The Top Ten Gym Equipment - You Will Never Need Anything Else Part 9

#9 The Racing Bike

Yes you probably didn't expect this one. Forget the home gym for a moment - and get out and explore your surroundings. The road bike is a fantastic complement to your training program and gives you the opportunity to vary your training - from hill sprints to  endurance rides.

I consider myself fortunate where I live - I have a hill called North Hill which is steep and goes on for well over a mile. It is a whole training program in itself and I often throw this in to a 12 mile circular route which takes in some great countryside and minimises the need to use busy roads - the curse of cyclists.



It isn't necessarily a cheap sport but for new entrants its perfectly easy to pick up a modestly priced bike on eBay as a starting point. I bought mine new - a Boardman road bike but didn't go for the much more expensive all carbon frame. Perhaps another day - for training I just didn't feel I needed to spend that much. This year I am changing the pedals to finally go for cleats instead of traditional pedals. This is the scary moment when your feet are locked into the bike itself which is great for maximum pedalling efficiency, provided you learn to release at least one foot in time when braking!

As I mentioned this is a great complement to indoor gym work - get out and add Vitamin D to the mix. Its great for your well being. The leg and lung power generated is incredible - use time keeping if you're doing the same route to check speed which is one measure of progession.

Progression can also be achieved by distance achieved or difficulty of route (more hill climbing).

For me personally, I have had to lay off running due to knee problems and so cycling is a great substitute. Get in tune with the massive trend of road cycling. Better still, if the budget will stretch, get an off road bike to add to the mix and add different local routes available. I use the latter for family rides and my road bike for solo rides (which is more my real training)

So get out and see the world from a bike

Happy training

Andy at Fitter Future