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Health & Fitness

Corn Mazes, Apple Orchards, Football and Indoor Cycling

There's a chill in the air perfect for touch football, the leaves are beginning to turn, and the weather is getting colder. The indoor season is upon us! It's time to put away summery things like white pants, bathing suits and outdoor bikes.

Brigid Walsh Lossing, Neighbor

Posted Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 12:20 pm ET

This winter, here are a few reasons to let that trainer gather dust and Ryde with us:

Good form Good habits come from practice. Cyclng indoors without the distractions of the road is a great time to focus on improving your form for higher pedaling efficiency. RydeOn instructors are sticklers for good, productive form: hinge from the hips, straighten that back, pull through the bottom of the stroke to work your calves, soften your elbows, engage your core, and keep your weight off the handlebars when you stand. It’s a lot to remember, but it all quickly becomes second nature.
Climbing Remember John Kucans’ advice for WAM? Michigan is not flat on a bike! Good climbing technique engages your calves, hamstrings and glutes to support the power of your quads. Also, the cardiovascular training provided by RydeOn classes prepares you to climb hills at a higher cadence, a preferred training method of Lance Armstrong’s trainer, Chris Carmichael. Climbing at a higher cadence shifts the burden of the climb to your cardiovascular system, which can recover more quickly than your muscular system.
Speedwork Outdoors, you may rarely have the conditions to do consistent sprint and speed training. Speed training with a heart monitor is a great way to improve your recovery heart rate. If you want a real challenge, sign up for one of EJ’s sprint classes. Once you’ve got good form down, try doing your standing climbs at your 1.5 times your flat road cadence or seated sprints at double your flat road cadence.
Camaraderie Are you SAD in the winter; suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder ? Try Ryding! Most winter mornings, getting up to exercise alone in a dingy basement with the morning news for company would not drive me from my toasty warm comforter. Alternately, I could start my day with a fun-filled, heart pumping, calorie burning Ryde with great music, warm friends and free Bearclaw coffee. The free coffee alone would get me moving.
Music Indoor cycling without music?!? Unheard of! Inhuman! Unless you’ve got a punch card for the emergency room, your earbuds probably didn’t join you on the road this summer. RydeOn gives you the perfect opportunity to multitask: cycle and listen to music at the same time! Music provides fantastic motivation through challenging parts of a workout. You’ll see increases in strength and cardiovascular fitness without realizing just how hard you’ve worked to your old and yet undiscovered favorites.

Rather than hibernating, or simply trying to maintain your summer gains, make this winter a strength building season with RydeOn. Next spring, when you hit the road stronger, fitter and happier, you won’t regret it.

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