Bike Trainer Basics

If you’ve just started cycling training you may wonder why anyone would use a stationary bike trainer. If you’re used to the road or riding in a group surely there is nothing more tedious than riding for hours and getting nowhere. There are many reasons why using a stationary trainer can be an important part of any broad based cycling training program beyond just not wanting to get your bike wet or your fingers and toes frozen in the winter.

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Smart Cycle Training - Beware of Over Training

One of the most common mistakes cyclists make when taking up the sport is to do too much to soon.
It is natural to be enthusiastic about a new pursuit that you enjoy and wish to excel in but it’s important to remember one simple fact. Your fitness and physical ability does not improve while your cycling - it improves while your resting and in recovery. If you don’t allow enough recovery time regeneration cannot occur and your performance and development will plateau. Training for cycling necessarily puts stress on More on Smart Cycling Training

Body Fat Percentage

If you’re serious about your cycling you probably care about your body fat percentage for the simple reason that the less fat you’re carrying around, the greater your power to weight ratio will be.

Body fat percentage is an estimate of the fraction of the total body mass that is adipose tissue (or referred to as Fat Mass), as opposed to lean body mass (muscle, bone, organ tissue, blood, and everything else) or referred to as Fat Free Mass. This index is often used as a means to monitor progress during a diet or as a measure of physical fitness for certain sports. It is more accurate as a measure of excess body weight than body mass index (BMI) since it differentiates between the weight of muscle mass and that of the fat mass while BMI lump all masses into one figure. However, its popularity is less than BMI because equipment required to perform the body fat percentage is not readily available and skills are required to perform the measurement. Even when measured by a skillful person, there are factors that contribute to a significant margin of error.

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Cadence

In High Cadence We Trust

Cadence is the speed at which you turn the pedals measured in revolutions per minute. There have been extensive studies done on which cadence rate is the most efficient and the general current, common wisdom is that a cadence of 90-100 rpm is optimal. If you’re new to cycling this may seem fast - the reasons this speed has been determined the most efficient over time is linked to the bio-mechanics of the sport. Cycling, in most instances is an endurance sport with a need for consistant and on going energy output over extended period. A higher cadence will ensure your muscles will tire less quickly and will work at their peak efficiency over a period of time.

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Cycling Software First Use

When you first open the Cycling Secrets Cycling Software you should first check and, if needed alter the Preferences under the File menu. Then add yourself as a new rider.

Click on the ‘Add’ button and choose ‘New Rider’ to open the New Rider Dialogue Box.

Click on the ‘New Rider’ button and enter your details. Your height will be used in some of the health calculations. When finished click ‘Add Rider’. And then close the dialogue box.

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