Want to be a Better Hill Climber on your Bike...

If you ask most people where their cycling weakness lies, they will more often than not say hill climbing. Nothing sucks the snap from your legs quicker than a steep uphill grade but nothing is more satisfying than conquering a tough hill. - This applies also on a SPIN Bike

 

If your goal is better fitness you can't get a better workout than a ride that hits hill after hill. As a coach, the most common questions I get revolve around how to be stronger on the hills.

Here are the four key areas that affect your ability to go uphill fast.

Climbing Power

Climbing well requires both cardiovasular and muscular endurance. Without getting too technical, the best way to get better at hill climbing is to climb. Hill repeats where you climb to the top, turn around, descend to the bottom and repeat are a great way to get a lot of hill work in a short workout. My favourite is to head out to local hill that is about 1 km long. It's challenging with a few steep pitches with good visibility at the top and bottom, making it safer for turning around when doing repeats. Early in the season I'll have athletes do 5-6 repeats, building to 15-20 further into the season.

When training to climb better it is important to work on both seated and standing climbing. Standing up when you hit a steep section is a good way to get up quicker and spread the load over more muscles but it only works if you work at it. When doing hill repeats, alternate doing one time up seated and the next standing. Just remember to switch a gear or two harder before you stand up as your cadence drops when you stand.

If you are a mountain biker, then heading up to your local ski hill is the best place to work on your climbing. You can do either long or steep and as it takes less time to go down than up you will spend more of your ride time climbing.

Bodyweight

This one is really simple. For the same fitness, the lighter you are the faster you will go up hill. Power to weight ratio is an exact science among pro roadies. For every 5lb you lose you will be 30 seconds faster over 5km of climbing at 7 percent grade. If like me, you can't see your abs then work at cutting weight and you will see a big improvement in your climbing ability. Don't lose weight too quickly though as it can negatively affect your power output. 1-2 lb per week is a safe level of weight lose without sacrificing energy you'll need to train.

Core and upper body endurance

The legs are the prime movers on the bike but the support muscles like your arms, abs and lower back work constantly while riding. Over time they get tired and your pedaling form suffers. When it comes to climbing they work even harder so the fitter you are in your support muscles the longer and faster you will be able to climb. While your core can be the weak link on the bike the best way to train it is off the bike cross training. See the workout below to improve your core fitness and climb better.

Mental focus

I won't lie to you, climbing is hard work. That is where both the challenge and reward come from. Part of climbing well is mental. Don't look upon that big hill with dread. See it as a challenge to overcome. Keep telling yourself in your head that you are a good climber. Attack the little climbs like you own them.

Core Workout to improve your hillclimbing

Do this workout 2-3 times per week and you will notice an improvement in your cycling within 4 weeks. Try to do the workout with as little rest as possible between exercises. Do a set of each exercise, moving to the next immediately for a total of three circuits. 

As you become fitter build up to a total of 5 rounds.

3 rounds

15 dumbbell swings
15 Spiderman pushups
15 Sumo deadlift high pulls
15 seconds each of front planks and side planks to each side (build to 30 seconds)

This workout won't take much time but will do a lot to improve your hill climbing. Put in consistent work and you will see progress in a very short time.

 Source: Winston Endall |GO

Zwift-The Future Of Indoor Cycling

Cycling is Social.

Here at Zwift we believe that the best parts about cycling are the places you go and the people you go there with. Outdoor cycling is great. But weather, traffic, time constraints and distance from other cyclists can take the fun out of it. That’s why we’ve created a new destination that places you and your bike into immersive, detailed, 3D landscapes with other cyclists from around the world.

Now you can ride with anyone at anytime. Packed with real-time stats, stunning lifelike graphics,
and the latest in massive multiplayer online gaming, Zwift has kicked up the indoor cycling experience. We think it’s the greatest innovation in cycling since the bicycle.

Source http://zwift.com/index 

Living a Healthy Life

We’re so busy racing through our day to day lives that we don’t take the time to look after ourselves. It’s really no wonder that so many of us are tired and run down. What are some simple things that we can do to improve our quality of life?

In the fast paced world that we live in it can be easy to neglect our health and wellness. We’re so busy racing through our day to day lives – family, friends, work, social engagements – that we don’t take the time to look after ourselves. It’s really no wonder that so many of us are tired and run down. What are some simple things that we can do to improve our quality of life?

