Indoor cycling is an effective form of exercise done on a type of stationary bike. Most often people participate through a group exercise class where a instructor plays upbeat music and leads you through various cycling drills. To truly benefit from its calorie burn and strength building aspects, the right exercise plan needs to be put into place.
Beginners
"Fitness" magazine reported that the exercise will burn 425 calories in 30 minutes for a woman weighing 135 pounds. However, if you are a beginner, doing too much too soon, or every day, can cause fatigue and pulled or strained muscles. Pace out your workouts so you will be able to enjoy the activity for a long time to come.
Intermediate to Advanced
Intermediate and advanced students should still space out their workouts, though they can usually take class more times per week than a beginner. Putting similar stress on the same muscles everyday can lead to injured muscles and joints. A better option is to give those muscles a rest and spend a couple of days engaging in activities that work the muscles cycling does not hit, in order to have a balanced body. When your muscular structure is imbalanced, undue pressure can be placed on both the weak and strong muscles causing you to be out of alignment and at risk for hurting yourself.
Overtraining
Though professional and elite athletes can work out most days of the week, for most people, not taking proper rest breaks can lead to overtraining. When you workout too much, you can actually experience digression rather than progression. Indoor cycling not only burns calories, but it also builds and strengthens the muscles in your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. Those muscles need time to recover or you may experience heavy legs, decreased speed, fatigue and pulls, strains or tears to muscles, tendons and ligaments.
Core Strength
While cycling of any kind will somewhat strengthen your core, it will not provide the same benefit to your stomach and lower back as it does to the muscles in your legs. Try taking a yoga or Pilates class one or two days per week in place of the indoor cycling class. Both of these disciplines will help to strengthen your entire core, which is important for keeping your stability. Plus, both yoga and Pilates will help to open your hips, which can often become tight when engaging in cycling sports.
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