Spinning: what to expect

In this entry I just want to reflect a bit further on the spin class we took, hoping that it would provide us with some variation in our off-season stationary bike riding. It turned out to be a bit of a bust for us, so part of this entry will be a rehearsal of reasons we will not be doing further spin classes. But it will also describe some of the features of the workout and so could be helpful for others wondering whether spin class will be suitable to their needs.

The class we took featured a smallish room really packed with stationary bikes. There must have been 30 or more bikes in this ca. 15' by 20' room. So it was pretty tight quarters.

One of my initial concerns--air circulation--was allayed on entering the room. There were a number of wall-mounted fans around the room and the air was circulating well. In my fairly long experience of stationary bike riding I've come to realize that I need a fan blowing directly on me when doing stationary cycling and, owing to the fact that we arrived early, was able to find a spot that suited my needs pretty well.

In the calls we took, most of the bikes face the front of the room, which is where a stationary bike used by the class instructor, and that faces all the other bikes, stands.

Prior to the start of the class the instructor made sure all the fans were powered on, then she put on some loud, high-tempo music. She had a head set and microphone on, which was also plugged into the sound system. As you might guess, it ended up being quite loud in that small room.

The routine started off with some high-RPM, warm-up pedaling. Then the routine itself started.

The instructor was giving directions throughout about at what RPM rate participants should be pedaling, as well as about adjusting tension on the bike's flywheel. At various stages participants were instructed to stand and pedal at lower RPM rates, while at others they were to sit and pedal at higher RPM rates.

With warm-up and cool-down phases, the whole routine took about 40 minutes. This seemed to be the average length for spinning sessions at this particular health club.

There were several things we did not like about this class. To begin with, the noise level was really too much. Were I to do something like this on a regular basis I would definitely be wearing ear plugs. It was just overboard noise-wise.

As to the exercise itself, I found it unsuitable for my needs. The high-RPM seated pedaling was suitable, but the increase of tension on the flywheel, the need to stand on the bike, and especially the explicit instruction to lower the RPM rate to as little as 30 RPM were all extraneous activities for me.

I mean, they make bikes with multiple speeds specifically to allow riders to maintain a certain RPM rate (90 is usually a good rate to shoot for), regardless of terrain. Why would anyone willing go as low as 30 RPM's? Actually, I think I know why: because many of those who do this type of exercise never get on a real bike and ride for any distance. So they are unfamiliar with optimal cadence under real road conditions. The only time many of these people get on a bike of any kind is at the health club.

As for increasing intensity, as readers of this blog will know, I already utilize a means for increasing intensity: it's called intervals. This involves short bursts of intense exercise interspersed with a longer period of leisurely riding. I do these intervals, in large part, to vary my off-season routine a bit. It offers a nice break from high RPM spinning and allows me to shorten the session slightly.

Just a miscellaneous update

Not much to report. We're remaining injury-free, and keeping at our fitness pursuits. We just finished one of our week-long breaks, but got back to stationary bike riding a couple of days ago. And we've once again started the arm toner phase of our upper-body strength training regimen.

I suppose I could report that we tried a spin class at a local athletic club just to see if it might provide us with some variation in our winter cycling regimen. But it's really not what we want for off-season training--mainly because it's too intense. We'll get enough intensity on the bike once we start riding on the road any time here, and up until we get off the road in November or so. No need for us to, as it were, artificially increase intensity such as they do in spin classes.

We did try about a month's worth of the S90 routine I recently reviewed, just to see how well we could work it into our overall fitness regimen. The results were encouraging. No plans yet as to how/where we'll work it in, but we will undoubtedly be using it for part of the year.

We've mapped out a longer-distance bicycle tour for this summer, part of which will involve riding with the SAGBRAW tour. So we're excited about that. Will be posting more about that in the future.

With the warm weather we're now seeing we're very eager to get back out on the bike.