Indoor / exercise bike training program

barfordguy
barfordguy Posts: 28 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Can anybody recommend an indoor bike training program. Im not talking about spin classses, I mean more a training plan to increase indurance, cardio and fat burn. Particularly interested in ones that work on heart rate zones and cadence.

Many thanks

Replies

  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,069 Member
    Do you have a trainer stand for your bike? We don't, so that limits our workouts in that regard.

    In NJ USA, we've been under strict lockdown and since we are in high-risk categories, so we're even stricter. I haven't been off the property in 2 months. However, I've been pursuing a program of indoor exercise including stretch, small handweights, bodyweight, resistance band exercises. Also, I'm wearing out our central staircase with climbing. It helps, but I know it isn't as good as being in the gym or doing outside workouts. And it certainly isn't the spring bike-training plan I had in mind when I set my New Year's resolutions. But it's something.

    In the gym, in my winter program, I do HR zones. Not doing that here. Just working out.
  • barfordguy
    barfordguy Posts: 28 Member
    Thank you for you reply. I don't have a normal road bike...just an indoor spin style bike. Do you follow a program for you heart rate zone training or have you made one up yourself?
  • Iwantahealthierme30
    Iwantahealthierme30 Posts: 293 Member
    I just do a half hour on a stationary, and it comes out to 4 km. I don't pay attention to anything else,
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    Trainer Road & Zwift.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    PS - cadence is kind of a red herring when it comes to cycling. In general higher cadence tends to be easier over long durations because the torque at lower cadence tends to be more fatiguing and because the lower pedal force at high cadence tends to be more protective of your knees. But with that said, there are a lot of factors that influence what RPM is most comfortable for a person, like cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, and weight at the legs. In the end, you can hit your target power at any reasonable cadence, you can push harder and turn the pedals more slowly, or you can spin them quickly with a light touch, and wind up in the same place in the end. Your body doesn't go through the kinds of adaptations due to cadence that it does from keeping your HR pegged for a given amount of time. So do what feels natural and comfortable to you in terms of cadence. Power and heart rate, those things make sense to train around, cadence not so much.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,069 Member
    barfordguy wrote: »
    Thank you for you reply. I don't have a normal road bike...just an indoor spin style bike. Do you follow a program for you heart rate zone training or have you made one up yourself?

    I have some underlying conditions, one of which is AFIB. Permanent, usually silent. So I'm working under my cardiologist's guidelines for HR. I had to back that into training zones methodology.

  • Leezy55
    Leezy55 Posts: 339 Member
    I have an old spin bike i bought on craigslist not a Peloton. I signed up for a 90 day free Peloton program don't know if it is still offered but it allows you to filter the type of ride you want such as climb, hiit, heart rate...It also offers non cycling classes such as cardio, strength...
  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
    edited May 2020
    Leezy55 wrote: »
    I have an old spin bike i bought on craigslist not a Peloton. I signed up for a 90 day free Peloton program don't know if it is still offered but it allows you to filter the type of ride you want such as climb, hiit, heart rate...It also offers non cycling classes such as cardio, strength...

    Same. I borrowed a gym bike for quarantine and I'm loving the Peloton app! For the OP the classes geared toward training as if you were outdoor is something you might want to check out, pro cyclist or power zone. I tend to filter by the hardest classes and wear an HRM to monitor my heart rate.
  • goatg
    goatg Posts: 1,399 Member
    edited May 2020
    Some good reads:

    https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/how-to-train-with-power-and-heart-rate/

    https://support.trainerroad.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005942786-Understanding-Power-Zones

    https://support.trainerroad.com/hc/en-us/categories/200097590-TrainerRoad-Basics

    I kind of make up my own cycling workouts depending on where I am in my training/season and what my goals are. I adjust a combination of outdoor rides with varying distance/intensity and indoor rides on computrainer where I manually adjust watts (and cadence) for different durations.
    That said, reading some of this stuff can be a great tool and I’ve heard (from cyclists) that trainer road has a good program.
  • goatg
    goatg Posts: 1,399 Member
    mjbnj0001 wrote: »
    barfordguy wrote: »
    Thank you for you reply. I don't have a normal road bike...just an indoor spin style bike. Do you follow a program for you heart rate zone training or have you made one up yourself?

    I have some underlying conditions, one of which is AFIB. Permanent, usually silent. So I'm working under my cardiologist's guidelines for HR. I had to back that into training zones methodology.

    May I ask what your doctor recommended regarding HR?

