Physiological and Psychological Comparison of Indoor and Outdoor Cycling

Cyclists often feel as if they work harder when training indoors than they do outdoors. It is difficult to determine whether this is due to an actual change in work rate, or different physiological and psychological responses indoors versus outdoors. The purpose of this study was to determine whether an indoor versus outdoor cycling session stimulates different physiological and psychological responses. Twelve recreationally trained male cyclists participated in an initial descriptive testing session, and two experimental trials consisting of one indoor and one outdoor session, in a randomized order. Experimental trials consisted of a 40 kilometer set course in which participants were instructed to give the same perceived effort for both the indoor and outdoor trial. Variables measured include body weight, urine specific gravity, cycling power output, heart rate, core temperature, skin temperature, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), attentional focus, and environmental conditions. Environmental conditions were similar between trials, as only wind speed was higher in the outdoor trial than the indoor (p=0.020). Power output was 30.00 ± 0.05% higher (