There are many different reasons for incorporating stationary bike workouts into your training program. Typically we think of cyclists supplementing their fitness with indoor cycling, but a good stationary bike workout is also great cross training for other sports.
We got a really good example of this recently from Douglas Brooks who heads up RealRyder’s training and education programs. Douglas wears many other hats, including being Director of Athletic Conditioning at Sugar Bowl Ski Academy and has probably forgotten more about fitness and cross training than most of us will ever know!
The following video shows SBA student athletes training and to set the scene here is a quick intro from Douglas who is leading the session to give you an idea of what is going on:-
“About 37 seconds in the video switches from the USSA testing to the SBA training center. This is an afternoon recovery day, as the kids headed to Colorado camps the day after…working at 80, 90 and 100% of lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR)! Off-snow season, we do two workouts per day, mix the strength and power with agility, cardiovascular, anaerobic energetics, regeneration/recovery etc. Our morning sessions are much tighter and hard hitting, but you can see how the RealRyder stationary bikes match to what we’re doing in a big way!”
Two things immediately struck me when I watched this video. Firstly, these kids are obviously having fun! Secondly the fitness equipment choices represent some of the hottest in the industry – TRX, Bosu, RealRyder! Competitive skiers need to be fit and if you go back and read that intro again, the language Douglas uses makes it very clear they are working on ALL aspects of fitness. This makes it more relevant to do the stationary bike workouts on the RealRyder Indoor Cycle to maximize the cross training benefits.
Are Stationary Bike Workouts Effective Cross Training for Skiers?
Clearly the stationary bike workouts are only one piece of the jigsaw, but earlier this year Sugar Bowl Ski Team skiers claimed 9 of the top 15 spots at the men’s Giant Slalom race at Squaw Valley!
We will be looking at other sports where indoor cycling training can help.
Remember to get the full cross training effects from stationary bike workouts; you need to do them on a bike that leans and works your core and upper body.
Only one stationary bike has these capabilities – the RealRyder!
More about SBA – quoted from their website:-
“The focus of SBA’s athletic philosophy is to provide the very best opportunities for each and every individual to reach his/her full potential. By limiting the number of student-athletes enrolled at SBA, we provide a private coaching experience supported by a strong community. We provide a comprehensive, year-round program that develops world class athletes in alpine, freeride, and Nordic skiing.”
Are you certified? Are you certifiable? We mean, certified as a RealRyder Indoor Cycling Instructor!
As more and more RealRyder Indoor Cycling Studios open we are delighted to announce the launch of the RealRyder Indoor Cycle Certified Instructor Training Program for 2011.
After twenty years of indoor bike design, the RealRyder moving stationary bike has really changed indoor bike technology forever! Our ride encourages, teaches and rewards good form and pedal stroke. The RealRyder stationary bike captures some of the functional characteristics of a “real bike” – leaning, turning, balancing and full-body coordination.
As our indoor bike is not the same as other stationary bikes, hence, the development training and certification program specific to RealRyder Indoor Cycling was necessary. So we are delighted to introduce our own Instructor Training Program which builds on the history of indoor cycling, using a teaching system that eliminates guess work, so that planning intelligent and creative workouts is easy.
For full details of the dates and venues and click on the link RealRyder Indoor Cycling Certification and book your place on the program.
Come and train with the RealRyder Team in 2011 and be part of the new era of indoor cycling!!
The word is spreading fast about RealRyder Indoor Cycling and not just in the USA! We have a very active team in Italy who cover Europe and do a fantastic job of representing RealRyder and showing off our unique stationary bike at trade shows and events.
We were also in Asia last month when Colin Irving and Douglas Brooks demonstrated the bikes at Asia Fitness Convention 2010 in Thailand!
This is the second year of the Asia Fitness Convention and marks RealRyder’s first visit to Thailand.
We were all very excited to be showing RealRyder Indoor Cycling to the huge Asian fitness market and give more people the chance to see the stationary bike that is changing indoor cycling!
The event was held at the Bangkok Convention Centre and was reported by Bangkok Biz News who described the RealRyder stationary bike and its unique characteristics.