    (I am not a medical professional)
  • barfordguy
    barfordguy Posts: 28 Member
    Thank you all so much for the replies.
  • mjbnj0001
    mjbnj0001 Posts: 1,069 Member
    edited May 2020
    goatg wrote: »
    mjbnj0001 wrote: »
    barfordguy wrote: »
    Thank you for you reply. I don't have a normal road bike...just an indoor spin style bike. Do you follow a program for you heart rate zone training or have you made one up yourself?

    I have some underlying conditions, one of which is AFIB. Permanent, usually silent. So I'm working under my cardiologist's guidelines for HR. I had to back that into training zones methodology.

    May I ask what your doctor recommended regarding HR?

    (I am not a medical professional)
    OK, @goatg this is my prescription/procedure, doesn't apply to anyone other than me reading this posting. End of disclaimer.

    There's a lot to unpack for your simple question, sorry for going on at length. The most pertinent part of the reply is in bullets 1 and 2.

    1. First advice, "don't do what 'hurts'" - AFIB doesn't "hurt," per se, but I'm not supposed to generate palps or issues.

    2. Absolute limit 150 bpm. At age 65yo, that's a little higher than my training zone max (220-65=155; but I've been on this program for [now] third year). There's a newer formula (208-[0.7*age]) that gives a higher max HR for training zone computation (in my case 162), but that's even higher out of my reach.

    3. Re: #2 above, that means I need to avoid TZ5. I stay in TZ4 only in spurts of up to a couple of minutes (usually to do this, I speed up my RPM by about 20-25 to get the extra effort); I consider these my "interval" training. I spend most time in TZ2 and TZ3, and warm up a few minutes to see how things are that day (every day a different case, [sigh]) in TZ1.

    4. Measuring to determine compliance with max HR is complex. Most HR monitors don't do AFIB well. This rules out the sexy chest bands and other things I'd like to use, and leaves me with a fingertip pulse-ox, which makes me feel downright Neanderthal in the gym, LOL. Even so, I often have to take multiple measurements to have some confidence in what is being reported. With AFIB, I sometimes see variation of 25 BPM between one reading and the next, taken immediately after each other. This tells me I have a real jazzbeat heartbeat at the moment. I typically take 3 measurements each monitoring point and average for a result: before starting the gym cycling, after 5 min, and thereafter every 10-15 minutes (depending on how I'm feeling) up to the limit of the ride, then 5 minutes after. I don't slack my RPM while measuring (or, at least much, LOL). I was doing 60 minute rides in the gym (following my circuit training) in March before they closed due to covid lockdown. If I see a big variance between readings, I'll do 5 measurements to average or get a mode value. If it's too erratic and/or high, then I'll pause to let things settle down. My theory is that I learn the "feel" of my AFIB in the gym, and this helps me translate to the outdoors as the season progresses.

    5. I don't do the full measurement thing when out riding, at least after the first few months of the first season, when I became mostly convinced I wasn't going to keel over from exercise. I also ride to ride, not do training zones. I carry the pulse-ox and take the measure once in a while, typically in a rest stop in the high heat. Just to check. I haven't really mastered my jugular or wrist pulse - the AFIB makes the pulse strong-and-soft and harder to count. When I'm energetically swimming, I do a jugular check now and then just to see if I'm having big beats. Typically, my AFIB isn't noticeable otherwise.

    As I said above, sorry to ramble on. Hope this answers your query.

    edited: "jugular" also means carotid.
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    goatg wrote: »
    Some good reads:

    https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/how-to-train-with-power-and-heart-rate/

    https://support.trainerroad.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005942786-Understanding-Power-Zones

    https://support.trainerroad.com/hc/en-us/categories/200097590-TrainerRoad-Basics

    I kind of make up my own cycling workouts depending on where I am in my training/season and what my goals are. I adjust a combination of outdoor rides with varying distance/intensity and indoor rides on computrainer where I manually adjust watts (and cadence) for different durations.
    That said, reading some of this stuff can be a great tool and I’ve heard (from cyclists) that trainer road has a good program.

    OP, some very good stuff here from @goatg.

    I can also confirm that Trainerroad has some great programs, with options for cyclists based on their goals and amount of time available to train weekly (low, med, high volume, etc.) Finally, if memory serves, Trainerroad had a plan that is called "Sweet Spot" training, and its designed to hit all of the body's various energy systems.

    I assume that Zwift offers similar training programs, but I have not tried Zwift so I can't comment.
  • klovesd84
    klovesd84 Posts: 46 Member
    The Peloton digital app is amazing. I’m using it nearly every single day whether on my spin bike, yoga or strength. It’s a great quarantine app! I’m definitely keeping it after things open up too. For spinning, they have all different kinds of rides and lengths. You can start as a beginner and work your way to longer and more challenging rides.

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