Spinning Classes

[leighd]

Does anyone here go to any studi cycling classes? Are they any good?

 

[BearPear]

I used to go at least once a week (change in work scuppered that though).
It is a fantastic workout, if you put the effort in. You need to make sure that you know how to set up an operate your bike and listen to your instructor.
Since taking up cycling, I now realise that it is all about cadence, but I always called it aerobics on a bike!
I would recommend it!

 

[Fab Foodie]

I went once and it nearly killed-me!
Firstly I didn't not find it was like being on a bike, more like a piece of apparatus.
Secondly it was blisteringly hot, why do they think making you loose 5 pints of sweat a good thing?
Thirdly, I realised I preferred the turbo in the garage on a proper bike in the cool listening to my ipod than the whole gym-bunny go-for-the-burn stuff.... The scenery's better at the Gym though!

I do go to body-balance with Mrs FF out of the club season which is good for stretching and core strength and scenery!

 

[I am Spartacus]

I admit to a vested interest as a Spinning instructor.
I make my classes relate to cycling as opposed to an aerobics instructor sat on a piece of cycling shaped equipment who usually has no idea about cycling , no interest in cycling.. who treats the class as aerobics with handlebars.
If you sweat a lot, then replace the fluids accordingly.
Studios however should be a/c or at least with multiple fans.
Enjoy.
You are welcome at any of my classes, as long as you pay at the door!

 

[Dan B]

A long long time ago on a forum far away

Summary, then. In no particular order :

• The bikes are basically yer standard (yes, lemming, upright) exercise bikes, with variable resistance using a friction band against what I assume is an enclosed flywheel. Water bottle mount. Pedals have toeclips, not SPD. Padded saddle. No HRM or fancy electronic stuff
• Important one, this: "Give me 50%" means "do this at 50% of your max capacity", not "dial the resistance to 50%". I came in after the class had started (got lost between the changing room and the studio) and probably would have got a lot more out of it (and worked a lot less hard) if I'd known this beforehand (I asked afterwards). "Max capacity" was not defined, though I imagine it could be done by heart rate. Many of the other participants seemed to be working at approximately 50% of the speed necessary to break a sweat.
• No lasting pain, except I unexpectedly stretched the back of my knee, where I tried to freewheel while leaning forward to grab paper towel from the dispenser: of course, these bikes don't have a freewheel.
• Spinning is not cycle-specific training: a bunch of the exercises involved swaying from side to side, standing on the pedals, leaning forward and backward etc, which presumably are supposed to work some other muscle groups, but which I can think of no earthly reason for doing when actually riding a bicycle. Due to my misapprension of what 50% meant (see above) I actually copped out, remaining seated and - well, spinning - for more than a few of these, because I felt I was about to blow. So, what I got was mostly a CV workout (and quads, probably) but I could have had greater benefit if I were less stupid.
• Having water and a towel to hand during the class both strongly recommended. Also worth getting there early enough to fiddle with saddle/bar height and work out how to tighten the toe clips.
• The class finished with a cooldown and about five minutes of off-bike stretching. It was about two and a half weeks long in total, but when I left the room somehow only 45 minutes had passsed in the rest of the world.

That sounds like a whinge, reading it over again. Wasn't that bad really; I should just have got there earlier.

 

[Jonathan M]

I'm a bit of a fan of well run spinning classes, and by well run I mean an instructor like Spartacus who relates what is happening to cycling rather than high HR, low resistance, fast leg speed aerobics.
Up until February this year I was a regular (before I became unwell) and am getting to the point where I feel fit enough to go and torture myself again. 2 or 3 midweek spinning classes plus a longer ride at weekends in the real world were making a massive difference to my fitness and weight loss.

I also agree that the scenary inside a spin class can be very nice!

 

[TheKay]

I love it!!

I used to do spin/rpm classes 3 times a week but now just do Wednesdays at my local gym as Wednesday is the hardest class, once i got used to that the other classes didn't seem so challenging. It all depends the instructor though and what kind of routine and music mix they do.

 

[Dayvo]

When I was living in Stockholm, I did four-five spin classes a week during the non-summer seasons and loved it.