RealRyder were also at two events in Italy “Rimini Wellness 2010” and “Evento RealRyder Ravenna”. As always they got some great pictures that really capture the spirit of RealRyder Indoor Cycling “Italian Style”!
They have also proved again that indoor cycling doesn’t have to be done indoors!
The appeal of our version of indoor cycling is universal; it cuts across borders and is enthusiastically embraced by people from all fitness backgrounds. The main reason for this is that our stationary bike is more fun to ride! It appeals to the child in all of us, like the first time you rode without training wheels! You really don’t need words or language to appreciate this, only that first ride to experience it for yourself! The other thing that helps our stationary bike create a good first impression is its appearance. People always comment on how cool the bike looks and are fascinated by the fact it leans!
Enough, about first impressions! RealRyder Indoor Cycling is not just gaining in popularity, because it looks cool and is fun! There are also some very tangible benefits as well. First you will be using more muscles as you engage your core and upper body to lean and stabilize the bike. Secondly you will burn up to 20% more calories during a RealRyder Indoor Cycling Class than in a normal stationary bike class.
There are also some more subtle training effects going on when you ride our stationary bike. The articulating frame encourages smooth pedaling and you will feel the bike move around much less as you become more efficient on the bike. Top pros always have very “quiet” upper bodies as they have developed a smooth, efficient pedaling style after many hours in the saddle. One other thing you will notice is our bike actually feels more like a real bike, not the same, but as close as you can get with indoor cycling. After all that was Colin Irving’s main objective, when coming up with the design – to make indoor cycling more realistic!
So look out for RealRyder Indoor Cycling near you, it is fast becoming global! And if your local studio or gym doesn’t have RealRyders yet, have them contact us, so they can upgrade to our stationary bike and join the new era of indoor cycling!
A few weeks back we mentioned that RealRyder was the fitness equipment choice of Rihanna and her trainer Ary Nunez. Alec Baldwin is also a regular on our stationary bike, hitting the indoor cycling classes at B-East.
Last week Viva Magazine ran an article about taking indoor cycling to a new level and added Adrian Grenier and Kevin Connolly of “Entourage” fame to the growing list of stars who are training on RealRyder as their fitness equipment of choice!
We are huge fans of Entourage here at RealRyder and flattered that “Vince” and “E” have chosen our stationary bike, especially as the Entourage guys are famous for choosing cool cars and products! I have to say I was a little disapponted that “Johnny Drama” isn’t using a RealRyder yet – the man is a fitness icon and deserves to have the best fitness equipment!
To read the article click on the Viva Magazine Website for full details.
So you meet the coolest people on RealRyder stationary bikes! On a more serious note if this is the fitness equipment choice of people who can choose whatever they want, maybe you should take a serious look at using our stationary bike? Fitness equipment of the stars!
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to see the RealRyder Stationary Bike at the CanFitPro Trade Show in Toronto, where you can see all the latest fitness equipment!
This is a very popular show, with approximately 10,000 visitors expected. In addition to seeing the hottest trends in fitness equipment, you will also have the choice of hundreds of educational workshops, workouts and lectures.
Douglas Brooks will be presenting and heavily involved with RealRyder Indoor Cycling at the show. So come and try our moving stationary bike which has revolutionized indoor cycling fitness equipment!
We will also be joined at the CanFitPro Show by our friends from Spin Kicks! We recently featured Spin Kicks Fitness Studio a RealRyder Indoor Cycling Studio run by Angela and Sandro Scarsellone in Vaughan, near Toronto.
In addition to their indoor cycling classes they also offer Anaerobic Threshold testing and Maximum Aerobic Power (MAP) testing!
They also teach Taekwon-Do to a very high level!
The CanFitPro Trade Show is from August 11 to 15, 2010
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
255 Front St. West
Toronto, ON
For more information on this exciting show click on the CanFitPro Website for full details.
We hope to see you in Toronto where you can experience the unique ride of our leaning stationary bike for yourself and see why it is creating such a buzz in the fitness equipment world!
