The KEY to enjoyable indoor turbo training is a perfect bike fit.
A comfortable bike fit is crucial for indoor turbo training, as it ensures you can train effectively without causing injury or discomfort that might otherwise lead to a compromised training session or reduced willingness to train.
No matter whether you’re riding on Zwift, Trainer Road, or the ‘old school’ way without virtual technology software, guaranteeing you are comfortable when riding in a fixed plane is KEY. Unlike riding outside, where you can more freely get out of the saddle, freewheel, or maneuver yourself and your bike, indoor riding is generally a very rigid experience. Yes, there are now more immersive training options such as the Wahoo KICKR MOVE and Wahoo KICK SHIFT Bike, but nothing will replicate the movement freedom of riding outside.
Worse than that, discomfort can distract you from the workout, reduce the quality of training, and lead to a lack of motivation. Therefore, having an ergonomic setup that supports your body is even more critical.
How can you ensure comfort at home?
Any niggle, pain, or ache that you feel outside will be heightened tenfold when riding inside due to the aforementioned static nature. Depending on your level of experience, fitness, and/or age, there are several indoor changes you can make to ensure you’re sitting comfortably.
- Undergo a comprehensive Retül bike fit. It perhaps goes without saying, but the best way to determine your readiness for a winter of indoor training is by having your fit quantified by a qualified bike fitter using Retül bike fit technology. The fitter can work around your goals, whether you’re looking for an out-and-out race-ready position or looking for something more relaxed. Either way, a bike that fits individuals to you will cater to your requirements.
- Use these measurements for your indoor training. Now you have been fitted into the perfect position for you, there are a few options. You will most likely have transferred this data onto the bike you use the most. If this is the case, you can use this as your indoor training bike. If you have other options such as a winter bike, indoor trainer bike, or a specific solution like the Wahoo KICKR SHIFT BIKE then you should transfer your fit data to this. It will ensure you have consistency in fit across all of your riding platforms. Each riding experience will feel familiar, comfortable, and efficient. Exactly what you want from an indoor training ride!
- Control the temperature. This may sound like an odd solution for indoor training and comfort, but hear me out. Ambient temperature can significantly affect your comfort and performance when training indoors on a bike. Ensuring the room is at an optimal temperature can enhance your exercise efficiency and comfort levels. A cooler environment and effective ventilation from a traditional fan or something more advanced is beneficial. Even if you have the most dialed bike fit, if you don’t control the temperature you are riding in this can cause issues, especially if you’re too hot. Excess sweat and inadequate heat dissipation from the skin will create incidents of saddle sores if not managed correctly, affecting how often you ride inside.
- Chamois cream. Not specifically fit-related, but adding a barrier between your skin and your bib shorts will increase comfort and hygiene. Are you experiencing chafing? That’s part of being an athlete who trains 24/7/365 in all conditions. Designed to form a protective barrier to help prevent skin damage on sensitive areas, chamois cream is also anti-bacterial. Ideal for all riding styles from hard-fought classics through to long sportives, but especially important on those static indoor rides.
If you want to perform your best, indoors or outside, you need to be as comfortable and thus efficient as you can be on your bike. For indoor riding enjoyment, it is therefore imperative that your bike fit is as precise as it can be. Don’t let a winter of discomfort affect your riding enjoyment, we are now offering full Retül Bike Fits across East Anglia. If you’re feeling any ache, pain, or discomfort in your indoor riding, now has never been a better time to remedy these issues with a Retül Bike Fit.
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