Spinning

mr_poll

Anyone tried this? Have a friend who does it and she has offered to take me along. I have only been cycling for 6 months and do it for general fitness rather than specific aims. Thinking it might help and be useful in the winter. Thoughts?

jamlala

Do it, it ain't fooking easy!

sheffsimon

I do a spinning class in winter, couple of times a week, but I pick ones that are particularly hard, lots of sprints etc. Some of the ones the missus does at the same gym are do some work on arms and stuff.

To a large extent its as hard as you want to make it, when I'm finished I am f00ked. You set your own resistance levels, believe me, sprint intervals with a high resistance are hard. Plenty just sit and twiddle away without breaking sweat, pointless IMO.

I find it more 'doable' and motivating than sitting on a turbo, plus scenery is sometimes nice. (but sometimes you have somebody's fat @rse to look at )

MattC59

Fookin horrible !!!! No really.......... spin sessions aren't pleasant !!!

Use a turbo or get some mudguards. If you really want to see the "scenery" plan a route that ends at the gym where the classes are held, then sit in the bar / coffee shop observing, but looking like you've just been working out

spanky855

I have been spinning for two years and it very addictive.

I generally do not look forward to the classes because they are sooo hard but we have a great instructor (my girlfriend) and although you control the resistance your self, a good instructor will get the most out of you and make you keep going back for more, when you miss as class you will feel very guilty.

The beauty of spinning is that anyone can start doing it at any level, alway better to start hard and then limp to the end, it will take you 4 or 5 classes to get into it and then the more use to it you get the harder you will work and before you know it you will be working hard for the full 45 mins its another string to the bow to help your on bike fitness.

Give it a go.

Lee

sheffsimon

MattC59 wrote:

Fookin horrible !!!! No really.......... spin sessions aren't pleasant !!!

Use a turbo or get some mudguards. If you really want to see the "scenery" plan a route that ends at the gym where the classes are held, then sit in the bar / coffee shop observing, but looking like you've just been working out

Definitely get some mudguards and lights for those winter evening training rides...gotta keep it real...not just ponce around at the gym gawping/spinning

cougie

Thing is with a spin session - you can get a great workout in 45 mins. In winter it can take me that long to get all my kit on....

It cant replace cycling on the road completely, but a well run class is like a decent turbo session. And you cant do the intervals on the road at night that you can do in a gym - you can go flat out on a spin bike - but you cant on a road bike - you always need to be ready to adapt to traffic and hazards.

andy162

As long as you don't follow " the path of least resistance" spin classes are worthwhile.
I do a couple back to back in Winter & batter myself pretty hard. Plenty don't alter the resistance & hardly break into a sweat...they're wasting their time in all respects.

Go, crank it up & give yourself a pasting. The instructor at my gym is a pretty decent cyclist so gears the sessions to be bike specific. Lots of sprints, ramping up the resistance with little recovery etc.

The legs are turning, the HR is up, yr breathing hard...nowt not to like!

I don't bother at all this time of year but will be back October-ish.

Philby

I really enjoy spin classes as they are complementary to riding out on the roads - as said above you can achieve alot in 45 minutes. They are particularly beneficial on wet or winter evenings when the desire to get out on the road bike diminishes.

You need to find a class with a good and inspiring instructor - some just don't have that demanding classes, others choose unsuitable music (one I went to one did a whole session with Elvis Presley songs FFS).

Again it is up to you to increase the resistance to a level you find challenging - many people don't and come out looking as though they haven't done any exercise, others come out soaked in sweat (my T-shirt from last night's session has only just dried out). Again there are often members of the opposite sex to keep you interested - much more pleasant than a turbo trainer

mr_poll

Thanks for the advice one and all. I dont intend to replace evening/winter cycling with spinning.

As said a friend wants me to go along so thought I would give it a go - as it could prove a useful distraction in the winter, thanks for all the tips on spinning. Will give it a go and embarrass myself in front of all the nice girls that go.

sheffsimon

Philby wrote:

I really enjoy spin classes as they are complementary to riding out on the roads - as said above you can achieve alot in 45 minutes. They are particularly beneficial on wet or winter evenings when the desire to get out on the road bike diminishes.

You need to find a class with a good and inspiring instructor - some just don't have that demanding classes, others choose unsuitable music (one I went to one did a whole session with Elvis Presley songs FFS).

