Run aground by a spin bike

Connie1

Connie1

Cathlete
This morning I worked out at a local gym, with 2 guys who work out together most days (there are a few others in the group but they were not there). We were on spin bikes, and lifting with the upper body at the same time. The weight work was okay, but I was really really overwhelmed cardiovascularly by spinning. I have done it only once before and each time it was very hard.

I think that if I keep at it and go to a spin class every week, I might be able to do all of IMax (#1) without modifications. Maybe I migh even be able to fly, just by flapping my arms (I almost believe this)!

Any spinning progress stories apreciated.
 
Keep at it Connie! It took a few sessions for me to get used to the uncomfortable feeling at that intensity but you'll get better quickly. I have been doing it over 2 years now. There is nothing more intense than spin!
 
Connie,
Make sure you pull up as well as push down with your feet. Also don't put a death grip on the handles of the bike. Stay relaxed. This will help you stay stronger, longer.
Have fun.
 
It also took me a bit to get used to the intensity of spinning. The good news is, I only spin once a week and it DID get better. Just yesterday I did Mental Toughness which is 90 minutes. I got such a high after finishing two sets of 90 second iso squats that are thrown in the middle of the workouts, and then another high after finishing.

It is so great too because it has no impact! Enjoy!

Andrea
 
now this makes me want to go to the gym tomorrow and do a spin class. I did it 1 time and that was it. It was really hard because I really can't hear that well so the instructor kept coming up and playing with the damn knobs. I thought that was wrong because I want to start at my own pace and work up to it, just like working up to Cathe. Maybe I will try again and see what happens:)
 
I, as a spin instructor, do not feel it is appropriate to play with someone else's resistance.
I always say work at your own level and, especially beginners, sit down and ride it out if you get tired. Yes you should have been at your own pace and working up to as high a level as you are comfortable.
I love spinning because it is cardiovascular intense yet relatively impact free. I now have my own spin bike at home so I can practice my spin sessions before teaching them and it is already starting to pay off.
Sheila
 
Thanks Sheila for the information. I think this is one of the reasons I don't go because of my first time going and had this instructor over me turning up the knob. This was around 9 monthes ago, so now after doing Cathe and almost keeping up with her maybe I can almost keep up in the spinning class:)
 
Hi, Sheila.
Well, you can tell I'm still alive because I'm posting. The class was fine, and I hope to increase my cardio capacity by attending more spin classes in the future.

Who knows, I may even teach spin some day. I will remember very well what it feels like to be a beginner. Sit down and ride it out if you're tired, I did not hear that tonight, but I warned the instructor ahead of time I was planning on modifying.

I am not adapted to spinning but I know it takes practice. I am in the process of attending at least one of all types of fitness classes in my community, to prepare to instruct. I want to take an instructor training class so I will nose around and find out what's available here. We have a Renaissance Clup Sport, Bally's. Pinnacle, 24 Hour Fitness, and an independent club all within a 5 mile radius.

I am tuckered out! Ciao!
 
I gotta try this!!!

I do know however that when I try to mountain bike up a hill by my house that has about a 20% incline I don't quite make it to the top and it is the most cardiovascularly challenging thing I have EVER done. About twice as bad as the worst IMAX interval!!

Janice
 
One big safety precaution that any beginning spinner should know, is something I did *not* hear from an instructor. That is: Always have tension on the bike when standing. Do not ever stand with little to no tension. This is to protect your achilles tendons.

A friend of mine, my boss' daughter, who is an avid spinner who lives in Manhattan, told me the other day (she's visiting here in Northern Calif) that an exerciser *friend of hers* (not her, a friend) finally tried spinning for the first time.

She stood without enough tension (nobody told her) and is now in a wheelchair for quite some healing time with 2 "snapped" achilles tendons. (This is the language she used.) Yikes!!

So you can bet I listened.

That being said, there is nothing like spinning to strip the fat off!

I heard Cathe has had a spin class, and now I am not surprised that she can do Interval Max and talk the whole time!

-Connie

P.S. I just checked my mail and I passed the ACE Personal Trainer Certification Exam! I am now an ACE certified Personal Trainer! Yippee! Heads up, abs engaged, shoulders back and down, knees over those toes!!
 
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