Cathe, do you teach spin classes?

[FiddleFit]

Hi Cathe! I know your gym offers spin classes. I was wondering whether you teach some of them yourself? And if you do, do you mind sharing a typical hour-long routine? Or perhaps just one of your favourite drills?

Thanks, and have a great day!
Sandra

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Riding profile

Hi Cathe! I know your gym offers spin classes. I was wondering whether you teach some of them yourself? And if you do, do you mind sharing a typical hour-long routine? Or perhaps just one of your favourite drills?

Thanks, and have a great day!
Sandra

Hi Sandra! When we first offered spin I taught it 3 times per week. Since then we have more spin instructors than any other group fitness instructor so I pretty much just fill in now. When I taught I did 45 minute classes and each one varied quite a bit.

Here is a sample of one of my riding profiles:

Warm up seated on a flat road light resistance (5 min)

Grab a drink of water and increase resistance just a bit, stay seated (for another 3 minutes).

Now stand and increase resistance for a moderate hill climb (5 minutes).

Sit and remove tension (grab water) while riding steady state (for 2 minutes).

Back up for a high and heavy standing climb (4 minutes).

Sit and remove tension and flush tightness out of legs (grab water) one minute.

Speed ride down hill. Seated light resistance and fast (2 minutes).

Ease off speed for 30 seconds (grab water) .

Stay seated and add slight resistance (ride one minute). Do this 4 times each time adding just a little more resistance from the last point you were at.

Now keep resistance and come up out of saddle and ride standing(one minute).

Keep resistance, keep standing and pedal faster for one minute.

Sit, remove tension, grab water, ride and recover one minute.

Moderate tension and stand for a moderate hill climb (3 minutes)

Stay standing and put butt back over saddle and ride lower for one minute.

Now alternate to the beat of the music (body up in normal stance 4 counts and then low and butt back 4 counts) for 2 minutes.

Sit and recover, grab water and ride steady state for a minute to flush legs.

Speed bumps for 2 minutes with moderate tension (start seated).

Speed bumps for one minute with light tension (start seated).

Recover steady state seated one minute, grab water.

One final heavy standing hill climb for 3 minutes.

Sit and speed downhill for one minute.

Seated recovery ride home, light tension, steady state for 3 minutes.

Slow down cycling to a gradual stop.

Begin stretches.

 

[SirenSongWoman]

Oh my Lord.

 

[FiddleFit]

Oh my goodness Cathe, thank you! Thank you, thank you! This looks like a great ride, full of variety and challenge. I'll definitely be giving it a try some time very soon!!

Thank you! (Have I said that enough? LOL!)
Sandra

 

[jodijodi]

(Now if we could just get Cathe to record all of that to music as an mp3.....)

Thanks Cathe! I'm going to give it a try too!

 

[cakebaker]

Thanks, Cathe!

Hi Sandra! When we first offered spin I taught it 3 times per week. Since then we have more spin instructors than any other group fitness instructor so I pretty much just fill in now. When I taught I did 45 minute classes and each one varied quite a bit.

Here is a sample of one of my riding profiles:

Warm up seated on a flat road light resistance (5 min)

Grab a drink of water and increase resistance just a bit, stay seated (for another 3 minutes).

Now stand and increase resistance for a moderate hill climb (5 minutes).

Sit and remove tension (grab water) while riding steady state (for 2 minutes).

Back up for a high and heavy standing climb (4 minutes).

Sit and remove tension and flush tightness out of legs (grab water) one minute.

Speed ride down hill. Seated light resistance and fast (2 minutes).

Ease off speed for 30 seconds (grab water) .

Stay seated and add slight resistance (ride one minute). Do this 4 times each time adding just a little more resistance from the last point you were at.

Now keep resistance and come up out of saddle and ride standing(one minute).

Keep resistance, keep standing and pedal faster for one minute.

Sit, remove tension, grab water, ride and recover one minute.

Moderate tension and stand for a moderate hill climb (3 minutes)

Stay standing and put butt back over saddle and ride lower for one minute.

Now alternate to the beat of the music (body up in normal stance 4 counts and then low and butt back 4 counts) for 2 minutes.

Sit and recover, grab water and ride steady state for a minute to flush legs.

Speed bumps for 2 minutes with moderate tension (start seated).

Speed bumps for one minute with light tension (start seated).

Recover steady state seated one minute, grab water.

One final heavy standing hill climb for 3 minutes.

