Indoor cycling for beginners: The best ways you can get started today
“How do I start cycling at home?”
“What kind of indoor cycling workouts should I do? And for how long?”
You’re in the right spot because those are the questions this post is here to answer.
What you need for your indoor cycling space
Heads up, some links here are affiliate links
Setting up an indoor cycling space can get expensive, and it’s why this list is here to help you narrow it down to the indoor cycling essentials.
Find your indoor cycling bike. Do you want a stationary bike such as an Echelon, Peloton, or Nordictrack? These can be pricey, but you’ll get a studio cycling experience.
Or do you only need an indoor bike trainer because you own a road bike? You’ll attach your rear wheel to a bike trainer so you can ride your bike at home. Some indoor bike trainers are noisier than others. So if you plan on listening to music or anything else, you’ll have to crank up the volume to hear over the trainer.
Indoor cycling space. You don’t need a large footprint for cycling at home, but I’d recommend you leave your bike set up in place—especially if you’re using an indoor bike trainer—to make it quick and easy to squeeze in an indoor cycling session.
Floor mat. Place a large floor mat under your bike to protect your floors and prevent your trainer from shifting.
Indoor cycling fan. A small, simple fan will do, but you might like the convenience of a remote-controlled fan.
Bike shorts. Bike saddles aren’t the most comfortable to sit in for long, and padded bike shorts will give you support and comfort throughout your indoor cycling sessions. Bike shorts are designed without seams to prevent chafing and to fit snugly against your body, so you won’t need to wear underwear with these shorts.
Rolling cart to keep your water bottles, towels, phone, and more within arm’s reach.
And finally, cycling shoes and clipless pedals. As a beginner, this isn’t essential, but it is nice to have. That’s because this system—cycling shoes and pedals—keeps your feet in the pedals, so you won’t waste energy trying to keep your feet in place.
You’ll attach cleats to the bottom of a stiff-soled cycling shoe which you’ll use to secure your foot to the bike pedals.
The Newsletter
Real cycling advice for real life
Every two weeks. No fluff.
The indoor cycling workouts to start with
Start with 10 to 20-minute indoor cycling workouts three times a week
The key with indoor cycling for beginners is to get going and build momentum (and this indoor cycling plan for beginners will walk you through it), whether that’s one day a week or three; or for 10 minutes or 20.
It’s shorter but harder than riding outside. There’s no coasting, no downhills, no tailwind giving you a break. You’re pedaling the whole time. But that’s also why it builds endurance fast
Ready to take it outside? Be prepared to ride your bike both uphill and downhill with these cycling tips on how to ride your bike uphill and how to ride your bike downhill.
Try a variety of workouts, but for the most part, keep it easy
A variety of indoor cycling workouts will keep things interesting, but don’t push yourself to do cycling sprints every time you get on the bike.
Your muscles need time to adapt to this added physical stress and overloading your system with fast indoor cycling workouts can increase your risk of injury.
Don’t rush developing your fitness; you’ll get fitter every time you do an indoor cycling session.
Give yourself time to recover
Any time you do a workout, you’re stressing your body and creating microtears in your muscles.
Microtears in your muscles sound alarming, but it’s how you’ll develop stronger muscles. Your muscles have to break down to rebuild stronger ones.
So any day you do an indoor ride, the next day should be a rest day to allow your body to repair and recover.
You’ll get the most out of every workout when you let your body rest.