Spinning Workouts

jdollprince

Cathlete
Im thinking of buying a spinning bike since my knees are, well, WORTHLESS. Anyone have any suggestions for spinning workouts?

TIA

jes
 
Of the five or six spin DVD workouts I have, my favorites are two by Mindy Mylrea: The Best Ride in Town and Super Cycle.

If you have some Cardio Coach workouts, they also work great for the spin bike.

You'll love the bike! I bought one in January when I was recovering from some knee issues, and it really helped my knee heal up nicely. :)
 
YES - Spinervals at spinervals.com. There are several other instructors but Coach Troy is it for me (he does Spinervals). None of the DVDs are terribly exciting - they don't spend extra $$ for set, music, etc but for the workout itself, you can't beat it. I also really like to use my cardio coach workouts. And itrain has icycle workouts. Cardio Coach and iTrain are both mp3 workouts. I don't use a spin bike. I use my bike set up in a bicycle trainer (a Cycleops Fluid 2, if you are not familiar with those.)
 
Of the five or six spin DVD workouts I have, my favorites are two by Mindy Mylrea: The Best Ride in Town and Super Cycle.

If you have some Cardio Coach workouts, they also work great for the spin bike.

You'll love the bike! I bought one in January when I was recovering from some knee issues, and it really helped my knee heal up nicely. :)

Hi Leanne - we were typing at the same time. See, I don't like Mindy. I don't have any but have previewed the clips. Something about her is too calm or something. Are the workouts hardcore or not?
 
Hey, Shana! Yes, Mindy's workouts are really good -- and tough! I actually do like her personality. It's hard to hear her voice in those workouts, though, but overall I like her workouts much better than the two Spinervals workouts I have.

I find the two Spinervals I have to be a bit boring, so I don't pull them out very often. :eek: I think I have Enter the Red Zone and Lean and Mean; are there ones you'd recommend?

I also have Rob Sherman's Cycle Challenge and Brooke Hayward's All Terrain Cycle; they're also good calorie burners, but not that motivating.
 
Leanne - I have both of those. It's been a while since I've done them. I didn't mind them but like I said, I haven't done either in a long time. They were 2 of the first ones I got. I think I like him b/c I sort of just disappear into la la land on my bike - it is a great escape - and he leaves me alone there in my magical place :) Sure, I am dripping buckets of sweat and my heart is about to explode but I remain in a state of bliss. Seems like Mindy might disrupt my mojo :p She is just somebody I don't even like to look at - isn't that weird? If she does good workouts, though, I guess I could just not look at the TV! I will have to think of some Spinervals to recommend for you. I have the Hardcore 100 that I am saving for a rainy day :eek: I did like Hillacious. It was one of the recent ones I did but I've not done any for a couple of months so none are coming to mind.
 
Hey again! That's too funny about going to your la la land! :p I'll have to look into Hillacious and Hardcore 100. They sound good!


Sorry that we highjacked your thread, Jes! :eek:
 
Thanks for the suggestions ladies!! I prefer lala land myself when im spinning. Hell, i might even just crank my mp3 up and make my own workouts. Any time ive taken a class of any kind im always thinking of what song would be more motivating. Do any of the workouts yall mentioned focus on music, or are they more instruction oriented?

jes
 
Jes - Spinervals has poor music but you can turn it off. I find that Spinervals or Coach Sean (cardio coach) push me more than I do myself just listening to music. (I know I will like icycle too b/c the music sounds great - just haven't tried it yet). Spinervals are hard but you have some down time to spin, but when you are pushing it, you are PUSHING it. The timing is great, and he will tell you what gears to use. If music is important to you, and you can listen to your own AND listen to the DVD, then I think you will like the workouts. I got mine on ebay, slowly but surely, and now have almost all of them. You can find some good deals (although lately, I haven't see a lot going up). These are not DVDs that people are into copying so you should be safe there.
 
Hi Jes,

Ditto what Shana said: it's nice to have someone to motivate you, but the music isn't very good on those DVDs. My favorite workouts to do on my spin bike are honestly probably Coach Sean's Cardio Coach (www.cardiocoach.com) workouts. Do you have any of them? They're a big favorite on the Cathe forums b/c they're really great! :)
 
JESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek: :D :D :D

I remember you!!! It's been ages since you've hung around the Cathe boards!! It's SO good to see you here!!! How are you? How's your brother doing? Is he still deployed? My goodness, what have you been up to!!?

