Did you know that among our regular riders and CycleStar® Instructors, you will find pro athletes, D1 competitors, top-notch cyclists, competitive runners, professional dancers, and other high-profile sports players? In fact, as the official cross-training partner of FC Cincinnati, you can find professional soccer players in the saddle alongside the everyday warriors in the studio every week.
Basically, if sports are what you DO, CycleBar can help you do them better.
We talked to Nick Repka, Coordinator of Athletic Training Services for NovaCare®. This guy trains and rehabs FC Cincinnati pro soccer players, Cincinnati Cyclones pro hockey players, and Florence Freedom pro baseball players, to name a few. In other words, Repka knows a thing or two about cross-training at a high level. He said, “Indoor cycling provides the perfect mesh of intensity and power to get my athletes the level of cardio they need.”
“Ideally, I want my athletes to ride twice a week. It would provide them a sufficient amount of time off the field for a cardio workout that does not pound their joints.”
“Plus, indoor cycling offers the additional benefit of a change of scenery. Players get a mental break from the same ol’ routine, which gives them energy and passion when they get back out on the field or court.”
Why indoor cycling? Repka says, “When an athlete sustains an injury, the first activity we clear him or her to do is ride the bike. You can adjust the seat and handlebars to allow for injury. And you can adjust the intensity to reflect ability. The bike is the ultimate rehabilitation tool.”
For athletes of every sport, riding regularly helps them get healthy—and stay healthy—so they can continue to perform their sport at the highest level possible. Plus, here are a few more reasons high-performance athletes should add indoor cycling to their cross-training regimen:
Less Pounding Equals Fewer Injuries
This is the most obvious benefit of indoor cycling, especially for athletes in contact sports. You get a great cardio workout without the pounding of the pavement, gym floor, uneven pitch, or other player’s bodies.
Strength without Sacrificing Cardio
Strength-work is vital to sports performance and injury prevention. At CycleBar, you do arm sets, pushups, and upper body work while you’re pedaling the bike, so your heart rate never slows down. You get a full-body strength session and a high-calorie burn session at the same time. It’s a win-win.
Faster Leg Turnover
Speed workouts increase endurance and strengthen the lungs and legs. Doing speed work on the bike allows you to concentrate on improving leg turnover and developing fast-twitch muscle fibers.
Segmented Efforts
A CycleBar workout is comprised of a series of smaller challenges. These short bursts of intense activity can increase blood flow, raise VO2 max, flush out lactate, reduce muscle and joint stiffness, and help you actively recover to bounce back quickly.
So, how about it? Are you ready to optimize your athletic performance? Contact your studio today to set up a private ride to get more out of each athlete on your team, club, or group.
—Adrea Beatty, CycleBar