Spinning Classes

[jimboalee]

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

You never push your clients into 'Anaerobic glycolysis'???

Sorry mate, Spin classes ARE cardiovascular and work in the aerobic exercise intensity range.

I personally regard 45 minutes of aerobic CV exercise as a waste of time if the clients are going to pour Carling down their throats and treat themselves to a chicken balti for 'all that hard work'.

But as long as the cash comes rolling in ( and they are there again next week ), I don't suppose you're too worried.

 

[I am Spartacus]

You never push your clients into 'Anaerobic glycolysis'???

Sorry mate, Spin classes ARE cardiovascular and work in the aerobic exercise intensity range.

You lost me there, I thought I said that they were ...? cardio I mean...
I don't object if someone wants to redline it and chucks up in the corner, but they never do

 

[scots_lass]

Having just joined a gym a few weeks ago to get my general fitness levels up, I am looking forward to doing the spin classes. Probably won't be saying that after my first one but hey ho!

 

[jimboalee]

Having just joined a gym a few weeks ago to get my general fitness levels up, I am looking forward to doing the spin classes. Probably won't be saying that after my first one but hey ho!

Here's a tip for a newbie Spin class victim.

Get to the gym half an hour early.
Warm up properly on the upright bike and then do lots of stretches.

Go back on the upright bike to keep the blood flowing until the spin class starts.

 

[Bill Gates]

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.

Surely riding on the road for 2.5 hours and giving it welly on a gym bike are not the same for training purposes, therefore shouldn't be compared in that one is better than or the same as the other.

I don't know where you ride but on the roads where I train most everywhere has an opportunity to get 350 watts for 5 LONG minutes.:arrow:

 

[jimboalee]

Surely riding on the road for 2.5 hours and giving it welly on a gym bike are not the same for training purposes, therefore shouldn't be compared in that one is better than or the same as the other.

I don't know where you ride but on the roads where I train most everywhere has an opportunity to get 350 watts for 5 LONG minutes.

Then count yourself as very lucky.:arrow:

 

[Bill Gates]

Then count yourself as very lucky.

Lucky to find a bit of road where you can ride flat out for 5 minutes with no RAB's, turns or TL's? Are you having a laugh?

 

[scots_lass]

Here's a tip for a newbie Spin class victim.

Get to the gym half an hour early.
Warm up properly on the upright bike and then do lots of stretches.

Go back on the upright bike to keep the blood flowing until the spin class starts.

That sounds like a good bit of advice. I shall follow this when I get my courage up for the first class!

 

[scots_lass]

Although I am a bit concerned over the use of the word 'victim'!

 

[Jonathan M]

Although I am a bit concerned over the use of the word 'victim'!

If you've done any amount of cycling recently then you'll cope well with a spin class, just ride within your own limits until you get a feel for what the instructor is trying to do.

Also if you are a member of a gym chain then different local "outlets" will have different instructors, each with different techniques. I found my most local JJB/DW gym had an instructor who was quite clear; she didn't do "spinning", it was "indoor cycling", and I found that manner of training really good for cycling fitness.

 

[I am Spartacus]

she didn't do "spinning", it was "indoor cycling",

Just to clarify:

She couldnt call it SPINNING due to licence regulations.
Spin Spinning Spinner are all registered trademarks and as such use of them by fitness clubs is regulated.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I do quite a lot of cycling, gym and swimming too and thought the spin class would be a bit of fun but it nearly killed me - it was torture, never again!

 

[Campfire]

I used to do spinning about 2/3 times a week when I was doing quite a lot of cycling. I loved it! In fact sometimes we did a double class. I stopped doing it when I had to give up for 6 weeks because of an eye opertion (there's a lot of pressure when you're doing it which would have been bad).

Naturally it was difficult to get back the same level of fitness on my return. I then decided that really apart from getting the feeling that you were chasing the bunch, it was quite an unnatural way of cycling for me, that is. You wouldn't normally spin your legs off on a bike - you'd go up a few gears. You wouldn't also kill yourself with too high a gear, you'd go down a few gears. At that time also I had a knee problem and whilst the fast spinning didn't seem to harm, the hard high gearing did hurt.

I think it's just a matter of personal choice. Had I not had those setbacks I'd probably still be doing it.

 

[Crash]

Anyone do vibe cycling classes ?

The instructor wanted to try something different at the end of yesterdays class and got us to do Vibe cycling TBH that stuff is not for me. Hope it's not a regular thing.

 

[I am Spartacus]

Dunno about Vibe... just another faddy fitness industry wannabe craze that will crash and burn.. however good IDC will remain good IDC for ever and a day despite the naysayers.
If that instructor was wanting to faff around with a new 'concept' was he or she running out of ideas..??? probably best to find another instructor