Benefits While Cycling Indoors
Indoor cycling is a low-impact, high-benefit method of working out. Lauded for its inclusiveness--a first-timer can fit in quickly--the benefits of an indoor cycling session can vary by individual. Here are six things that may happen to your body when consistently riding indoors:
1) You’ll lose weight.
Indoor cycling is sometimes called a “carb burning party,” where 350-600 calories can be burned in one, 45-minute session (American Council on Exercise). The amount of calories burned is based on the size of the rider and the intensity of the class.
Working out at high intensities forces the body to search for fast energy, preferably carbohydrates. Converting carbohydrates to energy requires increased oxygen consumption. Do this for too long; eventually, you can't supply enough oxygen to the muscles, and recovery beckons.
Sprints and intervals, hallmarks of indoor cycling, often induce this exhaustive state. These high-intensity efforts increase your caloric output. Dr. Edward Coyle, of the University of Austin (Texas), provides a table which demonstrates the connection between bike speed and calories. In essence, pedal harder and burn more calories.
Remember, nutrition is just as important as your workout regimen. An NIH study suggests indoor cycling and a restricted diet are excellent options for weight loss. Be mindful not to put all those calories back into your body with a sugary drink afterward.
2) Improve your aerobic capacity.
Cycling is a great way to build endurance. While high-intensity interval training is quite popular, steady-state intervals are important, too. As opposed to HIIT, steady state intervals, longer efforts at a controlled tempo, are done in the aerobic zone. In the aerobic zone, fat is the primary energy source as the body adjusts to the consistent effort required to maintain speed over a longer interval.
Additionally, training the body to breathe efficiently is a major aspect of steady-state interval efforts. Starting at age 30, we lose ten percent of our lung capacity. So you either breathe more efficiently or lose ten percent of your ability to exert on the bike each decade. A willingness to engage in steady-state intervals will improve your overall cardiovascular fitness and allow you to sustain those aforementioned high-intensity efforts.
3) Improve the health of your heart.
Fox and Haskell's formula shows the demarcation of aerobic (lower half) and anaerobic (upper half) efforts and heart rate
A Swedish study purports that one hour of spinning initiates a chemical release in your blood that indicates the heart is getting an impactful workout. Investing in a heart rate monitor provides instant feedback on effort. Training in varied heart rate zones [understanding training zones] provides a balanced workout for your body.
4) It makes you feel good
Neurologists in Germany studied endorphins from the brains of athletes after a two-hour endurance session. Before and after images revealed increased activity in the parts of the brain responsible for stress and emotional processing. The study coordinator commented: “There’s a direct link between feelings of wellbeing and endurance exercise of all kinds.” Remember, this was an endurance study. You can’t simply sprint all day!
Which Muscles are Really Used During the Pedal Stroke? [link]
If that doesn’t move you, according to the Wall Street Journal, cycling (indoor or outdoor) ranks second among exercises that best help mental health—participating in team sports was first.
5) Tone your stems.
“Cycling will make your legs get big” is one of the greatest myths of cycling (indoor or outside). In truth, you would need to do a lot of cycling to see a significant growth in leg muscle. Cyclists employ weight training in the gym for mass. The leg muscles we see were primarily developed in the off-season. Cyclists use these muscles to develop a more vigorous pedal stroke (see image below) and, thus, more toned legs.
6) You become happier.
“Ritalin on wheels” or “cheaper than therapy.” Both of those phrases have been applied to cycling. I’ll reserve this one for the folks who can ride on their own and not only in a spin class. There’s a difference between finding your happiness versus being peer pressured into it. The latest report on the happiest countries in the world may shed some light on this.
While four of the top five are cold-weather countries, they all embrace being outdoors. I know this article is about indoor riding, but all of the benefits of spin are derived from outdoor cycling. Strangely, indoors, “I almost died” or “That class almost killed me” are oft-heard comments. It's not exactly an endorsement of happiness.
As of 2025, America ranks 24, the lowest rank ever — and indoor cycling class size (the ones that focus on your legs versus moving your hands around) is dwindling — any correlation?
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I wrote this article for Echelon, the other Peloton, pre-COVID (2019). I’m curious if COVID-19 changed what people looked for from an indoor cycling class — with community, not fitness, being near the top.
I felt many folks hyped up the health benefits of spin, and when the gyms closed, people realized spin hadn’t really changed their lives. But that’s just my take. What say you?