# Will Spin classes improve me on a road bike ?



## kingrollo (18 Jan 2018)

Pretty much as the title really.

I went to my first ever spin class last night. I had my cycling shorts and spd shoes so i was hoping it would replicate the road in relative terms.
I was quite surprised at how much emphasis was put on spinning you legs stupidly fast and really low resistance, a lot of people where whizzing there legs around much fast then I could - as you change down when cycling out side.
The part I was dreading - the climbs - I was actually ok at - standing up with quite high resistance.....

Anyway at the end I was a sweaty mess, and no doubt a good cardio workout - what are people views on whether this will make me fast on say a 50 mile ride ?


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## vickster (18 Jan 2018)

I’d say it’ll make you fitter and maybe less likely to fatigue but not faster. Proof is in the pudding though.


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## GrumpyGregry (18 Jan 2018)

Yes


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## Milzy (18 Jan 2018)

Sure will


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## kingrollo (18 Jan 2018)

Cheers guys - some sessions are 30 minutes some 45 - how many per week to make a difference ?


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## I like Skol (18 Jan 2018)

I am generally pants at riding stood up for any length of time. 99.9% of my riding is done sat down and whenever I stand up I run out of steam pretty quickly, despite being an otherwise pretty good hill climber compared to my peers.
I went on holiday early in 2017 and while there did 3 or 4 spin classes for the first time. Very intense work they were and I enjoyed the challenge. I also ended up a sweaty mess (worse than normal!).
It was a big shock the next time I rode to work, I actually found myself standing up on some of the climbs and managing to keep my speed up. I don't know if it was psychological or down to a real improvement in fitness but this lasted several months from just those few spin classes in one week.
It didn't last and I am pretty much back to where I started now.


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## biggs682 (18 Jan 2018)

IMHO i think a better improvement would be found by spending the same time on an actual road bike


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## screenman (18 Jan 2018)

It will certainly be of more help than sitting on the sofa, I can often have a harder 40 minutes on the turbo than I could give myself on the road.


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## rb58 (18 Jan 2018)

Certainly good for general fitness. And great fun if you find yourself in a good group with lots of banter. I love them. I also found they helped get my cadence up in the early days of riding fixed. 

Unfortunately there's a trend at my gym (David Lloyd) to replace instructor led classes with virtual ones (a combination of Les Mills RPM and Sufferfest) which are nowhere near as much fun and I'm usually the only one in the room. So, for me it's the motivation of having a great time as well as getting in a good cardio workout.


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## ryanme (18 Jan 2018)

A lot of the time instructors have no idea about cycling ... but it will improve general fitness... id vote just riding your bike, in all weathers, that will help!


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## Globalti (18 Jan 2018)

On the few occasions when I used my turbo-trainer I found it beneficial. But it was so boring and so sweaty that I'd rather just suffer on the first couple of rides out and I've actually Ebayed the turbo.


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## Jimidh (18 Jan 2018)

biggs682 said:


> IMHO i think a better improvement would be found by spending the same time on an actual road bike


Depending on the session you are doing - a 45 minute structured session in a spin class or Turbo will probably do more for your fitness than 45 minutes on the road unless you have a nice quiet area where you can do intervals without worrying about traffic etc especially on dark winter nights.


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## gaijintendo (18 Jan 2018)

When you are talking about it spinning with low resistance... Spin classes are pretty accessible - you can usually calibrate the workout to your power output. So you and the person next to you can have quite different builds, but have the same perceived workout basically. I quite like that. Maybe ramp it up?

I don't find it made my commute any easier. Maybe the hills are in a different gear now. Hard to say. It's not far enough to notice a big change in times.

Unlike @rb58 I find humans are awful at telegraphing upcoming changes and videos are a bit better structured. But I guess if you can find a good leader, then you are rocking.

I quite enjoy then because getting on my bike over lunch and showering doesn't ever work out timewise, and we have a vr suite at work.


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## Dan Ferris (18 Jan 2018)

I guess it depends on your goals but i enjoy mixing up my training just for some variety. Helps to keep the motivation up !


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## Nigel-YZ1 (18 Jan 2018)

At one point when I was riding weekly I bought a cross trainer and started doing the inbuilt programs once a week. I was surprised at my performance improvement back on the MTB. I think it was the cardio element which stressed my system more than cycling would.


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## ColinJ (18 Jan 2018)

kingrollo said:


> Anyway at the end I was a sweaty mess, and no doubt a good cardio workout - what are people views on whether this will make me fast on say a 50 mile ride ?


Why not just time yourself and see?

Do it now after just the one class. Do it again (on the same route and with similar weather conditions) after a few weeks of classes and see if there is a significant improvement.

