It's Indoor Training Week on Cyclingnews, and that means for the next seven days, we'll be focusing our efforts on the world of indoor cycling.
We're all aware of just how rapidly indoor cycling has grown over recent years. Thanks to the advent of the smart turbo trainer and accompanying apps, indoor training is no longer about trying to follow a prescribed workout from memory, with little more than a stopwatch for timing and music to take your mind off the pain.
Nowadays, the best turbo trainers can connect to indoor cycling apps on your smartphone or computer, allowing your pedalling power to control the speed of an on-screen avatar. The app can then control the resistance felt through the pedals to offer realism or help you hit power targets, so if your avatar is riding uphill, you'll feel the resistance increase, and if you're following a workout, your turbo trainer will read your cadence and adjust the resistance accordingly to ensure you hit the correct power. All you need to do is keep the pedals turning.
All the while, certain apps allow you to ride with people from all over the world via the internet, offering a connected, immersive and motivating environment that's enjoyable.
So whether you've not touched a bike in 30 years and want to find some fitness, a seasoned veteran training for next year's big goal, or you're an aspiring youngster looking to take on the Zwift Academy for a WorldTour contract, the world of indoor cycling is rife with opportunities for everyone, and this week, Cyclingnews is celebrating that fact.
As ever, we'll be bringing you everything from buying advice to reviews, tips, tricks, how-tos and more, but throughout this week, we'll be looking at turbo trainers, smart bikes, indoor cycling apps and everything else associated with indoor cycling.
Planned for this week, we'll be comparing indoor cycling to spinning, the two similar-but-different branches of pedalling indoors; we'll also look at music to understand why it helps, along with our pick of tunes for you to enjoy (and probably judge).
We'll be answering the simple question of should you buy a turbo trainer, in which we discuss the pros, the cons, and the alternatives; as well as where you can (and should) buy one. We'll bring you the alternatives to the market-leading app, Zwift, as well as a roundup of hacks to optimise your indoor setup.
We'll take things back to basics with an overview of the benefits of indoor cycling, and we'll take a look at how and why indoor cycling can be a fantastic tool to assist anyone on a weight-loss journey. We'll also be taking a deep dive into indoor cycling while pregnant, which includes an interview with TrainerRoad's Amber Pierce, the former professional road cyclist who has recent firsthand experience on the subject.
Of course, we'll look at the turbo trainers and bikes themselves, as well as the other peripherals such as ANT+ adaptors, the best indoor cycling shoes for men and women, and what are the cheapest Zwift setups available to get you pedalling indoors with the smallest upfront cost.
Those are just some of the topics coming up this week, there's plenty more in store, and we'll share them all here throughout the week.
