Spin classes

[David Martin]

I am unconvinced by the 'squats' as all they seem to do is hurt my quads. What really kills me though is the jumps.. 8 pedal strokes standing/8 seated repeat x8. Hard work but some of it does translate back to the road if you are careful.

'Hill climbing' whilst standing in a progressively higher gear doesn't seem to do it for me - maybe it is something I need to work on.

But generally a good workout and some of it is directly beneficial.

[LEE]

In 2002 I went to my one and only Spinning class.  I'd just done my 9 day solo LEJoG and thought I'd show this bunch of Gym-Monkeys what real cycling was.

It was a only 45 minute class, I thought, like geraldc, I'd start off at a decent level of resistance.

Needless to say the had to get me home by mopping me off the floor and wringing me into a bucket.

My heart rate has only just returned to normal, safe levels.

I have started attending classes again, only 7 times this year but 3 times this month and I'll probably try to go once a fortnight at least during the bad weather.

Verdict, it's just so tough, really tough and the fact that a class of non-cyclists find it so easy makes it tougher as I try to keep up with them. 

Tonight the instructor decided that, as a treat, the lesson would be an hour rather than 45 minutes (she seems to know everyone in the class really well, asking them how they enjoyed their holiday and so on).  AN EXTRA 15 MINUTES?  Please God, no.

After the final track (7 minutes of Ibiza rave, while we all "hill-climbed" out of the saddle, slowly adding resistance whilst keeping in time to the beat) I was as near to total exhaustion as I've ever been on a bike.  While the others politely wiped down their bike I was on my knees mopping the floor around my bike (I'm sure the wooden floor will warp overnight)

When I got home (the only person to cycle to/from of course) I threw my cycle top into the bath with a THUD! (it weighed about 5Lbs).

I feel pretty good for it now though,  2 hours later, and I think I enjoyed the experience (I must do, I keep going back for more) but I'm sure that, when I die, it will be at Spin Class, to the sound track of an Ibiza rave and an instructor shouting "another quarter turn of resistance".

[mr magnolia]

I look at this thread from time to time, and I look at the cycling machines at our local pool gym and I wonder if I could survive.  Must give it a go sometime...

[Redlight]

Go for it, Mr Magnolia.  What do you have to lose apart from several pints of perspiration?

I went to group spinning classes when I was in LA with a fantastic instructor who pieced together the class as if it were a ride in the mountains, with music and lighting to conjure up the right atmosphere. The first class I went to in the UK was awful - the instructor was obsessed with getting everyone into as high a gear as possible. I'm afraid I respect my knees too much for that.  Now I regularly attend a class with an instructor who is a triathlete and I can honestly say it's the most painful, agonising, sweaty, and thoroughly body-wasting experience I can imagine, and I love it.  She warms us up well, throws in some squats, a bit of sprinting through the gears and the occasional run of out of the saddle climbing at high cadence.  I do think it has improved my cycling.

Separately I try to get to the gym two or three times during the week for an intensive hour on a spin bike. I have my own routines which are intended to improve my ability to climb out of the saddle (something I have always been bad at). I change the routine regularly to keep me from getting bored, but each session includes the equivalent of climbing about 8-10 miles at my absolute limits.  For me, the advantage is that I can do those long "climbs" without having to cycle through 20 miles of south London suburbs first.  I can get in something resembling a hilly 18 mile ride and still only use up about 90 minutes of the day whereas to go riding on the North Downs means three or four hours out, time I can't spare at the moment.

And, with the Ipod on, I get to listen to some classic '70s rock as well - something else I can't do at home!

[Cudzoziemiec]

Loud music is mentioned many times. That on its own would put me off. From what I hear when walking past them, that applies to the whole gym thing, though.

[Robh]

I've been spinning for years, generally about 3-4 times per week. I'm lucky in that I know the instructor - who is a very fast road man - and he doesn't do any of the press-ups-on-the-handlebars rubbish. I find it's an excellent way to maintain a basic level of fitness when I can't get out on the bike regularly. The beauty of it is that you get out of it as much as you put into it - it is possible to 'cheat' and just pretend to increase the resistance, but then you might as well not bother: you're only kidding yourself. If I'm too knackered to keep up at some point, I admit it and spin within my capabilities - some days are just like that. As for the music, yes it is loud. I suffer with tinnitus, so I use ear plugs; I can still follow the class. Our instructor's favourite track is "Streetlife": we turn it up by a quarter every time we hear the word "streelife".

[mcshroom]

Time for a thread resurrection. Thinking about trying out spinning classes but I haven't really set foot inside a gym since I left school, so a bit apprehensive. Also with my arm injury this talk about riding out of the saddle and doing press ups on the bars worries me a little. How different is it riding out of the saddle on a studio bike to on a road bike?

Also what would I need to take/wear? (towel, cycling shoes etc?)

Signed
Clueless of Cumbria

[phantasmagoriana]

Thinking about trying out spinning classes but I haven't really set foot inside a gym since I left school, so a bit apprehensive.

