Back in July we ran a piece about Sandro Scarsellone who had suffered a serious knee injury and was going to be using a RealRyder Stationary Bike as a Recovery Tool as part of his physical therapy.
We have been following Sandro’s rehab story and he reached a major milestone in September. As a co-owner of Spin Kicks Fitness Studio in Toronto, an indoor cycling instructor and keen mountain biker, being able to ride again was a massive step for Sandro and here is his account of that big day!
Back on the Stationary Bike – The Big Day!
After almost 3 months of pain and misery, since I broke my knee cap in 2, I finally made an attempt to get on the RealRyder stationary bike. I spent a month in rehab trying to get my 1st pedal stroke. Every time inching closer and closer, but that last inch was eluding me. Then finally on Sept 14th, ironically my daughter’s Birthday (I really think she wished that I would finally do it) miraculously I did it. It came with some pain, but I got over the top!
I spent time on the stationary bike in rehab. I was pedaling in pain and discomfort most of the time, but I wanted to get back to my pre July 11th fitness. Every attempt I made to try to stand was a miserable failure. Every time I tried, I was becoming more and more afraid that my knee would just buckle.
I woke up Sunday morning Sept 26th and decided that I was going to make an attempt to get on the RealRyder stationary bike. I got to the studio and slowly made my way to get changed and struggled to get my shoes on. I felt I was setting myself up for failure! Went into the studio, found a bike and proceeded to set it up. Done! Slowly threw my foot over the seat and sat on the bike. Done! Clipped in. Done! Started pedaling and found that I was struggling to get my Heart Rate higher. Then slowly I felt that I was getting into the groove. HR was going up, legs were turning, music was playing, then the instructor was queuing to stand, I watched everyone stand, then all my fear of standing came over me. I said to myself that the music is loud enough that no one would hear my screams of pain. I leaned towards the bars, hesitated for a moment, then felt that my knee was able to take the pressure and I was up & pedaling!!!
I was so exhilarated; I felt like a kid learning to ride a bike for the first time! I can’t wait to get to Rehab and tell them what I accomplished on the RealRyder stationary bike that I was not able to do on their equipment.
My conclusion is that my rehab is now at the Studio full of RealRyders! I have to thank my wife who put up with me and helped me with everything as there were days where I was ready to give up and she pulled me out of some very dark days!
The journey continues….
Sandro Scarsellone – Spin Kicks Fitness Studio
To bring the story up to date, Sandro is now back to full time instructing at Spin Kicks, although ironically he feels better on the stationary bike than off it. Climbing stairs and walking is still painful and will probably not improve until he has a further operation to remove the hardware in the New Year.
We wish Sandro all the best on his long road to a full recovery and we are happy our stationary bike has played a part! Stay strong and keep pedaling – you will get there!
Look out for more on the whole physical therapy and rehab field as we will be looking at this subject in more detail. Our stationary bike is an effective recovery tool, because it gives a low impact exercise, plus it provides a wide range of fluid movement. As we always say, anyone who experiences ANY serious injury should seek medical advice BEFORE engaging in any physical activity of this nature.
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!!
Earlier this month we were at the SCW show Boston MANIA running our popular indoor cycling classes. This was the last SCW event of the year and a chance for New England to see the hottest innovations in fitness equipment and training.
We are always looking for feedback on what people think of our version of indoor cycling and the Boston audience didn’t let us down. We could tell you, but we’d rather let them tell you in their own words – the next era of cycling is here!
Some great testimonials and quotes! We regularly talk about RealRyder introducing a new era of indoor cycling and how our stationary bike is more realistic, but it is still reassuring to us when we hear it from the riders!
“It was incredible!” (RealRyder Indoor Cycling)
“Works your body much more than a Spinning® bike!”
“Riding indoors can get a little mundane and boring………this is definitely not mundane and boring – it’s exciting, it’s rad!”
“Closest thing to an outside bike.”
“Even with the learning curve, it was fun!”
“You won’t go back to a stationary bike!”
Boston is an ideal venue for this time of year, winter is coming in the North and for many outdoor cyclists, thoughts are now turning to spending more time indoor cycling. Our version of the indoor bike is equally at home as a more exciting alternative to the usual spin bikes or bike trainers.
Our favorite quote on the video is the last one:-
“Get off the old bike, get on the new and move into the future!”
Change up your indoor cycling classes or get your own RealRyder for training this winter – you won’t be disappointed. Welcome to Indoor Cycling 2.0! Time to take the training wheels off!
The much traveled RealRyder team will be at Boston MANIA from 12th to 14th of November and will be running our popular indoor cycling classes.
These classes have been selling out at the earlier SCW shows as the word is spreading fast about our unique stationary bike and how it is changing indoor cycling.
RealRyder Indoor Cycling is significantly different from the usual indoor cycling class, due to the movement of our bike. This ability to turn and lean, means you will recruit more muscles and get a full body workout, you also burn more calories and last, but not least you will have more fun!
Apart from adding some extra spice to a typical spin class our indoor cycling classes also seem to appeal more to cyclists and triathletes. We hear this often from riders and it should come as no surprise, Colin Irving who created the RealRyder Stationary Bike is an expert cyclist himself and the inspiration for our bike came from a disappointment with existing indoor bikes. Put simply they did not replicate the fun and excitement of riding a real bike!
To give you a flavor of what to expect here are two videos from the recent Midwest MANIA held in Chicago.
More details on Boston MANIA
http://www.scwfitness.com/boston/
So if you are in the Boston area this weekend, come and check out our stationary bike at the SCW show and experience “The New Era of Indoor Cycling” for yourself!