I'm looking into the feasibility of qualifying as a spinning instructor at some stage.

 

[Fiona N]

When I lived in Italy, there were spinning classes at the local gym run by the coach from the local cycle (racing) club, so the classes attracted quite a number of cyclists rather than gym bunnies. What was really nice was that someone had video-ed some of the local roads (possibly with the camera in a car as the speed didn't seem to drop much on the climbs) and these were projected onto the back wall of the squash court used for the classes. It wasn't anything fancy just a continuous moving vista but it took your mind off the pain

 

[ASC1951]

I'm looking into the feasibility of qualifying as a spinning instructor at some stage.

You might have a look here - www.focus-training.com

NB
1. Commercial plug - I'm a non-exec director there.
2. No use if you are actually in oSlo. We cover quite a lot of the UK, but that's all.

 

[Crash]

Did my first spin class last week and to keep the fun in cycling for the coming winter months it will do for me

It does get very hot and breathing can be difficult but when you exercise outside daily then going indoors is going to take a while to get used to i guess.

 

[I am Spartacus]

When I was living in Stockholm, I did four-five spin classes a week during the non-summer seasons and loved it.

I'm looking into the feasibility of qualifying as a spinning instructor at some stage.

I see someone has mentioned Focus training.
There are a number of training providers and the costs of the courses can vary.
However, I did mine (started at Gym Instruction Level 2 NVQ) with a local college - and the price was very competitive to put it mildly.

Point of note you need at least level 2 fitness instructor before you can go on to qualify as an indoor cycling instructor.

I continued on with the college to gain level 3 personal trainer award with REPS membership.

If anyone wants any further guidance as it is a confusing area then you can send pm if you wish.

 

[ASC1951]

I see someone has mentioned Focus training.
There are a number of training providers and the costs of the courses can vary.
However, I did mine (started at Gym Instruction Level 2 NVQ) with a local college - and the price was very competitive to put it mildly.

... it is a confusing area....

It is a confusing area, as Spartacus says.
I mentioned Focus Training - with a disclaimer - because it the provider that I have personal knowledge of.

The advantage of doing these qualifications through a college is that they are publicly funded so often much cheaper and sometimes free.
The disadvantage of using a college is that because of the way colleges are set up and staffed, most of their courses are delivered part time over an academic year. Usually the staff teaching those courses are part time, too, so it can be difficult to get support and assistance outside their teaching hours.

Private sector training companies are not tied to the academic year so their courses are usually much more intensive i.e. the same number of hours, but over a shorter period. We find at Focus that most of our students are people who will get a higher paid job as soon as they have the relevant qualification, so the extra cost of the course is more than made up by being qualified in five months rather than twelve; our trainers are full time, too, so we are able to give full time support, which many students find very useful.

Colleges and private providers generally train to the same external qualifications, so at the end of the day it depends what your personal circumstances are. Some people will be better using a private training provider, others would be more sensible to do it through their local college.

 

[jimboalee]

I did one spinning class as part of my Fitness Instructor training. YMCA Gym Instruction Level 2. Solihull College.

The bikes did not have any kind of power readout, so you can only assess the pupil's intensity by looking into their faces and counting the beads of sweat.

As training sessions go, I much prefer the upright bike with a Watts readout.
I do intervals. I do endurance. I do power sessions.

One hour of good interval/power riding on an upright gym bike is worth 2 1/2 hours of riding round the roads. There are not many opportunities to get 350 Watts output for five LONG minutes on the road.

I give Spin Classes a miss.

 

[I am Spartacus]

People however do like the group instruction thing tho'
I agree with the power .. that is too subjective .. hence I treat a SPIN class as a CV session in the main. It is a good job that cycling is an aerobic 'sport'
If people wanna 'cheat' by not having enough resistance, well fine ..it is not up to me to criticise them.
Hopefully one day .. gyms will kitted out with the WATT bike or the Startrac bike with power output.. all connected to a plasma screen above the instructor.. then there will be no hiding place.
Up to that point, people like their quick 45 min session to at least gain some benefits and pay me some form of meagre living..........and I do mean meagre.. if I didnt love it , I certainly wouldnt do it