carolmcf
Cathlete
In my rotation this month, I did Cycle Max for the first time in awhile, and thought about how much I really like all 3 of these cycle workouts and how different they are from each other. I started spinning for the first time with Cycle Max a little more than 2 years ago, and found these workouts hard to get through. All 3 have much more standing cycling than the many other spin programs I have tried. So when I want an easy spin day, I go with another program. But Cathe's are my go to favorites when I want a good challenge.
But for the differences, Cycle Max does not have a timer for the songs or for the intervals, which is something I think helps me anyway. I like to know exactly how long I have to enjoy each interval! Both Ride and Pedal Power do show times for each song, and a time is given for each interval, although not counted down on the timer. All 3 tend to alternate high resistance work with speed work, which also makes the duration easier. The cast choices for each program are different with great casts. Brenda is the one constant, and a good person to follow (in addition to Cathe), as a very skilled cyclist. Each cast has a few people with incredibly high leg speed (the two guys in Pedal Power) which can also be motivating. There are always a few cast members who struggle a little in different places, and I relate to each one of them! But everyone looks like they are having fun, talk to each other, laugh with Cathe, great classes. The music on Pedal Power is my favorite, the timing of the music matches the target cadence for most of each song (I don't have a cadence meter, so I have to count otherwise). Cycle Max was the next closest to that with music. Ride had some timing differences with the slower cadence songs especially. Pedal Power was the only program that had a tabata segment, and that is great with spinning. It seems like Pedal power also had the most intervals with high resistance, and high resistance intervals were longer. And of course the cool down, my favorite part
was great with music in all three, but Pedal Power throws in one last barb in the cooldown (one more sprint just to flush your legs out)!
So, spinning has become an increasingly enjoyable intense cardio workout for me, and I wanted to give my 2 cents about Cathe's programs which continue to be my favorites!
But for the differences, Cycle Max does not have a timer for the songs or for the intervals, which is something I think helps me anyway. I like to know exactly how long I have to enjoy each interval! Both Ride and Pedal Power do show times for each song, and a time is given for each interval, although not counted down on the timer. All 3 tend to alternate high resistance work with speed work, which also makes the duration easier. The cast choices for each program are different with great casts. Brenda is the one constant, and a good person to follow (in addition to Cathe), as a very skilled cyclist. Each cast has a few people with incredibly high leg speed (the two guys in Pedal Power) which can also be motivating. There are always a few cast members who struggle a little in different places, and I relate to each one of them! But everyone looks like they are having fun, talk to each other, laugh with Cathe, great classes. The music on Pedal Power is my favorite, the timing of the music matches the target cadence for most of each song (I don't have a cadence meter, so I have to count otherwise). Cycle Max was the next closest to that with music. Ride had some timing differences with the slower cadence songs especially. Pedal Power was the only program that had a tabata segment, and that is great with spinning. It seems like Pedal power also had the most intervals with high resistance, and high resistance intervals were longer. And of course the cool down, my favorite part
was great with music in all three, but Pedal Power throws in one last barb in the cooldown (one more sprint just to flush your legs out)!So, spinning has become an increasingly enjoyable intense cardio workout for me, and I wanted to give my 2 cents about Cathe's programs which continue to be my favorites!
