Can riding a stationary bike give the same results as biking outside?

Going for a bike ride outside or in the gym on a stationary bike, both are very similar to in ways, but are they similar in the way you want them to be? When its comes to cycling, or any cardio activity, the whole idea is to get your heart rate up out of the comfort zone, which will then lead to your fat loss. Now you can bike both inside on a stationary bicycle or outside on your Road Bike, and achieve the same heart rate by monitoring it during your workout.

It’s important to realize that these two types of cycling do also vary in ways. For instance, your at you local gym pedaling away and get your heart rate up to 160, then the next day you go outside on your local trails, and hit 160HR again. Yes, you achieved the same HR during both workouts, causing you to get into your fat loss zone (depending on each individuals HR zones), but different factors came into play on each ride. Inside, you faced the air conditioning, which most definitely held back some sweat. While outside you faced wind conditions, and a deferent level of temperature causing you to work harder. Both exercises were successful, but at the same time you might have been working harder being outside.

If I were to choose between the two, I would go outside and enjoy Mother Nature and really take in the beauty of being alive. Breathe in some fresh air, while maintaining a workout that will so benefits in the end. Go for the most natural environment that your body is used to because it will make your body react, in its most natural state.

Best Cycling shorts for long rides…..!

This is a great question when it comes to those days where its time to tackle those long, curvy hills for about 2-3hrs of pure riding power. You need to look at some factors when deciding on this, which include padding, material, temperature, fit, and Brand.

Lycra a great brand making cycling shorts for sometime now, offering a great short or bib that fits like a beauty with a butt-pad. Another brand that has developed a cycling short with comfort and durability is Royal. They have a great line of Road Bike clothing ranging from socks to bibs, do a Google search and you’ll be impressed with their products. You can also go on Performance.com and see what they have to offer too.

Now if you’re a little more anal, like myself, and kind of are hesitant about ordering online because a picture doesn’t do much justice, then drive over to your local cycle shop, or even sports retailer, like Dicks. Both places will carry very similar products, which can give you a better idea on fitting, padding, and material as you can try on multiple styles. Usually what you’ll notice is that the padded shorts are for more comfortable than non-padded, but to each his own. As you go from a low price short to a higher one you will realize that the brands on the upper level of cycling shorts are a lot better in quality and fit, which might be a solution when investing in a $80 pair of shorts.

Here’s the tricky part. Like I said up above its all about personal fit and the way that short feels on your body when you’re in the saddle. Lycra bibs with very limited padding tend to fit and feel a lot better on longer rides, due to lack of bulkiness and crowdedness in the groin area…if you get the picture. You are going to be sitting for 2-3 hours maybe and after constant pedaling for that time many things can start to develop if restriction comes into play, so just plant that into the back of your head when deciding.

What is the best position for my cycling cleats?

How should I fit my cleats on my Road Bike? This is a repeated question among the cyclist community and can ultimately be answered through your own personal experience of riding. Just like running there are people who ride with overpronation and those who are basically a neutral rider, but because of this you must compensate your riding setup. If you find yourself having trouble with your knees and riding is becoming a strain on your body, then I would try and point your cleats towards the outside of your cleat just a bit. This might relieve any pain or burden on those knee caps, which in the long run will keep you out on the bike for a longer time.

Another important tip to use when fitting your cleats on you Road Bike is the placement of the spindle. Most common cyclist place this spindle directly under the balls of your feet, but again depending on your own ride, personal preference comes into play. What most people will do just to get a ballpark of where there proper setup would be is go and get fitted. Your local bike shop should fit you for your own personal ride position on your bike at a low cost. Then once you get a standard position you can tweak it as your begin to ride more and more and feel different stuff. Now what’s really cool about going to the bike shop especially if you pronate or over-pronate, the shop can put an insert/wedge under your cleat to make your ride more personal.

Thirdly, I would recommend this easy and useful tip to find your cleat and riding position. Get on top of a table and sit on the edge having your feet dangle down. What you will notice is that when you legs hang down your feet are not directly resting parallel, and are more likely to face outward. Now, get on your bike and face your cleats a bit slanted to the outside, but remember depending on what goal your trying to achieve you either want to be on the ball of your foot, for comfort, or a bit forward to gain more power.

Good luck and I hope you find that perfect position for your knees to enjoy the ride.