Training & Nutrition - Stationary bike for training?

IHi All,
t's very difficult for me to get out and ride during the week because of my work schedule. I can however get to the gym very early in morning or very late at night. What I'm wondering is if the miles you ride on a stationary bike in the gym would count towards total mileage for the week. (I have a training plan that has a certain amount of suggested miles for each day, and total to shoot for, for the week.)

I've been riding on the stationary bike on a hill profile, for 45 min to an hour each day (keeping RPM's in the 80 to 85 range). Increasing the level every few days as I get stronger. The last time I rode for 45 min, it said I did 16.5 miles. Would that equate to 16.5 miles outside on the road?

I know it's helping, because when I went out for a 40+ mile ride outside yesterday, I felt a lot better than last week. Just wondering if I'm getting an equivalent in, since it's all I can do on some days is inside.

thanks in advance for any feedback from all you more experienced riders!
~mle

I don't have an answer for you; I too ride at the gym and was also wondering if the miles are pretty much equivalent, or if it's like the Stairmaster: 50 flights on the Stairmaster are no comparison to actually climbing up seven floors in real life...

On the other hand, treadmill running is pretty close to road running if you remember to add a couple of degrees of uphill slant to compensate...so maybe the bike in the gym is fairly equivalent.

Hoping someone has good info,
Dagna

simple answer: no
I started on a stationary bike and I can tell you there is no comparison. Wind, road condition, hill variances. I say no although you are going that distance, the calories your burn won't be as close.

Miles don't really mean anything, you can coast a lot or you can pedal hard. You could have lots of hills or none at all. Mileage is not a good indicator, but it's better than nothing if you need something.
I did 100 flat miles on Sunday at a slow speed with another rider. It was easy. In the mountains I might not be able to even go 20 miles. With a good headwind it's a lot more work. At maximum effort, I can't go far either.

The real thing is intensity and duration. Say something like

1.5 hours Monday medium effort. That kind of thing.

The stationary bike is good exercise, but not equal to miles on the outside bike. They vary all over the place. Too many variables.

16.5 miles in 45 minutes works out to an average speed of 22 mph. It's unlikely that the trainer is simulating the actual effort required to sustain a 22 mph pace on the road. Still, it's a worthwhile workout -- I just don't think you can believe stationary bike odometers.

Thanks, pretty much sounds as I suspected. Still a good workout, I just won't expect because I can do x miles at y effort in the gym, that I will be able to do that on the road. Luckily, I wasn't counting on it...

Dagna

I would compare trainer miles to trainer miles if that is how you want to monitor your workout. This is how I use to monitor my indoor workouts. As 2manybikes mentioned, most training programs set workouts to time and intensity. If you are using a progressive trainer, this will be a little closer to an outdoor workout, but still not the same.