The classes are not going to slow you down. If you enjoy them, then do them, and if you end up able to ride faster then look on that as a bonus.


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## ozboz (18 Jan 2018)

It depends on the Instuctor , some just have you spinning your legs with no resistance , others are killers , have you walking out with jelly legs ,


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## huwsparky (18 Jan 2018)

Ultimately, as with any workout, you'll only get out what you put in. Just because a workout is on a spin bike it doesn't make it any less affective.


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## GrumpyGregry (18 Jan 2018)

You control your resistance, and I have never met an instructor who minded the extra half turn to give you jelly legs.

How many a week? How many miles do you do a week, at what intensity amd what are your goals/

I found core work and some upper body conditioning made a huge difference to my cycling, and, a couple of years later, my running.


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## DiscoSpider (22 Jan 2018)

ozboz said:


> It depends on the Instuctor , some just have you spinning your legs with no resistance , others are killers , have you walking out with jelly legs ,



This exactly. It all completely depends on your instructor.

I go spin classes 3 times a week, one of those being a spin circuit session. The instructor I have on a Monday is completely different and appears to know what she is doing in comparison to the instructors I have on Wednesdays and Fridays.

There is emphasis on_ control_ over the bike. If your legs are spinning like mad to the point your whole body is all over the place as your legs attempt to keep up, then you're not benefiting. It's all about having control and enough resistance to consistently feel the burn.

I also dislike the instructors that make you do 'press ups' whilst spinning and going up, down, up down, up down. There is very little benefit to it.

But since spin classes, I have felt a massive difference in my road cycling. I'm a lot more confident and routes that I have somewhat struggled with in the past are now a breeze.


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## ozboz (22 Jan 2018)

DiscoSpider said:


> This exactly. It all completely depends on your instructor.
> 
> I go spin classes 3 times a week, one of those being a spin circuit session. The instructor I have on a Monday is completely different and appears to know what she is doing in comparison to the instructors I have on Wednesdays and Fridays.
> 
> ...



My GF up until a year ago was a fitness instructor across 3 boroughs , doing 5-7 spin lessons a week , the evening classes were rammed , some of the clients had been showing up for years , she did deliver killer classes ! and she delivered them from the saddle! .
That's how I know about the jelly legs ! and I only ever did the daytime 'pedestrian easier' classes !
I am glad the classes are improving your cycling !


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## Jbub88 (27 Jan 2018)

I improved on my hills. I actually broke 2 CHEAP bicycles on the hills because I pulling and pushing the handlebars and pedals with more force.


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## kingrollo (30 Jan 2018)

OP Here - Done a few classes now - very tough. I am at least twice if not three times the age of most people there.
At the end of the class I am dripping sweat (and it really stinks !!!) - I notice that a lot of the others aren't - is that an age thing, ? Or I am i working harder than them, or are they just fitter ?


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## ColinJ (30 Jan 2018)

If they were trying hard then they would be sweating too, unless you happen to have found a class full of people with the inability to sweat, in which case they would be suffering from heat exhaustion unless somebody is tipping buckets of cold water over them!


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## mgs315 (5 Feb 2018)

kingrollo said:


> OP Here - Done a few classes now - very tough. I am at least twice if not three times the age of most people there.
> At the end of the class I am dripping sweat (and it really stinks !!!) - I notice that a lot of the others aren't - is that an age thing, ? Or I am i working harder than them, or are they just fitter ?



I have a friend of mine who occasionally does spin class with me who deliberately leaves the resistance low as they don’t like to sweat. They may as well not bother to be honest! They’re sitting there as a fairly unfit person smiling not remotely out of breath when there’s a few of the fitter looking types dying in agony trying to keep a silly resistance going.

Only person you’re cheating with the dial is yourself after all. Why waste 45 minutes with a poor quality workout..


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## vickster (5 Feb 2018)

Maybe they don’t feel the need to be all macho with the willy wavers nor want to destroy their knees with ‘silly resistance’. Perhaps s/he enjoys the class likebthat? Any more than all cyclists feel the need to go hell for leather out on the roads


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## bozmandb9 (10 Feb 2018)

I teach spin classes, and I'm also a cycle coach, and deliver Wattbike training.

It's far too easy to get 'qualified' to instruct a spin class, and some of them are really really terrible. The worst thing is when they tell you to 'dip' over your pedals, i.e. come off the saddle, and bring your bum low near the pedals whilst pedalling - if an instructor tells you to do this tell them not to be so bloody stupid - guaranteed to cause undue stress to knees, possibly with serious consequences. Other gimmicks like press ups off the handlebars are less dangerous, but equally pointless.

