Questions about Spinning at Home

[Venus]

I have a Trek Navigator mountain bike (hybrid). I am interested in getting a trainer and soem spinning DVDs for home for when it's cold or the weather is bad. I have some questions for any home spinners out there:

Are there any trainers that will work with a mountain bike tire without requiring me to take the tire off and put on a non-tread tire?

What are the best spinning DVDs? I read the reviews on videofitness but it was hard to tell which was the "best".

What other equipment might I need?

What are the best places online to buy this stuff?

Thanks!

 

[kathryn]

I can't answer your mountain bike question (which someone at a bike shop could answer), but I can help with the others.

As for what the "best" spinning DVD's are, that's a matter of opinion. A lot of people like "Spinervals" because they are tough. I frankly find them rather boring. I prefer workouts with good music that follow the beat of the music, and spinervals don't do either. On some workouts, the coack (Coach Troy, who doesn't ride himself, but rather walks around with a stopwatch telling us what to do) chitchats with one of the class members during the cooldown, and we are not privy to their conversation. I feel less like a class participant than an observer.

Another DVD series is a new one that comes with the Johnny G spin bike sold on QVC and in informercials. The workouts look good, but they are not (yet?) available without the bike.

There are really not a lot of spinning workouts available, especially on DVD. Jay Blahnik has several videos out. I really like his "Precision Cycling" (available from www.collagevideo.com ). He also has an "Interval Workout" and "Hill Repeat Workout," both recently on sale at the Schwinn website.

Collage also has a two-workout video by Robert Sherman. His teaching style could be seen as either strange or merely intense. Collage doesn't mention that there are two workouts on this video, so it's a nice surprise!

Mindy Mylrea has a workout that has pretty bad audio and video quality. She is planning on producing another spinning workout in her next batch of workouts. Don't know when that will be available.

An alternative to DVD's and videos is a CD series (2 so far, with a third coming soon) called "Cardio coach," that is meant to be used on any type of stationary equipment. There is music accompanied by vocal coaching. Volume 1 is about 30 minutes, and volume 2 about 35 minutes. There is no ending stretch, which you do on your own. I've used these, especially volume 2, several times and enjoy them.

As for additional equipment: keep a towel handy! And padded shorts are helpful. I've gotten some on sale at www.teamestrogen.com (comes with a cute free note pad!) and www.performancebike.com . I also got a pair at some place called something like "three sports" or something like that (a triathelete site). Just search for "padded bike shorts" and you'll find some other sources.

 

[mogambo]

This may not appeal to you, but what I do is watch either Boot Camp's all but core premix, Imax or Gin Miller's Intense Moves while riding my indoor bike. Gin Miller's is the easiest because it has a visual cue of the one minute intervals. I ride real hard for the minute, then ride a lot easier for 30 seconds or so, then go up to normal speed and wait for the next interval, etc. With Boot Camp, as you have probably guessed, I ride hard during the cardio part, then recover 30 seconds or so, etc. Imax and Imax2 can be done that way too. This way, I don't need to buy any more tapes, and it's fun to watch Cathe when you're not actually doing those Terminator Climbers or interval 8 of Imax!

 

[cyclecat]

I'm another one of those who can't answer to the mountain bike tire question, but my guess is that if you're using a resistance trainer of any type, you'll probably have to switch to a slick tire.

I have a road bike on a Performance Bikes trainer. I think it's a magnetic one; I wish I could remember what exactly it's called. It's reasonably priced, fairly quiet, and provides good resistance, and you can always ratchet that up or down yourself just by switching gears on your bike, so there's no need for adjustable resistance on the trainer. A decent one will run you about $150, maybe less by now.

As for exercise, I don't like trying to watch TV while I ride. I just put on my Ipod and jump to songs whose cadence matches my energy level, some slower and some faster, with easier or harder gears. I think this simulates the effect of the spinning classes pretty satisfactorily, and I have full control over how pooped out I want to get! Check out Performancebike.com; they generally have good prices. Anything else you'd need you probably already have: cycling gloves but no helmet, yay! Nice cool head!

Good luck. It's boring exercise no matter how you go about doing it, but it gets the job done in terms of shaping up before you hit the road.

Laurie

 

[Debra L]

I responded on the Ask Cathe forum too. I had my mountain bike on a low end Bike Nashbar trainer & did not have problems.

There are plenty of Spinervals to chose from so you can chose a workout that fits your goals. I have one, but generally listen to music or watch tv. I use my hrm to keep my intensity where I want it. Check the Video Fitness Forum for lots of Spinerval information, though sometimes it's tough to get a low down on a specific Spinerval. They're available online from Spinervals or Coach Troy's website & many bike shops have them.

CTS (Chris Carmichael) has some training videos too. Saw something about them at VF.

Along with a towel & fan, you might need a riser for your front wheel. I used one with a road bike, but didn't need one for a mountain bike. If you start sweating buckets, you might want pads or towels under you to protect your flooring.

Debra

 

[Cid]

Hi again! I just responded over at Ask Cathe. I've found I need the coaching because I'm so new at this and it pushes me harder than if I just did a free-form workout. Having a cadence meter has really helped keep my intensity up, too. Spinervals is a good match for me since I need someone to tell me what to do! We only have 4 of the DVDs so far, but Have Mercy (2 hours...I've only made it through 1:20!) and the interval one (can't remember the name...it's 55 minutes long) are good workouts. We'll definately get some more to use until the weather warms up!
CinDee

 

[angelap03]

CinDee,
Did you hook up your cadence meter yourself and which one did you get? Also, which Spinerval's is mostly to increase anaerobic training (Interval Training). I apologize if I'm not using the correct physiological terminology
Thanks!

Angela

 

[Debra L]

Angela, sorry for butting in, but Cleda recently posted a great description of many of the Spinervals over at the VF forum. It's worth printing. I think Coach Troy is a little interval happy, so you'll find lots of choices.

There's an older post at VF regarding cyclometers or cadence meters. I believe the Axiom was recommended for features & price. Nancy C posted a detailed picture of hers installed on the bike which is helpful. Search for "cadence meters" but call it a cyclometer when you go shopping.

Debra