The Gym vs. The Real World

First and foremost...don't get me wrong. I go to the gym 4-5 days a week. Five if the weather's sketchy on Saturdays, keeping me from the trails. I enjoy my gym time...especially for base endurance training and strength training.

But there's a big difference between riding a spin bike, even in a very toughly taught class, and being on either the open road or the trail. There's a huge difference between running the pavement or trail and churning out miles on either the treadmill or the indoor track. And of course, there's a huge difference between pool swimming and open water swimming.

I won't say much about the swimming here (as it's too cold for open water swimming, making that point moot) or the running, as that's not my strong point, though the observation still remains. But biking is definitely my strong suit in this multi-sport adventure I'm on, and there's just no comparing real riding (on the road or on the trail) and the very different, but still beneficial, time spent on spin bike or on the trainer. First of all, you don't steer while stationery. So while your hands grip the bars, sometimes plenty hard, you're not actually making the bike go where you want it to. Also, you develop the bad habit of looking straight down watching the front tire spin instead of looking 10-20 yards ahead to see what's coming. You have to manuever around obstacles and debris on the road and you have to actually ride or lift over stuff on the trail.

Also, you can stand and hammer all you want during a spin class, but it just ain't the same thing as having to actually climb a hill. On the road you may have to deal with headwinds or winds buffeting you from the side. On the trail you may have roots, rock gardens and other of nature's favorite obstacles in the midst of your climb.

And finally, spin classes or your living room are climate controlled. You have the air or heat on and it's a pleasant however many degrees. Outside there's wind, sometimes rain, hot sun, all kinds of weather issues to deal with. And you never know what kind of crap Mother Nature might throw at you on the day of your event.

I do go to the gym and I do work on my strength and overall endurance building on the weight machines, with the free weights and on the treadmill and elliptical. However...I also get my butt out in the winter elements on and off the trail, on foot and on the bike, to ensure I've got the abilities to handle the terrain and conditions I may have to face in an upcoming event.