# Spin classes............. any good ?



## tiswas-steve (29 Jan 2011)

Was thinking about joining a spin class locally to get to understand a training plan to suit my needs and just wondering if its worth the costs and the time ?


----------



## Moodyman (29 Jan 2011)

I've went once - was persuaded by a non-cycling friend.

We okay, but not overly impressed. You can do a perfectly good spinning class on a real bike on quiet roads. And it's more enjoyable,


----------



## Rob3rt (29 Jan 2011)

Varies from class to class. You won't get much from it in terms of being able to plan your training to your needs though, not in my experience anyway.


----------



## PpPete (29 Jan 2011)

For me it's a "better than nothing" when the weather's too cold to face going out on a proper ride.
You won't get much specific training plans from it - if it's anything like at my gym. Just seems to alternate between high resistance/low cadence "climbs" and "sprints" at low resistance and stupidly high rpm.

The "scenery" can be interesting if you're an old lech like me !


----------



## Norry1 (29 Jan 2011)

Its hard work and you sweat like a good un - but if you want structure, I'd spend £130 on a turbo trainer and get a specific training plan.

Martin


----------



## Fran143 (29 Jan 2011)

I use spin throughout the winter if unable to get out and in my club we combine it with HRT, this has been great and myself and another member of the tri club have both already seen benefits compared to where we were last year. So if your having difficulty getting out I'd say its a great training sess.


----------



## Yellow Fang (30 Jan 2011)

Spinning's great. It's great cardio work. You have to work like a b@5t@rd.


----------



## Cush (30 Jan 2011)

Spining classes are OK if you can put up with the music and loud bossy female instuctors.


----------



## buggi (30 Jan 2011)

For me... it knackered my knee up and i lost a tit size. so not that impressed!!!!! took me about 4 years to eat enough to recover my C cup without my ass getting bigger. Physio told me she saw loads of problems from it, mostly coz the bikes aren't set up right for such a vigorous exercise. (ie. i know you can adjust the height of the saddle etc but because you only have a few seconds to do this before your class you can easily get it wrong and then people have problems)

i gave it up, my knee recovered (and so did my cup size eventually) and now i just have a turbo for when the weather is too bad.


----------



## yello (31 Jan 2011)

Cush said:


> Spining classes are OK if you can put up with the music and loud bossy female instuctors.



And I couldn't. Not my scene at all. A home turbo was preferable albeit no replacement for the road.


----------



## Yellow Fang (31 Jan 2011)

buggi said:


> For me... it knackered my knee up and i lost a tit size. so not that impressed!!!!! took me about 4 years to eat enough to recover my C cup without my ass getting bigger. Physio told me she saw loads of problems from it, mostly coz the bikes aren't set up right for such a vigorous exercise. (ie. i know you can adjust the height of the saddle etc but because you only have a few seconds to do this before your class you can easily get it wrong and then people have problems)
> 
> i gave it up, my knee recovered (and so did my cup size eventually) and now i just have a turbo for when the weather is too bad.



How much did you do? I don't think I could face it more than once or twice a week.


----------



## welshdragon (31 Jan 2011)

The classes are good for getting a good sweat and burning loads of calories. In terms of using it as an aid to cycling it is totally different especially if the teacher is just a fitness instructer and not a cyclist. The woman who teaches in the gym that I go to is a non cyclist. Would be better calling it grind than spin. I think she would try to climb alpe dhuez in 53-12. Thats just my opinion but it does keep u going in winter if yr struggling to get out on bike.


----------



## jay clock (31 Jan 2011)

> Would be better calling it grind than spin. I think she would try to climb alpe dhuez in 53-12.


Agreed.... a mad idea. Having said that I find it a good way to sweat off some calories and I ignore the "grinding" and keep spinning....


----------



## tiswas-steve (9 Feb 2011)

Hmmmm. Interesting points. Thanks guys !! I was mainly thinking of taking spin classes to burn off a few calories without actually being on the bike. I know it can never beat the road but methinks it would be good to see another side of cycling fitness . 

And on the other hand if I had tits and I fancied losing some sizeage of me bangers, spin classes is the way to go !! You learn something everyday eh ? Cheers Bugs !! Lol


----------



## Campfire (9 Feb 2011)

buggi said:


> For me... it knackered my knee up and i lost a tit size. so not that impressed!!!!! took me about 4 years to eat enough to recover my C cup without my ass getting bigger. Physio told me she saw loads of problems from it, mostly coz the bikes aren't set up right for such a vigorous exercise. (ie. i know you can adjust the height of the saddle etc but because you only have a few seconds to do this before your class you can easily get it wrong and then people have problems)
> 
> i gave it up, my knee recovered (and so did my cup size eventually) and now i just have a turbo for when the weather is too bad.



Well, I've already got knackered knees to a degree but I'd love to lose a bit from the latter.

I did it for a long while, and even joined in a sponsored spin, did a few hours, for charity. However, I do think it's fine so long as you ignore the instructors when they expect you to spin out of the saddle and use lots of resistance. Both are unnatural and you never seem to do quite such extremes in cycling. I found my face stayed bright red for hours, as I'm fair skinned. In fact even though it hadn't exerted me excessively, although I tried hard, I looked as if I was ready for a coronary. That was when I was quite fit.

