Spinning Rant and best practice?

diy

I have just started going to spinning classes regularly due to the rubbish winter weather and the advantage of being pushed and driven by a good instructor. My local gym has about 6 different instructors. They range from the absolutely amazingly brilliant, to the near dangerous. Last night was very much towards the dangerous.

The instructor was a fair bit overweight and clearly lacked the minerals to go the distance even at low resistance. In fact he cramped out at 20 mins in and had to stop for a rest. His terminology was all over the place. %age referred speed and load was fixed according to what he thought. Thus there was no ability for a mixed class to work together. He even had us sprinting out of the saddle on baseline - its incredibly dangerous to go flat out with little resistance. So I had a think about the difference between miss absolutely amazingly brilliant (Monday night) and Mr not so good:

1. Communication - Tell the class how long, each section is going to be, what the objective is and how it should feel and be consistent. e.g. Power 10, 20, 1 min sprint, 6 min climb, this is the peak of the class etc..

2. Speed is set by the music, you can go half time, double time and sprint, but the beat of the music should set the cadence. %age of effort should be set according to resistance. Resistence is set according to the individual and how they feel. A scale of 1 to 5 or 1 to 10 will work for most people. That way your class caters for all levels. The fatty at the back can keep pace with the Skinny ex-racer at the front.

3. Lead - demonstrate to the class what you are asking them to do. you don't need to be at the same resistance level as you will need to talk, but you should be on pace. It will also help you work out if you have missed an instruction and are getting your class to climb or sprint on baseline. Look at what they are doing and remind them if they are off or repeat the objective. Motivate them and make it personal. Miss amazingly good makes it feel like you are having 1-2-1. If you need to rest, get off and walk around the class checking each persons position, pace etc.

4. Safety - You need resistance to ride out of the saddle, if you are bouncing when flat out you need to up the resistance. It stands out like a sore thumb when half the instructors are really clear about safety and the others are obviously missing it completely.

5. Choose music that really suits the workout. Half the point of spinning is that its to music and the music motivates and drives you.

I'd genuinely like to help mr not so good improve, without sounding like the Harry Enfield character "you don't want to do it like that". Thoughts?

vs

Not very constructive but I thought spinning was for girls.

Can't beat a bit of rubbish weather to make you feel alive:
http://toonecycling.wordpress.com/2014/ ... stive-500/

PerformingMonkey

Maybe OP has a future as a spin instructor?

sloppyschleckonds

People who take those cycling challenges way too seriously must be mentally imbalanced.

markhewitt1978

I think OP needs a turbo trainer, some rollers and an iPod.

vs

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

People who take those cycling challenges way too seriously must be mentally imbalanced.

Brian cycled 20,000 miles and climbed 2,500,000 feet in 2013, slightly more than he did in 2012. He actually cycled less miles during the Festive 500 week than his average weekly milage for the year... he is hardcore though.

I guess without mentally imbalanced people Everest would be unclimbed, the Poles undiscovered...

mamba80

I think you need to vote with your feet, tell the management why you don't want that class and go with the fit looking female..... sorry, the good instructor.
You ll get no-where talking to the bad one, he ll just take the view of " well run the fuggin class yourself you arrogant txxt" whilst smiling politely and nodding sagely

cougie

I've been to classes held in converted squash courts. The instructor has the music blaring - and no mic. Oh then she turns the lights out - you cant even see the bike next to you. Whats that all about ?

Yes there are some crap teachers - so complain about them and go to the good instructors.
If any class has people pedalling low revs, backwards, jumping up and down like a yoyo, doing pressups - then its crap.

Spinning should be like cycling - but indoors. Ignore the gimmicks.

supermurph09

2.5 million feet? :shock:

diy

Already got a turbo.. took up spinning because I was finding it a bit too dull day in day out. Interesting that others have had odd experiences too. I wonder just how many spin instructors actually ride a bike (i.e. with wheels and tyres).

markhewitt1978

diy wrote:

Already got a turbo.. took up spinning because I was finding it a bit too dull day in day out. Interesting that others have had odd experiences too. I wonder just how many spin instructors actually ride a bike (i.e. with wheels and tyres).

I would imagine them not being cyclists is quite common. In the gym the bike is just seen as another bit of equipment used for 'fitness', not for the idea that you actually want to get fit for cycling.

cougie

At my gym - half of us are cyclists and half not. My spin classes are very like turbo sessions - adapted slightly as 'civilians' aren't really going to come in for a steady 40 min paced effort....

At another gym last night I saw some really stupid moves. Hanging off the bike to the left and the right, and then they had them riding out of the saddle. No handed.

negativelycra

vs wrote:

I guess without mentally imbalanced people Everest would be unclimbed, the Poles undiscovered...

Really? Who would build all the houses then?

markhewitt1978

cougie wrote:

riding out of the saddle. No handed.

The mind boggles at that image!