bike covering
05:22 to protect the top of your bike.
05:24 Sweat is incredibly corrosive to bikes,
05:27 especially aluminium components.
05:29 And these are all things which can be found in and around
05:32 your handlebars, your headset and your stem.
05:35 I can also speak from experience that there is nothing,
05:39 nothing more disgusting than unwrapping salty,
05:42 crusty bar tape that has seen the equivalent soaking
05:45 of the Pacific Ocean in sweat.
05:48 Occasionally, our fitness levels do slip away from us.
05:55 And one mistake we could be making is actually
05:58 not adjusting our FTP bias in line
06:01 with our current level of fitness.
06:02 Now, your FTP bias is the number
06:05 that your indoor training software uses
06:07 to calculate your training zones.
06:09 And then from there, it works out what numbers
06:11 it would want you to hit during a structured workout.
06:14 On the flip side, you may have been training so much
06:17 that your FTP is increased, but that then means
06:19 that your training sessions are no longer hard enough
06:22 and will then stunt the ability for those continual gains.
06:26 The key point is, if you don't adjust your FTP bias
06:29 in line with your current level of fitness,
06:31 then you won't be training in the correct zones.
06:34 And that means that you could either be doing sessions
06:36 that are too easy for you,
06:38 or you could just be sending yourself
06:40 in a downward spiral of sessions that are just too difficult.
06:43 (upbeat music)
06:46 While indoor training can be a pretty time-efficient
06:50 way of training, there's two things
06:52 that shouldn't be forgotten, warming up and cooling down.
06:56 This is obviously a bit of a no-brainer,
06:58 as most of us will need to warm up
07:00 to get our legs into a comfortable operating zone.
07:03 However, it can be very easy to neglect the cool down.
07:07 Gently spinning your legs for five to 10 minutes
07:10 ensures that you can flush out all that lactic acid,
07:13 and it gives you a chance to relax your muscles
07:16 after some full gas efforts.
07:18 Not to mention, it kickstarts your recovery
07:21 and will help alleviate some of those aches and pains
07:23 that can accrue after a pretty intense session.
07:26 (upbeat music)
07:29 Much like my earlier point of not following a training plan,
07:32 it's also important that you set yourself a goal
07:35 that you'd absolutely love to achieve.
07:37 Now, riding without purpose can be quite freeing
07:40 and quite liberating, which is great.
07:42 However, when spending time on the trainer,
07:45 it can be a huge source of motivation
07:47 if you've got something in mind that you can hold onto
07:50 that you really want to achieve.
07:51 Having something to work towards
07:53 will give your training a brand new sense of purpose.
07:56 The key here is that the goal is something
07:58 that you'd absolutely love to achieve,
08:00 rather than it just being a kind of nice thing to do.
08:05 So, those are all the things that I learned
08:07 when I first started indoor training
08:10 and a few tips that I've picked up along the way.
08:13 If you guys have any lessons that you've learned,
08:15 then drop them down in the comments below.
08:17 If you enjoyed the video, drop it a like,
08:19 subscribe to the channel for more content,
08:21 and I'll see you all again very soon.
08:24 I cannot stress how important it is to use a towel.
08:26 Oh my God.
08:28 Jesus Christ.
08:29 I cannot stress how important it is to use a towel.
08:32 Oh, no, bit too much power.
08:34 [MUSIC PLAYING]