Spinning (class) any good for road cycling?

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alvintc

Veteran
Location
West Sussex
Managed to get knocked off in December (2 days before chrimbo, but luckily the hack rather than shiny bike) and my injury list is:
Broken elbow
Broken wrist (possibly, all they can tell me is that at some point it's been broken... this is the only impact I can recall though!)
Fractured ribs

Upshot is that I can't cycle on the road yet, so in the hope of keeping some cycling fitness I've signed up to a spin class - I was cycling about 20 miles a day (2x10) for my commute, the spin feels much harder but I'm not sure it's actually beneficial in any way?

I have a turbo at home but due to commute times I only have lunchtime (at work) to exercise so the gym is my only option. Any comments experiences on gym work to maintain cycle fitness?
 

Citius

Guest
If a spinning class is your only option, then go for it. Any exercise is better than none.
 
I've got a broken collar bone, not a serious as your injuries - apparently people with a break like mine are sometimes back on the bike within two weeks - and bought a trainer. I'm using it to address some problems with my cycling: cadences, and laziness (I cruise at 12mph and coast a lot). So I am doing sessions with a fixed cadence, and doing lots of pushes.

Walking is also helping me a lot. It turns out I enjoy covering distances, and even if it's 5km instead of 50, it rests my soul a little.
 

lee1980sim

Senior Member
Location
South Yorkshire
a friend of mine who regulary partakes in gym activity has suggested we do spin class to train for the sportive we've signed up for, I suggested road mileage so I imagine both are effective, even if its just helping with the muscle memory / stamina / cardio

at the end of it all like @Citius says, any exercise is better than none
 
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alvintc

Veteran
Location
West Sussex
Many thanks everyone... will keep it up then!
 

jarlrmai

Veteran
Spin classes are quite high intensity, think more like interval training. That's why you are finding them harder as you are used to low intensity on your commute.

Depending on your motivation and fitness levels you might want to do some exercise bike work 1st, some gyms have Watt bikes which can approximate a road bike position and have power meters.

And yes they are very instructor dependant for the quality.
 
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alvintc

Veteran
Location
West Sussex
My Commute wasn't too low intensity... 10 miles (average 18mph+) but only 350ft elevation.

I think what I find hardest is the lack of wind/ reward for effort - On the road I got speed or too the top of the hill... I was half expecting people to come back with "it's rubbish, get out on the bike" or "treadmill is better" type responses so I'm feeling like I might have gone for the right thing for now :biggrin:
 

jarlrmai

Veteran
18MPH 10 mile commute which I used to do everyday is fairly low compared to a full on spin class which is basically sprint training.

Spinning will help your cardio fitness.
 

speccy1

Guest
This thread has been interesting to read, I `ve decided to start these classes myself now too, I would imagine it soon gets pretty hot and sweaty in there though after an hour.......................
 
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