Travelling to Sydney and need some advice

[jcjordan]

I am flying to Sydney on the 4th of June and staying at the Nt Sydney Harbourview Hotel.

I normally take my bike with me when travelling but based on the desire to stay alive I don't think that is a option this time.

Are there any good gyms with spin bikes or something similar in the area?

[Sparx]

There are 2 Fitness Firsts in North Sydney. An instructor named Andrew who takes a class at the Walker St one is REALLY good.

Just across the bridge in Circular Quay there is a place called Athlete Lab (I think) that specialises in bike classes.

[jcjordan]

There are 2 Fitness Firsts in North Sydney. An instructor named Andrew who takes a class at the Walker St one is REALLY good.

Just across the bridge in Circular Quay there is a place called Athlete Lab (I think) that specialises in bike classes.

The athlete lab looks good. Easy to get to and no need to bring my own bike

[g-boaf]

I'm a member of Athlete Lab, they are excellent. Book online ahead of the session you want to do. If you do the triathlon thing, they've got training for that as well last time I checked.

[jcjordan]

I'm a member of Athlete Lab, they are excellent. Book online ahead of the session you want to do. If you do the triathlon thing, they've got training for that as well last time I checked.

Not a tri guy but the sessions do look interesting.

Can you give me a run down of how the sessions are run.

I dropped the a email but no reply yet

[g-boaf]

Just do some stretching and warm ups before you go. Then turn up about 5 minutes before the booked time - they'll give you a key to a locker - go get changed into your gear and then jump on one of the adjustabikes. They'll get you set up for proper fit and reach and away you go.

Let's say you want to do the FTP test. It's about a 1 hour session - with about 35 minute warm up and the rest is done like a 25 minute time-trial across a fairly flat course. Each adjustabike has a powertap on the back wheel, so you can see the watts per kilo on screen along with a graphical representation of what terrain is ahead. If you are doing something like training with power, they'll probably want to know your FTP if you know it - they they can set the computrainer for a certain percentage above that. And it'll keep the resistance at that percentage, regardless of what you do with the gears.

The adjustabike is not like a typical gym bike, it's fitted out like a road bike with road bike gears and handlebars, saddle and so on.

You'll probably find you end up with a session with only a few people in it, or you might even be the only one depending on what time of day you go.

Personally, I think it's better than a gym because it is more specialised and the training is set to your needs. They've also got physio/massage facilities there too, though provided by different companies.

For me, I work just up the road in one of the two big sandstone buildings on Bridge Street - so it is pretty useful having them close by.