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It’s hard to watch cyclists zoom through stages of the Tour de France without imagining yourself—even for just a second—on a sleek road bike, pedaling through the European countryside, wind on your skin and wheels turning underneath you. If you’ve already dabbled in indoor cycling, whether in a Soul Cycle class or on a Peloton bike, it may also have you wondering how indoor and outdoor cycling compare. Is it just as hard, physically? Is one a better workout?
“I’ve never looked at indoor and outdoor cycling as competitors. I think they’re better together,” says Reagan Carter, a certified cycling instructor, lifelong outdoor cyclist, and cycle brand specialist at Life Time Rancho San Clemente. That said, yes, there are some pretty significant differences between the two.
Keep reading to understand the differences between indoor vs. outdoor cycling, including the powerful mind-body benefits you stand to gain from hopping in the saddle.
Meet the experts: Reagan Carter, is an AFAA certified group fitness instructor, certified cycling instructor and cycle brand specialist at Life Time Rancho San Clemente. Renee Eastman, MS, CSCS, is a cycling coach with CTS.
What are the benefits of cycling, in general?
While indoor and outdoor cycling have their differences, there are some overarching benefits you’ll get from both workouts.
“The number one benefit of cycling would probably be cardiovascular fitness,” says Renee Eastman, MS, CSCS, a cycling coach with CTS. The cardiovascular fitness you build on a bike benefits your longevity by improving heart and lung health, reducing disease risk, and enhancing your functionality, Eastman says. Cycling can make it easier to truck heavy groceries to your car or make it so you don’t get as winded from chasing after your dog or kid.
And because cycling is low-impact, many people can stick with it through injuries or the aches and pains that come with aging. “Unlike activities with repetitive impact, like running, cycling allows you to challenge your heart, lungs, and muscles without placing as much stress on your joints,” Carter says.
Cycling generally isn’t enough to build maximal strength in most people (you’ll want to look to strength training for that), though it does help “develop muscular endurance throughout the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and hip flexors,” Carter says, which can carry over to improved stamina for your other workouts or everyday life.
“And, as with just about any mode of exercise, it’s good stress relief,” Eastman adds. Research shows that any physical activity can benefit mental health, but cycling, in particular, seems to improve mood and well-being and reduce stress and depressive symptoms.
Indoor vs Outdoor Cycling for Cardiovascular Health
Expert verdict: Indoor
Because cycling in all its forms is a rhythmic, heart-pumping activity, you’re bound to get a good cardio workout whether you’re inside or outside. However, there’s one way in which indoor cycling pulls ahead: “Indoor cycling tends to create a more continuous workload,” Carter explains. “There are no stoplights, no coasting downhill, and no interruptions unless the workout is intentionally programmed that way. Because of that, riders can often maintain a higher average training intensity and spend more sustained time producing power, making indoor cycling an incredibly efficient cardiovascular workout.”
In that vein, indoor cycling can also be a bit more time-efficient, especially if you have a stationary bike readily available. “With indoor cycling, you just get on the bike and go,” Eastman says. No need to pump up your tires, worry about the weather forecast, or plan a route. This might allow you to squeeze in a workout even when you don’t have much time, or help you stay on the bike longer, getting you closer to the 150+ minutes of moderate-intensity cardio per week recommended for overall health.
Indoor vs Outdoor Cycling for Muscle Engagement and Strength
Expert verdict: Outdoor
From a physiological standpoint, both indoor and outdoor cycling challenge the cardiovascular system and recruit many of the same major muscle groups: namely, your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves, and hip flexors.
“The biggest difference isn’t necessarily which muscles you’re using, but how they’re being challenged,” Carter says. “Outdoor cycling is naturally more variable: Hills, weather, traffic, and road conditions constantly change the demands on your body.” Your muscles are being worked from different angles as you stand to power up a steep climb or lean to zoom around a corner, while testing your balance and proprioception (your body’s ability to perceive its movement and position in space).
“Outdoor riding also places greater demands on your stabilizing muscles throughout the core and upper body because you’re balancing, steering, braking, cornering, and continuously reacting to changing terrain and conditions,” Carter says. This is especially true if you’re mountain biking or riding on trails that require even more body positions and varied skills, Eastman adds—from jumping a log to hopping off your bike and wheeling it up a hill that’s too steep.