Nor had I until last winter. I've grown to really like spin classes, though. I've not tried the actual "Spinning", but I went to RPM classes last winter, which don't involve press-ups or anything like that. The instructor makes a big difference: the one at the classes I normally go to is very good (and a cyclist), but I've been to a couple of other classes where the instructors clearly know very little about actual cycling and it's just one in a long line of group classes they're taking.

Take a water bottle and a towel. All of the spin bikes I've tried (several different ones in different gyms) have had double-sided SPD/toeclip pedals; they're either Shimano M324 or something very similar. Would definitely recommend taking SPD shoes rather than trainers & toeclips. Most people just wear normal cycling kit, or shorts and a T-shirt or whatever.

The bikes themselves are fixed-wheel with a weighted flywheel and various different resistance settings to simulate different gears/gradient. They have sort of aero bars rather than drops (and the "hoods" position is really wide) but they're easy enough to get used to and you can adjust the position to suit. There is usually a fair bit of out-of-saddle climbing, but also seated climbs and fast sprinting. Everyone sets their own resistance so you can make it as easy or as hard as you want.

I'd definitely recommend giving it a go - don't expect it to be like cycling on the road, but personally I've learned stuff that has helped with "real" cycling (e.g. pulling on the upstroke). I'm looking forward to starting up classes again soon.

[teethgrinder]

Go to a gym that uses Schwinn instructors. None of that press up kind of rubbish. It's all based on pro cycling. (One of the Master Instructors works in the BMC pro team IIRC)
It's not the same as the road but it'll do some good. Any instructor worth having won't insist on you getting out of the saddle (which IMO they are far too keen on for the purpose of getting the heart rate up) even if you don't have an injury.
It's pretty good fun if you like that sort of thing.


(I qualified as a Schwinn instructor last November)

[mcshroom]

Thanks phanta, and TG, I'll look into those.

I decided to just throw myself in by going to the local leisure centre and booking the next session - and ended up doing a 60 minute session.

No silly stuff with press ups or anything (though a lot of work out of the saddle). Probably would have been happier without the last 15 minutes but survived. Hard work though.

Definitely better than turbo training at home

[LMT]

I've done a fair few spin classes, they're are good and remember you don't have to do to a T what the instructor tells you to do.

I remember one class where I would change two things:-

The first would be the hill climb, trying to grind a massive gear whilst sitting down pushing an RPM of roughly 35-40 (as the instructor wanted) I felt was pretty pointless so at this point I would be up out of the seat.

The second point in the class would be where there would be a set of press ups, hovering back on the seat and then standing up pedalling. Within this set I would skip the press ups and instead extend the hover part.

Never had an issue with the instructor and ended up started a bit of a revolution in terms of wearing cycling shoes.

[jenhunt]

I've just started going to spinning classes - the idea is to improve my hill climbing, and increase the cadence at which I naturally cycle when out on the roads (my natural cadence is about 70ish, and the OH thinks I should be pushing it up to 80-90 on the flat....allegedly).

my first session was post work last friday, a group of mainly women and a couple of guys in cotton tracksuit bottoms and scruffy t-shirts. The instructor is clearly a cyclist, and the 'route' we did combined some sprints, some hills and nearly 20 minutes up out of the saddle. I've never sweated so much in my life, and not even century rides kill me the same. it was wednesday before I could walk down stairs without going sideways and clinging on to the banisters...  Then this morning i braved the 7am class before work. the instructor definitely isn't a cyclist, and didn't even get on one of the bikes!! she would give us a length of time to count how many times we pressed the left pedal... and then would say "your legs should be at 8, crank it up" or some such. It was easier than friday's class, but i still sweated loads and feel like I got a good work out from it.

[Bairn Again]

Just seen this thread back in life again and thought id post

I have recently chaged gym and have been going to spoin classes for about the last 10 years or so, maybe 2-3 times a week between September and March, not so much the rest of the year when Im out doing the real thing.  I find them excellent workouts and especially good practice for climbing.   

I started using a HRM (cheapo Decathlon version) about 5 years ago and found that helped greatly, I had found that with no ability to quantify effort in any way (as was the case previously with the spin bikes Id been using) that I had a tendency to settle into a comfort zone.   

Anyhow my new gym has swankier bikes that the old one (kayser? i think) that measure watts as well as cadence and I find that I can now get a very good workout by targetting watts and heart rate (both min & max in operation I would hasten to add!!) 

[Veloman]

^^^^ +1

I have not gone spinning for the last 2 winters and really noticed the difference.

I will be going spinning this year!

[Tinez]

I've been spinning regularly for a few years. The excellent http://www.lifescycle.co.uk/ is just round the corner from us. There's a real mix of classes including some longer, tougher classes which are definitely designed for cyclists. Instructors include a former commonwealth games track team member, a Strathpuffer winner and two people who've taken part in the badass Norseman and Celtman triathlons.

I'd heartily recommend it to anyone living in/visting Embra.

[Butterfly]

I went to my first ever spinning class today and DIDN'T DIE! It was quite fun, although my knees struggled with some of the standing on the pedals, especially when there was a lot of 'stand up, sit down, repeat'. If I can get to a few more, I think it will be really good.

[phantasmagoriana]

First spin class of the winter tonight. Found it very hard! Wasn't able to push as high a gear as I could when I last went (which, admittedly, was a few months ago).