Drink Drink Drink…

You’ve heard it a million times and you’ll probably hear it a million more – drink more water!

Think about it: The human body is 72% water. A 5% drop in fluids creates a 25-30% loss in energy. A 15% drop in fluids causes death! At this point in time 66% of us aren’t drinking enough water, so over half the population isn’t running on all six cylinders to begin with – before things like bad air, bad food and stress take their toll.

It’s not really a difficult thing to remedy. Just drink one glass of water every half hour or so – or 10-12 glasses of water per day – and you’ll notice a huge jump in your energy levels.

Living Food – Loving Life!

A little known fact is that heating food above 116°F destroys much of the nutrient content. Considering that we already aren’t eating enough veggies, that’s a fairly substantial problem. Nutritionists recommend five serves of fresh vegetables per day. How many of us are actually taking that advice?

A great way to get the nutrients found in fresh veggies without spending all day at stove or eating raw celery sticks is to juice your veggies. Make sure that you own a good juicer (some juicers expose vegetables to heat created by friction during juicing, which breaks down important enzymes), grab some fresh vegetables and drink your way to good health. It takes a fraction of the time (there’s no cooking involved, for one thing) and it’s convenient. You can take your juice to work and even give some to the littlies for school lunches!

Wheatgrass in particular is an excellent source of nutrition. It’s high in chlorophyll (sometimes described as ‘plant blood’ because it closely resembles human red blood cell molecules) and has over 100 elements that the body needs. Fresh grains are another excellent source for vitamins and minerals.

Energy In – Energy Out

Exercise is another dirty word for most of us. The thing is, exercise doesn’t have to be horribly time consuming or mind-numbingly boring. There are plenty of options.

Now you can add Yoga, Pilates, HIIT, Spin classes and a whole range of new workout options.

If you don’t really have the time or money for the gym, or prefer to spend your mornings/nights at home, then try an exercise bike or walker. I’d be lost without my SPIN – I set it up in front of the television and peddle away merrily during my favorite shows.

An excellent way to get back into a physical routine is to start slowly. Ridiculously slowly, it may seem. For the first couple of weeks, walk/ride for 5 minutes per day – exactly 5 minutes, no more, even if you think you could continue. When the 2 weeks are up, increase to 7 minutes, then 10 minutes, 12 minutes… continue to gradually increase your activity until you’re at a level that you’re comfortable with.

It may sound a little silly, but it works. In effect, you trick your body into producing more energy. You’re building your exercise time up so slowly that your body doesn’t really realise what’s happening. Follow this method and, before you know it, you’ll be comfortably exercising within your limits every day.

So, folks, that’s the basics. If you can rearrange your life a little to allow for better eating habits and a little exercise, and if you remember to just drink a glass of water every half hour or so, you’ll be well on the way to living a healthy life. On a final note, don’t forget to take some quiet time for yourself. Meditating is an excellent way to minimize stress. You don’t have to sit around for hours, just give yourself 5 minutes of quiet time every day – even in the shower, if that’s the only place where you can get time out – and have a little catch up with yourself.

And, last but by no means least, laugh! In fact, laugh like a loon – the louder the better! You’ll be amazed at how much such a simple thing can lift your spirits!

 

 Damian @FitnHealthy

Take A Ride On A Spinning Bike, And Stay Healthy

The Exercise bike was introduced to the world in the 1980s. Initially they were created to provide training workouts during the winter months for cyclists. The normal exercise bike is housed in a heavy constructed frame. This frame has been designed to provide a solid base yet with flexibility so that it can be moved on the gymnasium floor easily. Also, bikes can be aligned side by side or placed at random depending on the class.

There is a big wheel at the front and a flywheel which is adjustable. This gives a pressure or tension element as needed depending on your fitness level. All adjustments can be made through turning a knob at the side. There is a connection between the large wheel and pedals, the latter containing straps to hold the feet of the cyclists in place safely. The bar of the Spinning Bike [http://www.spinningbike.co/spinning-bike-reviews/] is normally shaped like the letter W so as to enable the cyclist to reposition their arms.

  

 Spin cycling offers a tremendous amount of benefits which are a boon to the fitness-conscious. One of the major ones is the fact that one can ride day or night without being concerned about bad weather. Added to this is a further benefit of a low impact exercise, easing stresses on the body.

