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Dallas Blacklaw is an indoor cycling pro who reaps the rewards by taking his indoor cycling skills on the road.
As a triathlete and personal trainer, Dallas Blacklaw saw indoor cycling as another chance to up his game. He became an RPM™ instructor nearly 10 years ago and swears by his cycling routine for keeping fit enough for anything life throws his way.
If you don’t think studio pedal power can help you pound the pavement or compete in that cycle race that’s always been on your bucket list, think again. The fitness you gain from RPM is transferable to other sports. Dallas knows from experience that you can get big benefits training for anything up to a half marathon with RPM.
“For people turning up wanting to train hard and incinerate calories, this is a perfect way to do it in an environment that isn’t going to stress your joints.”
Dallas trains for running races, using RPM to build strength and endurance. The fact that indoor riding is low impact, easier on your joints and gives greater support for your knees makes it the perfect choice to complement high impact activities.
If you love being outdoors on your bike, RPM also makes a great match with mountain biking or road cycling. Just ask Dallas, who put his theory to the test by training purely with RPM for a 50 kilometer (30 miles) mountain biking event. He smashed it.
“RPM gets you strong. There’s no coasting in the class – the whole time you’re sitting on the bike you are getting stronger. It’s all power to the ground in mountain biking; you just have to keep pedaling. Once you get off you’re in trouble! [Training with RPM] gives you the ability to stay in the saddle and grind the gear.”
If you’re not ready to hit the road or trail just yet, but would love to get out there someday, Dallas says an indoor cycle workout is a great place to start.
“For people that are just getting into cycling, you can build up strength in the right muscles, so when you do get on the road you feel strong and in control.”
It doesn’t have to be a marathon or mountain bike race. You might just want to get fit and feel self-assured enough to get outside for a walk, or play with your kids.
“The majority of people come to RPM with no experience and get into cycling as a by-product of loving the class. It doesn’t even have to be road or mountain biking; it could just be about getting on your bike with the kids or your friends.”
This piece originally appeared at lesmills.com.