Sit and speed downhill for one minute.

Seated recovery ride home, light tension, steady state for 3 minutes.

Slow down cycling to a gradual stop.

Begin stretches.

Thanks for posting this, Cathe! I'm a spinning instructor & am always looking for new profiles - this makes #16 for my ever growing pile, which means I don't have to repeat for 5 weeks with a 3X per week schedule! I like variety, so I welcome new ideas.

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Glad I could help out Cakebaker. Have fun with all of your classes!

 

[FiddleFit]

WOW!!

Cathe,

Your October rotation told me today to do a 45min cycle ride, so I put your routine above to music, and climbed on my road bike on the trainer in the basement this morning (it's already too cold for outdoor cycling up here in Edmonton). Well!!! Your workout kicked my butt! All I can say is...Wow! I had a blast, and was challenged to my limits. All that standing hill work was tough, tough! Are you sure you didn't make any typos?

I teach a 60 minute Super Cycle class at the YMCA, so to take the workout up to a full hour, I dropped your last drill and added two more (an 11:30min pyramid up, and a 5:30 sprint/recovery session). I can't wait to see how much my class enjoys this routine next week! Thanks again!

(Oooooh nooo!!! Just as I typed this, the Y called and asked if I can sub the 45min Cycle class tonight!! DOH!!! Dare I do this workout twice in one day?!)

Sandra

 

[kat_b]

All that standing hill work was tough, tough! Are you sure you didn't make any typos?

I haven't tried it yet, but I was thinking the same thing. I can't stand for two minutes let alone five! I am hoping it is somehow easier to stand on a spin bike versus my bike on a trainer?????

Here I though Coach Troy was the evil spin meister... (in a good way)
Definitely something to aspire to.

 

[chuala]

what are speedbumps?

I haven't used my spinning bike in a few years. But I'd like to try this w/o as well. Can anyone please tell me what a speed bump is?


Thanks in advance

Carla

 

[FiddleFit]

kat b: Yes, I found standing on my road bike on the trainer more challenging than on the Schwinn spin bikes.

Carla: I do speed bumps as a small lifting of the glutes off the saddle, for 2-4 beats, then back down again. It's like you're just trying to raise your body up to avoid the jarring from the speed bump as you go over it. I don't know how Cathe paces them, but I started off by putting one in every 10 seconds, then as the music built and climaxed I paced them very close together and quickly. By the end of the 3 minutes all the little lifts add up!

Cheers,
Sandra

 

[cakebaker]

This one was a real sweat fest!

Glad I could help out Cakebaker. Have fun with all of your classes!

Did your class profile last night (condensed a little for a 40 minute class) and it was a goody!

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

AWESOME!!!!

Cathe,

Your October rotation told me today to do a 45min cycle ride, so I put your routine above to music, and climbed on my road bike on the trainer in the basement this morning (it's already too cold for outdoor cycling up here in Edmonton). Well!!! Your workout kicked my butt! All I can say is...Wow! I had a blast, and was challenged to my limits. All that standing hill work was tough, tough! Are you sure you didn't make any typos?

I teach a 60 minute Super Cycle class at the YMCA, so to take the workout up to a full hour, I dropped your last drill and added two more (an 11:30min pyramid up, and a 5:30 sprint/recovery session). I can't wait to see how much my class enjoys this routine next week! Thanks again!

(Oooooh nooo!!! Just as I typed this, the Y called and asked if I can sub the 45min Cycle class tonight!! DOH!!! Dare I do this workout twice in one day?!)

Sandra

Way to go Sandra! Sorry it took me so long to make it over to this thread and see your post. I'm so glad this workout kicked your booty. I had to laugh when you said the Y just called. As a fellow instructor I know how fun it is to do something something new with your class but equally know how hard it is to do it TWICE IN ONE DAY! Hats off to you. So did you end up doing it with them?

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Did your class profile last night (condensed a little for a 40 minute class) and it was a goody!

Way to go Cakebaker!!!!

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Quite Literally!!!!

By the end of the 3 minutes all the little lifts add up!

Cheers,
Sandra[/quote]

Quite literally too....sorry I just had to say that

 

[chuala]

Thank you Sandra

Thanks for the answer on speedbumps. I'm going to try it out tomorrow morning.

Carla

 

[coraldiver2000]

Love Cathe's sense of humor. See how she tells us to grab water - like it's just a little friendly reminder. My stomach is sloshing over here!! Too funny.