In the constant struggle to maintain a good body weight, having to get rid of winter fat each spring is right at the top of the list of frustrations. When you combine too many sweets with staying inside because of poor winter weather, you can just about bet the farm that you'll be scrambling to get into bikini shape once the rain and snow let up.

Any fitness program combines good eating habits with regular exercise. It isn't the purpose of this article to make any diet recommendations, but instead to advocate an exercise tool that I use each winter to keep myself in reasonable 'fighting shape'.

I'm talking about an indoor bike trainer.

Let Your Bike Do Double Duty

If you have enough room in your house, it may make sense to fill it up with stair steppers, treadmills, stationary bicycles, and an assortment of other exercise gizmos.

But if space and personal income dictate a bit more of a conservative approach, you may consider attaching the rear wheel of your bike (you remember...that two wheeled thing that takes up space all winter in your garage) to a bike trainer.

A solid bike trainer will set you back somewhere between $150 and $300, and will easily fold up to fit in the winter coat closet when the sun starts peaking out again.

Three Types Of Bike Trainers For Your Choosing

Bike trainers are come in three basic categories- wind trainers, mag trainers, and fluid trainers.

Wind trainers are the simplest and noisiest type. They're appropriate for casual riders, not only because they cost the least, but because they aren't able to generate as much resistance as may be needed by a serious cyclist when she's 'putting the hammer down'. A good wind trainer will cost around $150.

Mag (magnetic) trainers have been improving over the last few years, but were notorious for breaking down not too long ago. The ride on a mag trainer isn't as smooth as that of a wind trainer or a fluid trainer, but if you're looking to do periodic intense workouts, mag trainers will provide enough of a workload to get the job done. Quality companies like CycleOps and Kurt Kinetic produce good products for between $170 and $240.

Fluid bike trainers are the smoothest and quietest of the three types. They're also capable of resisting against uncommonly high workloads. While Tour de France riders can sustain 500 watts of power on long climbs, fluid trainers can resist against 2000 watts of power without missing a beat. Because of their high resistance, ultra-intense workouts are possible on a fluid trainer.

If you've been keeping up with the latest in fitness trends, you'll have noticed that the best weight loss happens when there are high intensity intervals inserted into a workout. And that's where fluid trainers shine.

A quality fluid trainer like the Cycleops Fluid 2 will sell for just under $300, while a Kurt Kinetic Rock and Roll can go for about $500.

Stay In 'Summer Fitness' All Winter Long

Once you get a bike trainer, it isn't very difficult to set aside a half hour or so each day to climb aboard and pedal while you treat yourself to a TV show that you normally feel guilty watching...after-all if you're exercising there's no reason to think that you're wasting precious time.

And if you pedal extra hard during the commercial breaks, you'll have the perfect script for an easy and very effective weight loss exercise program.

Ron Fritzke
©2011

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