Building Comfort on the Bike
December 20, 2021 | Words by Ryan Blackwell
As a coach, I have never heard so many groans to one movement more than “The Bike.”
Regardless of Distance, Calories, or Fixed Time Domain, the answer is the same: They just don’t like it! So I thought I’d provide a few coaching tips to help build better comfort on the Bike.
Don’t Watch the Cals
One of the most discouraging things you can do during a harder calorie goal is to watch it seemingly slowly tick over. If the calories are set for a large enough number, then do yourself a favor and don’t look at it. Instead, look at the clock on the wall. Find a specific time where you only focus on the clock and push at a slightly uncomfortable but doable pace. By doing this, you allow yourself to work focusing on your effort (the important part) and not the calories. Odds are, once you’re done with a fixed bit of work, you would have already knocked out a larger portion of the calories.Sit Down and Do a Big Goal
I recently participated in the 10K Meter Row workout here at NCFIT. That task, by itself, was a huge challenge. However, the benefit to it now is that any time a workout comes out with a shorter meter count of the Row, I feel less concerned about the distance. Spending that time allows me to reflect back and know that it gives me a bit of a mental edge knowing I can complete this smaller distance because I have done a larger one. Do this on the Bike. Find a nice distance that will require you to sit there for a bit and just work. Don’t worry about how long it will take you, but build that comfort of grinding through. Using this will help with those shorter distances because you already have that larger distance in your back pocket completed.Find Your Money RPM
It’s easy to sit there and sprint to try and get calories completed quickly, but how often do we finish that and are unable to keep our pace? Probably far too often. Instead of going full tilt (unless asked upon), find an uncomfortable but repeatable RPM rate that allows you to keep your pace consistently. Once you start to establish that consistent RPM pace, you can further build on it. Similar to weight training, you can increase the RPM on the Bike once you’re able to make the movement more comfortable.
The Bike can be very uncomfortable; however, that doesn’t mean it needs to be soul-crushing. We have opportunities to grow, not only by ourselves, but in the class setting as well. Look to utilize and grow your skill set with a few simple fixes. Do you have any pro tips that work best for you? Let us know!
