Is my bike set up correctly?
Don’t worry. The bikes are a breeze to set up. The instructor and front desk staff will be able to help you with proper set up. It’s not an exact science, but there are some general rules that can help. Each time you come in, ask questions and gain some knowledge about it. Soon you’ll be able to set yourself up on a bike anywhere.
Do you recommend cycling shoes. Sell them?
Cycling shoes are a great idea. The pedals are equipped with baskets for normal athletic sneakers and also for cycling shoes with spd clips. We encourage you to ride with cycling shoes because it enhances the workout. If you don’t have shoes you will still get a killer workout. Try it out and if you are going to stick with it, get a pair.
Do you recommend heart rate monitors? Sell them?
Yes we do recommend them. An awareness of the level of work your cardiovascular system is performing is great. We always encourage you to take opportunities to better understand your body and performance in all avenues of fitness. Cycling is really conducive to using heart rate monitors, it’s easy to see and you can talk or think about your level of exertion in beats per minute as the instructor moves you through the features of a workout. The bike has a console attached to them that will read a heart rate strap if you are wearing one. The consoles also give an estimate of calories burned with or without the heart rate strap but if you wear one the estimate is likely to be more accurate. With that said, it is not required and many of us have excellent fitness habits and health without using such tracking devices. We do not sell them at Lavation at this time.
Will riding inside help my riding outside
Yes, think of indoor cycling as a sprint and your outdoor rides (60-90minutes+) as endurance activities. It’s an opportunity to compress high intensity and high resistance in a short amount of time. The anaerobic energy systems will be taxed to the max inside. This is also a great environment to teach your system to better clear out lactic acid and/or use it for energy when needed. The increase in the anaerobic systems capacity will also mean that your cells burn energy more efficiently while riding at a lower longer aerobic level adding longevity and endurance to your rides too.
Nutrition pre/post
Most often times than not, person should be fueled for this type of workout. We are all so different in our needs and ability to break down different foods. Proper nutrition is a little science and a little art. A good place to start is about 200 calories, 2 hours before you ride, including a combination of protein and carbohydrate. Some of us can break down heavier meals quicker and some of us need more time to break down lighter meals. Consider this a jumping off point for an exploration of what may work the best for you. If you are waking up at the crack of dawn and don’t want to wake up at 4 a.m. for a meal, try something a little smaller and quicker to digest so the body, liver and blood sugar can get rolling. Try fruit or maybe a protein or meal replacement shake of some kind.
How many calories do I burn? Are they from fat?
A common estimate of calories burned during steady state cardiovascular exercise is 100 per 10 minutes. This varies greatly from person to person for many reasons. Size, body composition, level of conditioning, intensity. It is not unreasonable to assume you will burn between 400-600 calories in a 50 minute session. As you ride different features (seated sprints, standing climbs, etc.) in your workout, you will notice the variance in heart rate through that time. We tend to burn fat as energy when we are working aerobically (vs anaerobically). This is at about 50-65% of our max effort. Cycling often works your system in the anaerobic levels, about 65-90% of your max effort, and then brings you back down toward the aerobic levels for some recovery before taking it back up again. Don’t be sad, the result of working your muscles in the higher anaerobic level is more mitochondria in the cells. These are the engines that metabolize fat stores at other time of the day when we are in lower aerobic activities. Yes, you just increased your metabolism overall.
Nervous about how hard it will be?
Don’t be, if you are taking a shot at getting into fitness for the first time or getting back into fitness after a long break, cycling is the way to go. It’s non-impact which helps take care of your joints, great for the cardiovascular system, will build good leg strength and the best part… you have complete control of your intensity the entire time. Take a class, start slow and see what you feel like. You will not stand out in a class if you take a little resistance off to make sure you are progressing in a reasonable way. Work smart. Work hard.