Problem is many instructors want to make the classes 'interesting', and ensure that you feel like you've worked (you certainly feel it in your legs if you're stupid enough to do the dips). Personally, I make my classes hard, very hard, we end up with a ratchet climb. 30 second intervals - half to one turn on, then quarter to half a turn off, so with every interval you're increasing resistance, up until you struggle to hold 60 rpm (I don't believe it taking cadence too low or too high).

Bottom line though is that spin classes can be useful, and also you can just do what you want, if you enjoy the context and the music, then you can pretty much do your own thing. Maybe speak to the instructor and tell them that you're a cyclist and you'd like to do your own thing, if you're going to be deviating a lot from what they say, and pick a bike at the back of the class.

If you can find a spin class on wattbikes, or Keiser spin bikes with power, then I'd recommend that for getting a lot more structure, especially if you get the Wattbike app and can analyse your data and pedal stroke afterwards.


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## GravityFighter (12 Feb 2018)

bozmandb9 said:


> lots of sensible stuff



bozman's reply is a great one.

I spent years attending spin before getting into cycling. A well-structured class with a proper warm-up, variety and progression throughout can be great - we had this at our old gym before we moved house. 

I completely agree re instructors getting you to do daft things on the bike though. I've been trying out a new class locally and the guy had us doing press ups, stupid hand positions and way too many "squats". I think it's because spin classes won't generally have many dedicated riders in there so the audience just wants some variety and to feel like they've worked hard. 

If you can find the right class, it will develop your anaerobic capacity and your ability to go into the red though. I've always found I can push myself harder on a spin bike / wattbike / turbo, with music I like blaring out and no need to worry about weather, traffic or road conditions. 

Summary: it depends on what your goals are and if you can find the right class.


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## confusedcyclist (19 Feb 2018)

bozmandb9 said:


> It's far too easy to get 'qualified' to instruct a spin class, and some of them are really really terrible. The worst thing is when they tell you to 'dip' over your pedals, i.e. come off the saddle, and bring your bum low near the pedals whilst pedalling - if an instructor tells you to do this tell them not to be so bloody stupid - guaranteed to cause undue stress to knees, possibly with serious consequences. Other gimmicks like press ups off the handlebars are less dangerous, but equally pointless.



I experienced this during my first and last session, being an experienced cyclist I knew press-ups on the handlebars was waffle, and getting in awkward positions was not healthy so I never attended one again. HIIT training on a turbo trainer is infinitely better training IMO.


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## Globalti (29 Mar 2018)

Don't waste time and money on spin classes. Don't waste money on a turbo trainer. There's an enjoyable way to get a great workout: go along to your local road club's evening TT, pay £3.00 to a friendly old bloke and absolutely ride your nuts off for exactly 30 minutes. Do it again the next week and be astonished at the improvement in your average speed.


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## huwsparky (30 Mar 2018)

Globalti said:


> Don't waste time and money on spin classes. Don't waste money on a turbo trainer. There's an enjoyable way to get a great workout: go along to your local road club's evening TT, pay £3.00 to a friendly old bloke and absolutely ride your nuts off for exactly 30 minutes. Do it again the next week and be astonished at the improvement in your average speed.


So what you're saying is, don't bother wasting your time training, rock up to a 10, workout for half an hour, come back week after and do the same half an hour's workout at a much higher power? That must be where I and everyone else are going wrong!


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## I am Spartacus (30 Mar 2018)

I'd suggest that if you did just spin classes in isolation, your aerobic endurance (2 hours plus) would probably be lacking.
I think those 50 miles at high output would therefore be a challenge to your system, throw in road/weather and other people deciding to hit the turbo button when you are already in the red conditions.


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## Globalti (30 Mar 2018)

Short hard sessions are just part of increasing your fitness; you also need to be doing those longer slower rides to build stamina. If you only did half an hour a week you would never get anywhere, almost literally!


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## CXRAndy (2 Apr 2018)

Globalti said:


> Don't waste time and money on spin classes. Don't waste money on a turbo trainer. There's an enjoyable way to get a great workout: go along to your local road club's evening TT, pay £3.00 to a friendly old bloke and absolutely ride your nuts off for exactly 30 minutes. Do it again the next week and be astonished at the improvement in your average speed.



There is no better workout than an indoor trainer workout. Subscribe to Zwift and TrainerRoad, Do a prescribed workout plan on TR, add casual rides on Zwift, even racing. After a few months you will be much fitter and really enjoy those outdoor rides when the weather is nice.


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## Globalti (2 Apr 2018)

Yebbut the sweat! The sweat!


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