Spin

[Nebulous]

I go to the gym and sit on an exercise bike fairly regularly, particularly when the weather isn't too good. This morning I noticed a spin class was just starting- and in an uncharcteristic burst of enthusiasm I joined it.

I really enjoyed it and felt it was a good workout. I was surprised that I coped fairly well with the cardio demands, all that cycling in the last year must have done something, but I struggled with the posture, particularly the 'hover' where I had to stand up with my arse just above the saddle. I don't think I'm as flexible as many of the other people there!

I can see me trying it again, at least occasionally, through the winter.

 

[Nebulous]

Replying to my own post - not a good sign!
Anyway I found this link in another place:-
http://www.indoorcyclingassociation.com/blog/?p=564
It would appear that the hover is not a good idea anyway.

 

[edindave]

Interesting read, thanks for sharing that.
I have never been keen on the "squats" that some instructors include in their spin classes at my local gym, so I'll be leaving them out from now on. Same goes for stretched out "hovers" on the aero bars .
In fairness I think the spin classes are generally very good at my gym. One even included one-legged drills but that instructor left recently - the best ones always do unfortunately.

 

[Sittingduck]

I go to the gym and sit on an exercise bike fairly regularly, particularly when the weather isn't too good. This morning I noticed a spin class was just starting- and in an uncharcteristic burst of enthusiasm I joined it.

I really enjoyed it and felt it was a good workout. I was surprised that I coped fairly well with the cardio demands, all that cycling in the last year must have done something, but I struggled with the posture, particularly the 'hover' where I had to stand up with my arse just above the saddle. I don't think I'm as flexible as many of the other people there!

I can see me trying it again, at least occasionally, through the winter.

Nice - tell us how your legs feel in the morning (2 days after the class). I have just started going to spinning myself and +2 days from the class my quads are on fire!

Going to my next class (session #4, for me) this evening, so it will be interesting to see how I feel, come Friday

 

[Rando]

Interesting reading

Replying to my own post - not a good sign!
Anyway I found this link in another place:-
http://www.indoorcyclingassociation.com/blog/?p=564
It would appear that the hover is not a good idea anyway.

Interesting reading and I shall be sending a few copies to the cycling instructors at my gym. Most of these insist on the 'hover' position and the 'isolations' routine. I do several cycling classes a week in winter and tend to stick with what I feel comfortable with on the indoor bikes with regards to positions. I do enjoy the classes though purely for motivation in a morning (do my classes at 06:30) and the music is generally good. I will continue to do them and hopefully after they read the article they may be less inclined to include some of the techniques mentioned.

 

[cyberknight]

Although i am sure the author of that indoor cycling guide is good butfurther reading i see he discounts core exercises for indoor cycling as they are not needed in a class, Interestingly enough the reasons he gives for not doing hovers can be helped by do core routines.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/463891-core-workout-for-cycling/

http://bloombikeshop.com/bodyweight-exercise/

http://www.bicycling.com/training-nutrition/training-fitness/core

 

[Nebulous]

Nice - tell us how your legs feel in the morning (2 days after the class). I have just started going to spinning myself and +2 days from the class my quads are on fire!

Going to my next class (session #4, for me) this evening, so it will be interesting to see how I feel, come Friday

Well my quads were fine - but felt some tightness running down from my groin inside my legs. Both sides, nothing too unpleasant -so I will definitely try it again.

 

[Nebulous]

Although i am sure the author of that indoor cycling guide is good butfurther reading i see he discounts core exercises for indoor cycling as they are not needed in a class, Interestingly enough the reasons he gives for not doing hovers can be helped by do core routines.

The hovers certainly felt very uncomfortable to me. I'm old with a history of very little exercise and don't want to knacker my knees.

I started out as part of a weight loss and exercise regime, with a mixture of weights and exercise bike, but since getting my roadbike its now all about the bike. I feel very comfortable on it, possibly with fewer aches than I normally have - so all I'm really interested in is improving cycling performance- particularly speed.

Having said that- after reading this thread I actually did some weights this morning - for the first time in months.

 

[Nebulous]

Well I did another spin class today and it felt much better. One of the guys in the gym told me it's a lot about bike set-up. He said people who do it regularly tend to get there early and spend a bit of time setting it up. I put a bit more time in, and I don't know if it was that or not- but it certainly felt better. We were doing a set with quite high resistance and I was keeping a good cadence going. The instructor accused me of not having the dial turned up far enough! I felt like saying, well you come and try it and see how hard it is.

Having said that I think she's actually quite good - not a cyclist, but she keeps a good eye on the group and has a positive encouraging attitude.

 

[Sittingduck]

I went again last night, for my third session in the past week... who knew sweat and pain could be addictive

I have noticed the classes really vary, with the different instructors. So far last night's was my fave. The session went by quickly and it was a great atmosphere in the studio. Pretty intense stuff but I got through it! Even thinking about going again tonight but really need to get a weights session in, hmmm...

 

[HLaB]

Replying to my own post - not a good sign!
Anyway I found this link in another place:-
http://www.indoorcyclingassociation.com/blog/?p=564
It would appear that the hover is not a good idea anyway.

Interesting, I tend to do a lot of those things on a turbo from time to time just to relieve the boredom. I never got on with a structured class but that because in the back of my mind was, I'm paying for this!

 

[RUTHIEBAV]

I started spinning classes about 6 years ago and do 3 classes a week on average. I only started cycling outside a couple of years ago and bought my own bike last year. I still enjoy spinning and I'd cycle more but I get so bored on my own (sob).

 

[edindave]

Went to a spin class tonight. I passed on the squats, hovers, and 'push ups'

But I did like the Tabata intervals. 8 sets of 30s max effort + 15s rest. Great workout!

 

[BigTam]

My lass goes to spinning classes at the local gym, thinking about joining her, especially with this windy weather not giving up, all the more encouraged by some of these posts.

 

[montage]

I enjoy the scenic nature of spinning