Meanwhile, on an indoor bike, you can get sort of lazy with your form, Eastman continues. Most stationary bikes position you relatively upright, allowing you to place more body weight in the saddle. “If you're sitting more upright, you're probably using your upper body and core less, whereas there’s a certain amount of strength that you need on a regular bike,” she explains.
Indoor vs Outdoor Cycling for Power
Expert verdict: Outdoor
Though cycling outside comes with additional environmental challenges, cycling indoors can often feel harder for people, Eastman says. In fact, some research suggests that cyclists perform better outside. A few small studies have found that professional male cyclists generate higher power outdoors than they do indoors, even when instructed to ride at a similar perceived effort level.
Eastman has seen this firsthand in the athletes she coaches. “For people paying attention to watts, output, or power, they might notice they can't put out as much power indoors as outdoors,” she says. Why? This could come down to the mechanical differences between how you create torque and power a stationary bike versus a moving bike, she says, but it’s likely also environmental. When you’re riding outside, there’s a cooling effect from the air flow that you just can’t get inside, even if you have a fan—and this temperature difference is likely one of the reasons people's perception of their effort is a little bit higher indoors, she says.
On the flip side, if you’re doing a workout with a specific goal—think: high-intensity intervals or hitting a specific pace—an indoor setting makes it easier to really dial in your efforts. “You can control your program very well if you're indoors,” Eastman says.
Indoor vs Outdoor Cycling for Accessibility and Safety
Expert verdict: Indoor
Indoor cycling isn’t only more time-efficient, it also surpasses outdoor riding from an accessibility perspective in many other ways. “Indoor cycling has made the sport accessible and open to people who might not otherwise get on a bike,” Carter says.
First, there are the logistics of it all. Gear-wise, riding outside requires a bike and helmet (at the very least), and you also need to know how to handle a flat. You’ll want to bring water and any necessary nutrition, keep an eye on the weather forecast, and plan bike-safe routes. Even then, road safety is always a concern. “Cycling outside requires a lot of awareness because you’re sharing the road with vehicles, pedestrians, and other cyclists,” Carter says. “Unfortunately, not everyone shares the road as well as they should.”
Indoor cycling offers the benefit of constant safety and ultimate control. “You can adjust the bike to fit your body, making it a great option for beginners, someone returning from injury, or anyone looking for a structured workout,” Carter says. You can listen to music (which isn’t safe on the road) and get real-time coaching with virtual classes or an instructor, helping ensure you get a lot out of your workout even if you’re new to the modality. And if you need a bathroom, snack, or water break, it’s as easy as slowing the flywheel and hopping off the bike.
Indoor vs Outdoor Cycling for Mental Well-Being
Expert verdict: It depends on personal preference
“Beyond the physical benefits, cycling has always been just as good for my mind as it is for my body,” Carter says. Luckily, when it comes to mental benefits, both indoor and outdoor rides have something special to offer.
Riding outside can be a sort of balm—you get to enjoy the passing scenery, soak up some vitamin D, and breathe in fresh air. “For some people, cycling outdoors can be like a meditative kind of exercise, because it's very rhythmic and you can get into a flow,” Eastman says. Some research even suggests that outdoor workouts may offer more powerful mental-health benefits (including reduced anxiety, improved mood, and resistance to fatigue) than indoor workouts. Because you have to maintain situational awareness and contend with obstacles on outdoor rides, your brain is also forced to work a little harder. One PLoS One study on older adults found that eight weeks of outdoor cycling improved executive functioning, and this was true even among those who rode e-bikes—suggesting that it was the act of cycling, not just the physical exercise, that had an impact.
Riding indoors, on the other hand, “creates a completely different mental space,” Carter says. “You get to leave the outside world at the door and simply focus on moving. For many people, that combination of movement, music, and coaching is one of the best forms of stress relief they’ll experience all week.”
Ultimately, comparing indoor vs outdoor cycling isn’t about which is better, but about what makes sense for you. They both offer powerful benefits for your body and mind, and will complement each other as well as your other workouts. “To me, indoor cycling builds the engine, and outdoor cycling teaches you how to use it,” Carter says. “The strongest riders I know usually incorporate both because each one brings something valuable to the table.”
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