As for spinning workouts, I confess that I've never really done one. I bought a trainer for my bike, but due to some unforeseen issues with my cat, I had to move it out to the garage so I never got a chance to do a good workout. It's way to hot in our garage!

HOWEVER.. I would have to 2nd the suggestion to try Cardio Coach. Sean O'Malley, the coach, is a spin instructor, and all of the CC workouts were tested on his spin class. I do them on an elliptical, but each and every one of his 8 Volumes would be ideal on a bike -- any kind of bike. I highly recommend them! He will push you to your absolute limits in the most sneaky way! ;) :D

Welcome back, Jess!! It feels a little more like home again with you here. :)
 
There you have it - 3 recommendations for Coach Sean. He IS amazing. :D If you are quite familiar with the bike, gearing, and are able to go beyond what you think you can do, try CC first b/c you can use them with anything. Spinervals are good b/c he tells you specifically which gearing to use (or tension on a spin bike) and sometimes, you think you can't do anymore in that gear but sure enough, you do. For instance, I never reach for the very easy gearing options so to be told to spin at a cadence of over 120 or whatever, when I feel like my legs can't possible turn any faster, is something that I would never even think to do. I like big gears better but need to train both ways, and he also teaches a lot about riding, stretching specific to the bike, etc - good pointers here and there.
 
I just wanted to jump in here and add the 4th Cardio Coach recommendation :D I don't have a spin bike, but I do use CC on my bike in a trainer. Love 'em :D:D
 
Hi Jess! Guess what I'm doing these days? Teaching spin! Well, it's one of the things I'm doing these days. I'm a group fitness instructor, and a personal trainer. I think you'd enjoy my classes - I'm huge on the music :). Can you come to Edmonton and give one a try? ;)

When I'm not doing my own routines, I put my bike on a trainer in the basement, like others have mentioned. Then I spin away to Coach Sean (cardio coach) for an hour. The man's voice is like buttah....just wonderful. He's got a gift for motivation. The music is specially written for the workouts, and suits it to a tee. He even sells just the music version of all of his workouts; no vocals or instruction. I have those, as well. It's really good stuff.

We have a couple of spinerval workouts, which my cyclist husband attempted to use a few years ago (again, on the trainer in the basement), but he didn't seem to stick with them very well. I've never tried them, so can't comment. I do know that what I saw on the tv while he was doing them didn't look very fun. Trivia note: Cathe's backgrounder, Brenda, is apparently in a few of the spinerval videos.

I'm enjoying cycling very much. If your bike is set up correctly, and you're using proper pedaling technique, it should be easy on the knees.

Cheers!
Sandra
 
Miss Lee Thanks for that very warm welcome back! You rock :) How have you been?

Sandra, Im not at all surprised that you ended up teaching. I would love to come to Edmonton and take a class! How exciting for you!

I am definately going to have to check out this coach sean person. my bike came with 6 dvds from spinning.com It was bearable both music wise and teacher wise. They have several instructors to choose from. But the 1st workout i did today got to be a bit much. The instructor was trying TOO hard to motivate you and i wanted to knock his do-rag off to be honest. The "class people" did not annoy me at all though. These workouts are produced by Johnny G. Hes only teaching on one of the dvds though i think. I'll get back to you on how i like them.

It was a GREAT workout though and i cant wait to do it again tomorrow.

Thanks for all the responses:)

jes
 
Hi Jes,

You missed a great class this morning :D. I'm still feeling fabulous, as I usually do after cycle. Keep checking in with us to let us know how you progress, and whether any of those workouts are worth repeating.

If you search the Ask Cathe forum for a thread I started, asking about spinning routines, you'll find in her reply an entire cycle workout that she used to teach at her gym. It's 45mins. I put my own music to it, stretched it to 60mins, and have taught it a few times at the Y. It's tough and fun. I think the thread is dated sometime between Oct or Nov 2008.

Cheers,
Sandra
 
Thanks Sandra! I found the thread and copied the workout. Im about to go try it now and i feel certain it will kick my ass:eek:

I am really enjoying the workouts from spinning.com that came with my bike. I have done Spin and Slim and Spin Circuits so far, as well as just riding with my own music. Its a GREAT workout and my knees arent complaining at all.


jes
 
I like Spinnervals 6-- the Zoot Sportswear workout. I use a heart rate monitor and it keeps me at the edge of my max. They say intervals is the best way to train.
 

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