Indoor cycling is one of the best cross training alternatives for runners. The several benefits of indoor cycling correspond to what runners wanted to have in their body – improved legs and muscles, significant burning of calories, increasing the efficiency of body’s resistance and endurance level, enhancing the body’s stamina, and improving the lung and heart rate. What we hear and what we read from the indoor spinning cycle reviews are definitely true and has been proven by fitness experts.
While runners are executing their routines through outdoor roads, spin biking performs indoors. Every time the body starts to challenge the bike’s resistance level, it will demand a stimulating situation for the legs to respond. The leg muscles are strengthened gradually as it pulls up and push down the pedals. The consistent circular cycling motion coupled with a high resistance level intensifies all parts of the legs to perform effective leg turnovers. These leg engagements are also the ones intensively used by runners for winning their races.
Burn Calories. Build Endurance
Running is an aerobic exercise that aims to achieve increased cardiovascular endurance and stamina, and so is cycling. Indoor cycling not only involves basic pedaling, but also leads through various intensive cycling routines. These routines accelerate like as if you are on a steep hill, downward slope, or a flat terrain. Once executed, the heart is challenging due to the intensity of the exercise.
The endurance you get from pedaling at high cadence burns calories and body fats and transforms it to fuel. The number of calories that you will be burning will always be relative to your body weight and the amount of energy that you exerted while executing the workout procedures. Usually, a 40-minute indoor cycling class can burn between a total of 400-600 calories on average. Imagine that, with every cycling you do, you are shedding off amounts of calories fron your body.
Define and Strengthened Muscles
Runners strengthened primary and secondary muscles – quadriceps, glutes, hamstring tendons, hip flexor muscles, calf muscles, surrounding tendons, and ligaments– when running. Similarly, cycling also develops these muscles. As you cycle up and down the pedals, the leg’s muscle groups, especially the quadriceps, are productively working. This enables the quads to tone up for more strength. When quadriceps is reinforced, the occurrence of patella tendinitis and several other knee problems are highly prevented. Muscles in the thighs, abdomen and buttock are also developed. The building of these muscle tissues increases the ability of the leg muscles to exert force at every point over an extended period.
When you are cycling or running, your muscles will be toned. Even to those older people who have gained cellulite in theirs thighs and legs, can definitely loss those unwanted cellulites when cycling regularly.
Uninterrupted Training
Most of the time, runner’s training is progressively made outdoors. However, there are instances that trainings are interfered by bad weather conditions. In these kinds of situations, indoor cycling becomes the best alternative to continue. With a little bit of adjustments to the bike’s resistance level, progressive mileage, speed is achieved with no in between interruptions. Plus, you can train any time you feel and anytime you are free. You have the power to decide your schedule of training. Even when it is raining or snowing outside, you can continue your workouts daily without interruptions. This is the best thing about indoor bikes.
Minimal Impact
The high intensity workout out design for indoor cycling has a minimal impact to the ankles, joints, knees and hips. With the right bike adjustments and appropriate workout attire, indoor cycling will not cause you muscle sprains, hip joints stiffness or pulsating knee pain. Unlike running and other aerobic routines, the circular momentum of the bike and the legs allows for appropriate flexion and stretching.
Indoor cycling can provide countless benefits to runners to help improve their running performance and their overall health. Whether you are performing light, moderate or intensive activities to enhance body capacity, you should always consider the condition and response of your body. It is very important that before engaging to an exercise plan, appropriate check-ups are necessary to know if your conditions are safe to avoid running risks on your health.
So, if you are a runner, allow yourself to experience the wonderful benefits indoor cycling as your best cross training alternative.