Thursday, February 11, 2010

Pain and gain?

The stationary bike session is right up there on top of the list of training that I dread. Sounds contradictory, given the notion of easy cycling on stationary bikes we see in the gym. The reason is that stationary bike sessions involve lots of spinning, high cadence and interval workouts. Although I have never been in a spin class, I can only imagine these would be similar.

Which is why I did not miss training on the bike trainer. The last time I did a stationary bike session was way back in July last year.

Today, it was 1 hour 45 minutes on the trainer. 20 min of one-legged pedaling and 30 min of high cadence spinning. I should add that I could not reach 120 cadence, even if I move to a lighter gear. Perhaps I should have gone to the smaller chain ring, but I was training on the race gear and stuck to it. Even 110 was tough, with HR reaching 160.

The main set was 30 min of hard ride with HR@155. It was exhausting.

The boys were somewhat perplexed at what Dad was doing, and wisely stayed away from the sweat and smell!

What's the upside of spinning on the trainer? Well, safety for one. No inconsiderate drivers to honk or startle me. No potholes, branches and traffic lights to worry about. No fear of falling off the bike. Best of all, easy access to drinks and food (courtesy of MBH!). Watching the TV helps. Most importantly, it provides an excellent workout, with hopefully the attendant benefits.

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