Again it is up to you to increase the resistance to a level you find challenging - many people don't and come out looking as though they haven't done any exercise, others come out soaked in sweat (my T-shirt from last night's session has only just dried out). Again there are often members of the opposite sex to keep you interested - much more pleasant than a turbo trainer

Here's a tip - wash the fookin thing instead of just letting the sweat dry out.

Went spinning meself last night instead of usual Tuesday night chaingang, cos it was pouring with rain. Good workout - lots of long sprint efforts with plenty of resistance on.

jgsi

andy162 wrote:

As long as you don't follow " the path of least resistance" spin classes are worthwhile.
I do a couple back to back in Winter & batter myself pretty hard. Plenty don't alter the resistance & hardly break into a sweat...they're wasting their time in all respects.

Go, crank it up & give yourself a pasting. The instructor at my gym is a pretty decent cyclist so gears the sessions to be bike specific. Lots of sprints, ramping up the resistance with little recovery etc.

The legs are turning, the HR is up, yr breathing hard...nowt not to like!

I don't bother at all this time of year but will be back October-ish.

You do have to choose your class carefully as a lot of attendees have much different 'goals' of those of the road cyclist i.e. many do not want to batter themselves into the ground but merely want to raise hr .... and their goal of wishing to 'tone' ' burn calories' and 'lose weight'...
roadies aint probably arsed about all that and just want to develop strength and high output. This on a stationary bike with no real indication of effort apart from RPE can be a difficult art to master - sweating as a measure is a very poor indicator as the ambient environment of a typical spinning studio is particularly enhanced to create as much sweat as the body is capable of producing inside a 45 min class.... slight ironic mode off ...
if you get your classes 'free' as part of membership then that's a bonus, but if you have to pay your 4 to 5 quid per lesson, probably save up for a turbo is a better option.

bike junkie

i went spinning for the first time last week. i'm still trying to pluck up the courage to go back. it was killa. :shock:

Ollieda

It's great during the winter, gorgeous instructor at my local gym....sure beats the turbo trainer and a bit of spinervals!!!

Monty Dog

Spinnings OK for general conditioning, just don't expect it to make you a better cyclist! The trouble with Spinning is that a lot is dependant on the instructor - a god one will make it tough, a bad one make it just weird.
If want want specific cycling training, get a turbo and stick to a structured programme.

cougie

Instructor does make all the difference. Some instructors are more aerobic instructors and see it as more of a dancing on the bike rather than indoor cycling.

If they start giving you pressups on the bike or having you lean over to the sides, then its not a great class.

squigs

I did my first spinning (xbiking) class this morning, havent been out all week because of the weather (hybrid being repaired, Roubaix doesnt come out if wet) Wanting to do a 50 mile ride on sunday as the weather is improving so the class this morning has really warmed the muscles up.

sheffsimon

squigs wrote:

I did my first spinning (xbiking) class this morning, havent been out all week because of the weather (hybrid being repaired, Roubaix doesnt come out if wet) Wanting to do a 50 mile ride on sunday as the weather is improving so the class this morning has really warmed the muscles up.

:?:

squigs

SheffSimon wrote:

squigs wrote:

I did my first spinning (xbiking) class this morning, havent been out all week because of the weather (hybrid being repaired, Roubaix doesnt come out if wet) Wanting to do a 50 mile ride on sunday as the weather is improving so the class this morning has really warmed the muscles up.

:?:

Escort during the week, Bentley at the weekend!

£900 bike, £3500 bike!

dombo6

cougie wrote:

Instructor does make all the difference. Some instructors are more aerobic instructors and see it as more of a dancing on the bike rather than indoor cycling.

If they start giving you pressups on the bike or having you lean over to the sides, then its not a great class.

+1

Been doing these twice a week for three years now.
My spin instructor also races. His classes are geared purely to cycling, so no pressups or other jiggling about nonsense. The other day he told us he had a hilly race at the weekend so needed to train for it - cue 45 minutes steadily cranking up the resistance, interspersed with 60 second sprints and a sprint finish. Hardest thing I've done on a bike outside of an actual race.

beinbhan

Do spinning now and again you some times get am instructor who wants to do the press ups and things I just ignore them and do my own thing these also tend to be the ones that tell you to take the resistance off and sprint :!:

Peddle Up!

Yep, hard work but good for fitness all year round. Take a big towel with you to mop up the sweat.