I was thinking of having a few beginners sessions and laying the knee probs on just to tone up a bit!


----------



## montage (9 Feb 2011)

Make sure you get the saddle height correct, and you're onto a winner. Obviously it won't be as good as the road in many aspects, but it allows you to absolutely rag it in a safe environment. My main issue with spinning is just how unbearably hot it gets. The CV benefits will be more than enough to benefit your cycling


----------



## youngoldbloke (10 Feb 2011)

Worth taking a tape measure with you to replicate your normal bike position* - only takes a few seconds to get the set up right. * or use some other method - e.g. for me the distance from top of saddle to C/L crank spindle equals armpit-over-saddle to first-finger tip, and saddle nose to bars equals elbow to finger tip + 1.5ins.


----------



## zigzag (10 Feb 2011)

spinning classes are good fun and intense excercise as well. you can set and change the resistance level how you want - it will depend how intense the class will be. bike setup is important and should be set corretly, maybe with the help of instructor. one of the excercises i like is spinning without moving hips while standing - this would be similar to spinning up the hill in high cadence out of saddle and keeping the bike vertical (no rocking). burns like hell!!
i'd recommend to go for a taster session then decide if you like it or not (also try with different instructors).


----------



## just jim (10 Feb 2011)

I'm doing a spinning class followed by circuit training. A sufferfest indeed, but I keep going back. Good warning about the knees though...


----------



## 515mm (13 Feb 2011)

buggi said:


> Physio told me she saw loads of problems from it, mostly coz the bikes aren't set up right for such a vigorous exercise. (ie. i know you can adjust the height of the saddle etc but because you only have a few seconds to do this before your class you can easily get it wrong and then people have problems)



The one spin class I did do, I took care to set the saddle height/reach very carefully. Once going I took a glance around the rest of the class. Compared to them I looked like Lance Armstrong(I looked in the mirror). The guy next to me was bouncing out of his seat, his knees near his ears. The bloke next to him's hips were rocking all over the place. 2 blokes out of a class of 15 looked comfortable and smooth - one of those was me.

We were soaked in sweat by the end and I was shattered (everyone else saying "Good Workout"), but the drills the instructor made us do bear no resemblance to the way I've seen anyone ride a road bike. I don't stand up and turn a gear that gives me a cadence of 30 for 2 minutes when I ride uphill, it's simply too inefficient. I came to spin, not grind.

I think the class should have been shown how to set their bikes up at the very least. I know the instructor is under pressure to appear to provide value for money but 2 mins taken out getting the position dialed in to protect the health of the client.............


----------



## Cush (13 Feb 2011)

The first thing our instructors do is to ask if there are any new comers and if there is they check that the bike is set up and that they can see both the instuctor and a reliable spinner. If the instuctor thinks some thing is wrong they will come and check both new comers and regulars. Some things I dont like abot spinning but the level of care can not be faulted but maybe we are lucky.


----------



## KRUSSELL (3 Oct 2012)

I do spin quite a bit and with different instructors but I found most of the instructors do,t know how to set the bikes up correctly.
As for setting the height, the bikes in the gym only go up by 1 inch increments only, this is not fine enough.


----------



## Enigma2008 (3 Oct 2012)

Might just be a one off but the one and only spin class I went to was mental! Situated in box room off the main sports hall (yes where they store the gym gear) ten or so spin bikes, no windows or fans and a bunch of keen spinners without any brains between them. No checking of owt from the instructor, just the speed of his music! The off, a madness never to be repeated by those with a preference for life... short warm up then spin like xxxx, stand up and spin like xxxx, do press ups while you spin like xxxx, sit down and spin like xxxx, easy, easy then do it all again but against increased resistance, then do it again as a lower resistance but faster. The driving force was the beat of the music which the instructor adjusted with alarming frequency. In that box room the volume of sweat leaving my body was only exceeded by that volume of blood being pumped around my body. Somehow, for me, it just didn't seem to fit anywhere within a sensible and progressive training plan designed to achieve a cycling goal. But that's my one and only experience and I've no desire or inclination to repeat it. It was absolutely a crap way to spend 45 minutes on an excuse for a bike undertaking a series of pedalling actions that have little bearing on what I would be doing on a real bike. 

Sorry, rant over! I'll get my coat...


----------



## Sittingduck (3 Oct 2012)

Spinning - love it!


----------



## Thomk (3 Oct 2012)

Some good instructors, some bad. I like spin classes. It's something different, a bit more sociable than solo rides, a bit of fun and fairly good CV work. I often cycle to the gym (6 miles), do a spin class and then cycle to my parents house from there (another 22 miles). It's a good way of getting a fairly good ride in at the weekend (I call it about 40 miles) without wasting too much time getting nowhere.


----------



## poynedexter (5 Oct 2012)

if you arent getting much from a spin class, the answer is simple. turn up the resistance and work harder. its your workout so get the finger out. i spin twice a week and most people work at half effort. its obvious to watch them. little sweat and light breathing. i try to work hard for each 45 min class plus a 25 min pre spin. its not cycling but its not always possible to cycle out on the roads for me. i finnish work and am spinning 15mins later. spin works for me.


----------

