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Ride Inside: The Essential Guide to Get the Most Out of Indoor Cycling, Smart Trainers, Classes, and Apps
From bad weather to business travel to traffic safety, there are dozens of reasons why cyclists and triathletes take their rides inside. Although indoor cycling workouts offer the ultimate control over workout conditions, most inside riders don’t get the most out of their trainers or spin bikes. RIDE INSIDE offers cyclists and triathletes a smart guide to getting more fitness from every indoor cycling workout. From the world’s most experienced personal cycling coach, Joe Friel, RIDE INSIDE reveals all the unique aspects of indoor Mental aspects like motivation, focus, and enjoyment Changes in upper body stability, posture, and pedaling technique on a stationary bike Respiration, hydration, and cooling Inherent changes in power output Lower leg tension and eccentric loading from flywheel momentum Lower effort from lack of terrain changes, headwinds, and crosswinds Road-like feel Different shifting patterns All these differences of indoor riding add up to a big impact when the rubber hits the road. Drawing from the foundations of Friel’s classic training guides, The Cyclist’s Training Bible and The Triathlete’s Training Bible, RIDE INSIDE shows how to apply smart and proven training concepts to indoor cycling. Riders will get expert guidance on the best ways to set up a trainer or smart trainer, how to modify outdoor workouts for indoor cycling, how to better monitor power and RPE, and how to use social online training platforms like Zwift to make training better and not worse. Most critically, RIDE INSIDE shows cyclists and triathletes how to do indoor cycling workouts that actually meet their training goals instead of compromising.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2020
41 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 25, 2021
This is only sort of what it says it is. Yes, it will tell you about training on indoor machines, but it's so utterly generic about so much of its content that it's no real use.
Friel is a good trainer, he knows a lot about bikes and riding. But he's not a great writer. It's all marketing to him. Don't look to find insight here, just standard jock sales technique writing.
It's a book for high level athletes, or more realistically, it's a book for people who want to think of themselves as high level athletes. For those who take cycling and themselves a bit too seriously.
There is NO useful information here about apps, it's all the utterly generic stuff that you could get of a ten second google search of the same things, without the specifics to click to.
A dissappointment.
Friel is a good trainer, he knows a lot about bikes and riding. But he's not a great writer. It's all marketing to him. Don't look to find insight here, just standard jock sales technique writing.
It's a book for high level athletes, or more realistically, it's a book for people who want to think of themselves as high level athletes. For those who take cycling and themselves a bit too seriously.
There is NO useful information here about apps, it's all the utterly generic stuff that you could get of a ten second google search of the same things, without the specifics to click to.
A dissappointment.
May 7, 2021
I've been mainly riding inside on a 'dumb" trainer for the last 3 years, because where I live (suburban Washington DC) the roads and traffic are such that I would be risking my life every day if I road outside. So, I was very disappointed in this book, because I had some key questions that I wanted answers to with regards to riding inside vs riding outside. I found the info in this book to be very basic and generic, and not at all helpful in answering my questions. The authors claim (with no data to back it up) that smart trainers take into account the effect of aerodynamic drag on the power needed to go a certain speed, which is the one of the main differences between riding inside and outside. They are completely silent on whether dumb trainers do the same thing or not. So, the authors claim the transition from riding inside to outside should be quite smooth. To the contrary, I find it quite difficult, especially when I've don 12-hour ultra races - I've finished 2 races and DNF'd two others, mainly because my speed/level of effort was very different than what I experienced on my dumb trainer. I've had a similar experience over the years with my treadmill as well. So, overall, I would not recommend this book, as I found it to be very uninformative.
June 4, 2021
This book came at a great time for me, and a lot of people as the COVID19 virus settled on the world, I had also just recently completed a couple of indoor cycling certificates and this book has helped me to write some good rides as I studied the periodization plans and main set intervals at the back of the book.
I want to remember some of the basic science behind exercise/cycling that were pointed out in the book so here's a run down.
