How indoor cycling torches weight loss and maintains results

by Angela Reed-Fox

Encouragement is vital. Sometimes it's easy to forget why we're doing what we're doing - but as an instructor you can help remind your riders why indoor cycling is so good for them - and why they've made a great decision to give you their time.

Indoor cycling boosts your metabolism
Yes it does. A slow metabolism means you'll burn calories slower and store more as fat. No one wants that. (Unless you're a polar bear.) A fast metabolism on the other hand essentially means you can get away with more - a cheeky glass of wine does a lot less damage to a fast metabolism than a slow one.

So, how does indoor cycling speed up metabolism? Because we use resistance, it means we're challenging the large muscles groups in the bottom and legs (glutes, hamstrings and quads) and in that recovery after your challenging indoor cycling session (see, recovery is important!) your body will repair and strengthen that muscle tissue, and the more of it you have, the more the demand for fuel. Which means your metabolism speeds up, and you don't store so much energy as fat. Complicated? It's actually more complicated than that...

What does this mean? It means you need to enjoy a really good session, and then take the time to relax and allow your muscles to recover in between sessions for best results.

Indoor cycling is a mega fat-burner
Well spotted - you'll not be storing as much energy as fat in the first place, but also you'll be burning more fat as you go along with indoor cycling. This is because our sessions are carefully designed for effectiveness - we use heartrate zones so that each workout is tailored to you, and to promote the hyper fat-burning effect of indoor cycling. What do you need to do? Follow your instructor's direction and maintain the correct heartrate zone (in some cases this may be lower than you expected).

Indoor cycling is focused
You know all that stuff your instructor is telling you about technique? Is not so they can fill an awkward silence. Applying proper technique means your workout becomes even more effective as you're challenging your muscles further rather than relying on your bodyweight to turn the pedals, burning more fat and boosting your metabolism. If you ride out on the road, you'll notice a difference if you've used your indoor cycling sessions to focus on technique as you'll be stronger up the hills, faster on the flat, and you'll be the one getting to the cafe first.

Indoor cycling is low impact
Indoor cycling's low impact nature protects the joints while still providing an excellent workout. Low impact means you can enjoy it, without worrying about the wear and tear on your joints. And if you do have joint problems stopping you from high impact stuff like running, you'll find that not only are your joints protected by the cycling movement, but also, because of the resistance, you'll be strengthening the muscles around the joints, and reducing the risk of problems in the future. That means you can do more of it - and get even better results!

Indoor cycling is progressive
That means it gets harder as you get fitter. There's always more resistance to add, and that recovery rate of yours - well it'll get faster, and you'll need to work harder to keep your heartrate up. Doesn't matter how incredibly fit and amazing you get - your workout will always be as hard as you make it.

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