5 Ways To Keep Indoor Cycling Interesting This Winter

The winter months are just around the corner.

And that means for many of us that outdoor cycling either becomes a cold and wet pain or it is time to move that activity indoors.

Unfortunately, riding stationary bikes indoors is not very exciting and is mostly boring.

Here are five distractions to keep you pedaling to maintain that hard won fitness you achieved over the summer.

Read Something

This is actually harder than it looks. It can be done successfully as you are warming up but once you start breathing hard it just becomes too hard to concentrate. Plus you are dripping sweat all over the reading material. The best bet is to get a reading stand and stick to magazines that do not require a lot of thought.

Watch Television

TV is a good choice until you want to start channel surfing. Sitting through commercials are the worst as you cannot really escape them unless you have prerecorded the show and then you have to mess with the remote while you are sweaty.

Listening to Music

Thank goodness for satellite radio or mp3 players. Commercial-free music is the only way to go. For many people music is enough of a distraction to keep them riding. They can stare out the window and be content watching the rain or snow fall knowing they are dry and warm and still staying fit.

Watch Training Videos

Training videos, or DVDs, tend to do a better job at keeping you fit. Instead of simply sitting down on your cycle and pedaling mile after boring mile, with training videos you can actually find a program that will give you good results. There are numerous types of training videos form those for beginners to those ambitious cyclists that need to train for competitions.

Training videos help you know exactly what you have gotten out of your cycling workout. You know that if the instructor says that today you will be riding intervals for 45-minutes then you know that, based on his experience, you will have gotten a high quality workout. There would be no guess work as you might have if you were trying to build a workout regimen for yourself.

Go to a Cycling Class

Need interaction with other people during those boring rides? Spin classes are perfect. You may have to attend different classes until you find the instructor that suits your fitness goals. Some instructors prefer doing mostly intervals. Other may like doing hill climbs. There is definitely a class out there that will suit your needs for a 45 minute to a hour fitness ride.

Indoor cycling is boring after a while. There are a few things you can do to stay motivated so you can keep fit during those miserable winter months. You will be better for it when spring comes since you will not have to work so hard to get back in riding condition.