Indoor Cycling – Training Through Injury

INDOOR CYCLING & TRAINING WITH INJURY

by Robert Thorpe

ELITE INTERACTIVE TRAINERS
Using indoor cycling to aid recovery from injury

I shouldn’t complain really. I’m 55 now and I’ve been active in adventure sports and cycling all of my life, having been a climber, mountain runner, as well as a road cyclist and mountain biker. My body aches more these days, and in recent years it really has ached. I was hit by a car whilst cycling in Nice in 2018 and my back still reminds me. However, it’s currently my left knee that’s the problem, with doctors torn (pardon the pun) between it being a torn patella tendon and cartilage repair needed. I’ve got an MRI booked in a few weeks, so that will clear it up and treatment can finally begin.

It affects my training and general fitness though, which is the theme of this article. I truly believe that staying fit in body helps you to stay fit in your mind. Also, as we reach middle age, health becomes more important and we need to stay active – which is where I’ve found Elite to be a great partner for my own health issues recently. I don’t feel comforting head out on a long all day ride into the wild hills, and neither do I feel able to really push things and be some distance from home. Thanks to Elite I have a few options available to me. I can set up the bike on the Suito interactive trainer, or if I want a core workout too, I can use the Quick Motion rollers.

Using these great indoor cycle trainers I can partner them with the Elite ‘My E-Training’ app, Zwift, RGT or any of a number of related programmes and see what my numbers look like – not simply to view improvement, but also to check that I’m not overdoing it and likely to adversely affect the injured knee. And, using the Elite ‘Real Video’ and ‘My Real Video’ programmes I can ride all over the world and be motivated by the amazing scenery, as the interactive trainer allows me to feel like the challis somewhat realistic.

Living where I do, I have 5 great National Parks within a couple of hours drive, and 2 literally on my doorstep. It means that I’m not sure of hilly rides – far from it. We have so many hills that those below 10% don’t get a sign. However, tough hills and knee injuries don’t always go together, and with the Elite ‘My E-Training’ app I can design and choose an interactive mapped route anywhere in the world, using google mapping, riding as flat as I like, or adding a few gentle climbs. If the knee is feeling good, then on comes the ‘My Real Video’ and I’ll ride up something like the Stelvio, with the breathtaking views on the screen on front of me; and all the time I can focus on my power, my cadence, my speed, adjusting it to match the injured limb performance, safe in the knowledge that I’m not far from home – I’m in the studio just a 20 metre walk from great coffee.

Thankfully, with the support of the Elite interactive training products, my knee is coming in fine and I’m able to maintain a reasonable level of fitness. Once the surgeon starts cutting, I’ll hopefully heal quicker due to the base fitness that I’ve maintained. And, I’ll have the Elite Suito on hand to help recovery, alongside the great data feeds from the ‘My E-Trianing’ app. All this adds up to a very positive injured rider, feeling motivated and still loving their cycling.

Take a look at the Elite range of interactive trainers and their great performance training apps, and allow Elite to support your own journey back from injury. Indoor cycle trainers aren’t just about improving performance; they’re also designed to help and support you in your general health and return to fitness. Remember Chris Froome post accident, using them in his own recovery. Elite can’t make you ride like this legend, but they’ll certainly support your own journey back onto the roads. And as cyclists, that’s what we all want – to ride the great roads and trails and to explore new possibilities.