THREE PHYSIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF FITNESS: AEROBIC CAPACITY, ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD AND ECONOMY
AEROBIC CAPACITY--The more oxygen you process, the faster you go. This concept is called AEROBIC CAPCITY OR VO2 MAX--the maximum volume of oxygen you are capable of processing to produce energy. With VO2 Max you need to be aware of weight, your weight as well as the bikes weight. The greater your weight the lower your VO2Max. VO2Max=mL O2/ kg/ min
How do you increase VO2Max without losing weight or getting younger? Training. Training in volume--saddle time and Perform high-intensity interval training. Doing workouts that include 4-min and shorter efforts at a very high intensity-well above your anaerobic threshold with brief recoveries.
ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD-This test is usually done to measure VO2 Max, but it also discovers the athlete's anaerobic threshold along the way. At the very end of the masked up test, when the athlete is at maximal effort, the volume of oxygen being processed is measured. This happens right before exhaustion, which is when Ox Max is achieve. BUT before getting to the final, high end of oxygen consumption, the athlete passes through what is called the anaerobic threshold. This is the intensity level at which, as the workload gets harder, the body gradually switches over from using both CARBOHYDRATE AND FAT for fuel to ONLY CARBOHYDRATE. The anaerobic threshold is marked by a heavily INCREASING BREATHING CYCLE as the demand for oxygen greatly increases. On a scale of 0-10, 10 being the greatest exertion or effort, the anaerobic threshold is about 7 whereas aerobic capacity is 10 (this scale is also called PRE). So, the anaerobic threshold is certainly a high level of effort, but NOT NEARLY AS HIGH AS AN EFFORT AT VO2 Max. This level of exertion, at approx. 7 out of 10, is also referred to as LACTATE THRESHOLD and FUNCTIONAL THRESHOLD. The names simply indicate HOW the threshold was determined. ANAROBIC THRESHOLD MEASURING O2, LACTATE THRESHOLD MEASURING LACTATE AND FUNCTIONAL THRESHOLD DONE BY FIELD TEST.
LACTATE THRESHOLD=FUCTIONAL THRESHOLD=ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD
MUSCULAR ENDURANCE ME workouts help you focus on improving your ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD.
ECONOMY-When a can can cover more distance per unit of energy, it's more economical. The greater your economy, the greater your fitness. How is economy determined in cycling? It takes O2 to convert carbohydrate and fat into energy. As your energy expenditure increases, oxygen consumption also increases. All we have to do then is determine the O2 taken in during exercise in order to measure energy expenditure. How do you improve economy with training? some are set by genetics and can't be changed- like physical anatomy-big shoulder cause more drag. Some physical aspects of pedaling a bike also affect economy. A greater concentration of slow-twitch muscle fibers in cycling-specific muscles will help you waste less energy. Endurance training helps. The third category that affects economy is cycling skills-especially pedaling skills. By improving your pedaling skills you can become much more economical and therefore more fit. You want an early downward stroke. If you start to push earlier in the downstroke and continue that downward push longer through the stroke, your pedaling becomes more circular and therefore more economical. An economical rider does not PULL UP on the pedal--the exception is when sprinting. The experienced rider simply unweights the pedal on the upstroke (from 6 o'clock to 12)
Speed Skills. Strength training also helps with economy.
Half of the book is all about training plans and periodization. Very helpful.
I want to remember some of the basic science behind exercise/cycling that were pointed out in the book so here's a run down.
THREE PHYSIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF FITNESS: AEROBIC CAPACITY, ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD AND ECONOMY
AEROBIC CAPACITY--The more oxygen you process, the faster you go. This concept is called AEROBIC CAPCITY OR VO2 MAX--the maximum volume of oxygen you are capable of processing to produce energy. With VO2 Max you need to be aware of weight, your weight as well as the bikes weight. The greater your weight the lower your VO2Max. VO2Max=mL O2/ kg/ min
How do you increase VO2Max without losing weight or getting younger? Training. Training in volume--saddle time and Perform high-intensity interval training. Doing workouts that include 4-min and shorter efforts at a very high intensity-well above your anaerobic threshold with brief recoveries.
ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD-This test is usually done to measure VO2 Max, but it also discovers the athlete's anaerobic threshold along the way. At the very end of the masked up test, when the athlete is at maximal effort, the volume of oxygen being processed is measured. This happens right before exhaustion, which is when Ox Max is achieve. BUT before getting to the final, high end of oxygen consumption, the athlete passes through what is called the anaerobic threshold. This is the intensity level at which, as the workload gets harder, the body gradually switches over from using both CARBOHYDRATE AND FAT for fuel to ONLY CARBOHYDRATE. The anaerobic threshold is marked by a heavily INCREASING BREATHING CYCLE as the demand for oxygen greatly increases. On a scale of 0-10, 10 being the greatest exertion or effort, the anaerobic threshold is about 7 whereas aerobic capacity is 10 (this scale is also called PRE). So, the anaerobic threshold is certainly a high level of effort, but NOT NEARLY AS HIGH AS AN EFFORT AT VO2 Max. This level of exertion, at approx. 7 out of 10, is also referred to as LACTATE THRESHOLD and FUNCTIONAL THRESHOLD. The names simply indicate HOW the threshold was determined. ANAROBIC THRESHOLD MEASURING O2, LACTATE THRESHOLD MEASURING LACTATE AND FUNCTIONAL THRESHOLD DONE BY FIELD TEST.
LACTATE THRESHOLD=FUCTIONAL THRESHOLD=ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD
MUSCULAR ENDURANCE ME workouts help you focus on improving your ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD.
ECONOMY-When a can can cover more distance per unit of energy, it's more economical. The greater your economy, the greater your fitness. How is economy determined in cycling? It takes O2 to convert carbohydrate and fat into energy. As your energy expenditure increases, oxygen consumption also increases. All we have to do then is determine the O2 taken in during exercise in order to measure energy expenditure. How do you improve economy with training? some are set by genetics and can't be changed- like physical anatomy-big shoulder cause more drag. Some physical aspects of pedaling a bike also affect economy. A greater concentration of slow-twitch muscle fibers in cycling-specific muscles will help you waste less energy. Endurance training helps. The third category that affects economy is cycling skills-especially pedaling skills. By improving your pedaling skills you can become much more economical and therefore more fit. You want an early downward stroke. If you start to push earlier in the downstroke and continue that downward push longer through the stroke, your pedaling becomes more circular and therefore more economical. An economical rider does not PULL UP on the pedal--the exception is when sprinting. The experienced rider simply unweights the pedal on the upstroke (from 6 o'clock to 12)
Speed Skills. Strength training also helps with economy.
Half of the book is all about training plans and periodization. Very helpful.
December 13, 2020
Expecting more
Book (and articles) by Joe Friel are always informative and educational. This one was particularly interesting because of our (2020) situation by addressing indoor biking. I’ve always been a runner and long time TrainingPeaks user so familiar with Joe. Recovering from Achilles tendinitis and not running, I decided to be more serious about my biking. I had a trainer and “discovered“ this book. Needless to say good book. I was hoping for some recommendations on what my week could look like. However Joe’s provides the components on how to build the schedule. Now comes the hard work, figuring out the schedule.
Book (and articles) by Joe Friel are always informative and educational. This one was particularly interesting because of our (2020) situation by addressing indoor biking. I’ve always been a runner and long time TrainingPeaks user so familiar with Joe. Recovering from Achilles tendinitis and not running, I decided to be more serious about my biking. I had a trainer and “discovered“ this book. Needless to say good book. I was hoping for some recommendations on what my week could look like. However Joe’s provides the components on how to build the schedule. Now comes the hard work, figuring out the schedule.
June 29, 2021
There's surprising meat on the bone here. I like Friel's writing and speaking.
January 1, 2023
Nice overview of indoor training apps and gear.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews