Recently I responded to an article by Jennifer Sage on IndoorCyclingInstructor.com entitled “To Jump or Not to Jump: That is the question”. We joined in to add a USA Cycling coach’s perspective taking into consideration some of the limitations of the indoor bike, safety and purpose.
You can read Jennifer Sage’s original article at www.indoorcyclinginstructor.com to see how the discussion started.
Just to be clear, we are solely referring to indoor cycling jumps and not jumps familiar to cyclists that train outdoors.
In summary, jumps (as Spinning and Schwinn) define them, should never be done on an indoor bike. There are some dangers and misconceptions that can help instructors understand why this is not an appropriate technique.
Let me start by saying, as a USA Cycling coach, my perspective is very real-cycling focused. Regardless, I’m not a big fan of distinguishing between and indoor (non-cyclist) and a outdoor cyclist, both of whom may take an indoor cycling class. Both are riding a bike which require similar biomechanics and technique with a few adaptations (I’ll explain below). The determining factor is the workout. A well defined, appropriate and purposeful workout (with good music) will please any crowd regardless of age, fitness or skill level.
I am in agreement with Jennifer Sage’s definition of “real” cycling jumps. Dead on. My issue lies with the non-cycling (Spinning, etc.) jumps.
Why NON-Cycling Jumps are potentially Dangers
(1) Strain to the lower back (lumbar spine). When a rider stands on a real bike, the bike moves backwards under the rider approximately 3-6 inches. The better the rider’s technique, the least movement. You may have noticed this when riding close to a someone’s back wheel. They stand to climb or accelerate and now your front wheel is hitting or overlapping their rear wheel (hopefully the later). THE PROBLEM: Indoor bikes don’t move. When an rider stands too quickly or forcefully on an indoor bike, stress is placed on the lower back and spine because the force and momentum of the pedals thrusts them forward. When sprinting or accelerating out of the saddle on an indoor bike, riders should be instructed to smoothly come up out of the saddle with the appropriate resistance BEFORE launching their effort to reduce the force on the lower back.
(2) The Bike Doesn’t Move (Part 2). Because bikes don’t move SIDE to SIDE, a rider can potentially stress hip and knee joints and strain upper body muscle without proper technique. When a rider stands and pedals on a real bike, the bike gently (and sometimes, not so gently) sways/rocks side to side underneath the rider. This is proper technique and done to achieve better mechanics between the legs and bike. If a rider stands and tries to keep the bike from moving side to side, this will cause the upper body muscles (shoulders, back, neck, biceps, chest, forearms, etc.) to contract against the force. This unnecessary muscle contraction wastes energy (fuel), uses oxygen, fatigues the muscles and, more importantly can strain the muscles. Similarly, if a rider tries to stand and keep the bike still, the mechanics of the legs will be hindered placing stress on the hips, knees and sometimes the ankles and feet.
With that said (whew…), non-cycling jumps are too fast a movement to compensate for the NON-MOVEMENT of the indoor bike. In addition, it is more difficult to monitor a larger indoor cycling class to ensure everyone is fit correctly to the bike and is using proper form and technique.
It Doesn’t Teach Real (Functional) Technique
I appreciate Jennifer’s comment on using non-cycling jumps as a drill to improve technique. Her examples of a tennis player, soccer player and volleyball player are correct. However, this does not translate to cycling for one reason – The Bike Doesn’t Move. The tennis, soccer and volleyball players are using the same equipment and functional movement required of their sport. The movement on the indoor bike is not “functional” for the purpose of non-cycling jumps because the static nature of the bike does not promote proper, movement, reaction and bike handling out of the saddle. If you are still not convinced, go outside on your real bike and do a few sets of 2 second jumps (wear a helmet).
MISCONCEPTION: Standing on the Bike.
Riders in general (indoors and out) have a misconception about riding out of the saddle. I’ve encouraged my indoor riders to watch at least one stage of the Tour de France this year and observe how often riders stand. One will notice that riders not only stand on climbs and to sprint and accelerate, but they stand on flat roads and at lower intensities as well. I’m not going to get into the different standing techniques, but let’s just say riders should be standing way more often than they do. One reason riders will stand is to stretch the legs (they will often do this on flat sections of road). It allows the leg (which cannot not fully extend seated) to elongate and stretch the muscles keeping them from shortening from multiple contractions. This year I coached a training camp with Tour de France rider, Fred Morini (Gerolsteiner). He spent a good amount of time getting riders out of the saddle and teaching them stretching techniques. I was even challenged to get out of the saddle more (and I thought I stood a lot).
This can be a tough concept to explain, even to outdoor riders (and instructors) because they are not often spending enough time out of the saddle themselves. This needs to be incorporated in drills and recovery.
MISCONCEPTION: We Need Variety
We don’t need variety as much as we need real training. We (Stage5) have over 40 different indoor workouts. Each with its own focus (training effect), specific drills, music and charts. There is no mystery or magic here. We are simply adapting outdoor workouts to the indoor cycling studio. The workouts are designed to target different skill and fitness levels and are appropriate to the time of year (periodization). Our riders will often not get the same workout more than once in a 2-month period. Rides can vary from focused training sessions (aerobic development, speed-biomechanics, muscular endurance, explosive power, threshold, etc.), rides (rolling terrain and famous routes), to race day events (Tour de France, local races and the like). If an instructor does their homework and understands how to lead their riders through the training session, ride or event, they will please and motivate any rider, any age, skill or fitness level. That is the beauty of indoor cycling.
Sooooooooooo, that is my $0.02 (or maybe $0.10).