Spinning bike workouts, unlike a lot of other forms of keep fit exercise is not stressful to the joints and muscles. This is not the case with, for example, running or jogging. This exercise produces a very beneficial effect on your cardiovascular system. One can say that these benefits alone place this workout equipment at the very top of any other form of indoor workout. It is alleged that the spinning bike can help one to melt off hundreds of calories in an hour of exercise! Not only that but you will receive a full body exercise to boot.

You won't find as a rule your spinning bike offering much in the way of comfortable features. They are usually very basic. The basics of the sport are easy to master and one can progress very quickly -- indeed if you are gifted and hard-working you could even reach professional standard if you wished. A question that is often asked is how does one keep one's mind focused and unclouded by tedium? The answer usually given is to take your MP3 player along to the sessions. You will then have an opportunity to listen to music, an audio book, or even learn that language you promised yourself -- Italian, Spanish, French etc. Why not exercise your brain -- after all it is part of your body!

If you had a good time in your childhood riding your bike, there is absolutely no reason why you couldn't get the same buzz and buoyant health from the sport of spin cycling. It need not be overly expensive but if you wanted to treat yourself to items such as a gel pad for your saddle, or a sports top or a special water bottle they are all available at clubs or online.

There are numerous spinning bike clubs and associations around today. So you have no excuse to not get started right away. A quick surf on the Internet will be helpful. Your constant motivation will come from the boost in fitness and fun you will receive from this great sport.

What To Look For In An Indoor Spin Bike For Home

For anyone who is planning to buy a spinning bike, it certainly is a good idea to learn precisely what you ought to be looking for when it comes to optimum features well ahead of time. Naturally, the spin bike you finally choose will probably be what you subsequently make use of for quite some time. Listed here are the major details to consider any time making your spin cycle purchase:

Bare minimum forty lb flywheel weight: The flywheel is the most crucial component of a spin cycle that contributes towards the normal cycling feel of road cycling. For that reason, you want to be really aware of what to look for. Opt for products that have a flywheel weight exceeding forty pounds. A flywheel near this weight can provide a far more natural riding experience as close as possible to the feeling of riding a bike outside.

Perimeter-weighted flywheel: A further part which substantially aids a road riding feel is a flywheel containing perimeter weighting. A large number of spinning bikes do have perimeter weighting and that is due to the fact of the far more organic cycling experience. This essentially tends to make the ride feel far more enjoyable, primarily for inexperienced riders.

 Handlebars: The best-case circumstance is to invest in a cycle that allows for not simply vertical movements of the handle bars, but additionally back and forwards variations. Having the ability to move the bars vertical will be particularly handy to help accomplish ideal cycling posture.

Adjustable seat: Again, try to spend money on a spinning bike that permits for up and down adjusting and also horizontal adjustment to suit virtually all physique figures.

Belt driven vs chain driven: This refers to the belt or chain that attaches the pedals to the flywheel. Now there definitely is no exact solution this choice. Generally speaking, belt driven spinning bikes are less noisy than chain driven options. However, there are significantly more chain driven spin bikes available for purchase and most of these do tend to facilitate a heavier flywheel, which we already mentioned the advantages of above.

Speedometer: You want to look for a spin bike that has a sepeedometer or console that displays the bare minimums in terms of feedback to you as the rider. For example, duration of the ride, distance travelled and then perhaps rpm and calories burned. It's incredibly tricky to achieve an optimum workout any time you aren't equipped to at least keep track of your pace and distance, which a speedometer can track for you. You can pick these up fairly cheaply, however if you have to pay a little more for a bike that has a speedometer, it'd be a rewarding expense.

In the event that the bike you purchase does not have a speedometer, it pays to exercise caution when shopping around. Be mindful if your spinning bike that contains a rear flywheel, the length of cord that connects the flywheel sensor / probe to the speedometer screen will want to be fairly long and will sometimes not reach the necessary distance.

Unique point of difference: The last thing to consider is to distinguish if the cycle has a distinctive aspect that distinguishes it from other manufacturers or products. Bikes will quite often be really similarly matched and it can be the little exceptional components that separate closely-matched bikes.

  Source :Greg C Nunan