WHY INDOOR SPINNING AS A WORKOUT?
After a short ride of 45 km, I am content to have done it anyway, because indoor biking at home on the virtual reality I honestly don’t think is quite my thing either.
Suddenly my friend, who can fathom my moods in a way I never could, came up with the idea of indoor spinning. She even found an address and we agreed to go there on Tuesday evening. Without too much expectation, rather with the goal of pleasing the girlfriend, I join her for an hour of indoor cycling at KineFit in Puurs …
Training on wattage with Stages
I was amazed to see 25 Stages bikes lined up on the premises. Stages is generally known as the pioneer of “training on wattage”, nowadays the standard in professional cycling.
I was warmly welcomed by Johan Moeyersons, owner of KineFit and the instructor on duty that evening. After a beautifully laid-out story of how and what Indoor-Cycling at KineFit means, I determined my ideal sitting position on these beautiful bikes. Gradually, my spirits began to turn to motivation to do my best, because everything I do on the bike will be registered. At the end of the class, I will receive an automatic analysis by email of everything I will perform during this hour of so-called “relaxation.
Starting was done with a few fun songs warming up to my own rhythm. But then Johan’s voice resounded, very forcefully saying, “Music on ! Shift middle ! Resistance, resistance, resistance …”.
A complete work-out for body and mind became the sequel, following a schedule based on wattage. Everything is easy to follow, as there are three large screens in the store to accurately see/follow the individual performance by the color indication combined with the imposed revolutions per minute.
What personally amazed me was the total-work-out that Johan has generated on a bicycle. Through the exercises you do while cycling, the abdominal muscles, not unimportant when cycling, are addressed, as well as the arm and chest muscles. Through pumping movements you do on the bike, this is really a complete work-out for the body. All this, combined with cycling to the rhythm of the music, makes the time fly by.
Honestly … after an hour I felt it had been more than enough and recuperation would now be on the program. Of course, as a newbie, I didn’t want to be inferior to all that fanatical – including female – violence. The screen shows whether you’re doing well compared to the others and also sharpens the feeling of competition in the group. It makes you really want to give your best.
Training based on personal FTB
Indoor-cycling based on wattage and provided the right program, can mean a lot in the build-up during the winter period towards the next season. The big advantage is that everything is tailored to your FTP “Functional Threshold Power”. Simply translated, this is the highest effort (wattage) you can sustain for one hour. Based on your personal FTP, you can perfectly build up your winter training and perform it as it suits you best. Stages is the company behind Team Sky’s many successes and the follow-up/analysis of your training you get directly from them.
Conclusion
The follow-up system will help you get the best out of yourself during the dark winter nights. It is already clear that indoor training with Stages will take me to a much higher level conditionally. What amazed me most of all was that it was also a lot of fun with a solid group feeling and I suddenly found incredible motivation again while dancing on the bike. At the start of the season, we are going to rock, I’m sure.
We will go 4 it!
Johan … thanks for this new incredible experience.
From now on I look at indoor cycling in a completely different way.
Text: Patrick Van Gansen
