If Cycle Max has you wondering whether you’re fit enough to do indoor cycling workouts please read on:
I got certified for indoor cycling about 16 or so years ago. It was when indoor cycling certifications were just getting underway and Cycle Reebok was conducting a weekend certification in Virginia. At that time indoor cycling was really huge in California already but I was just getting into it.
Ok, so I am at my weekend certification only to find out 85% of the instructors in my certifying class were already very experienced in cycling but they didn’t have their official certification yet. Hence why they were there. I, on the other hand, never sat on an indoor cycle bike before in my life. I needed help with everything from soup to nuts.
So the certifying instructor sets my bike up and he takes the class through a 20-minute demo workout. I was clueless how to pace myself and had no idea how much resistance to apply per song so I would just watch my neighbor turn the knob and I would do the same
OMG…, can I just tell you, I nearly died in just 3 to 5 minutes. I kept looking around the room, praying someone would look half as out of breath as I was. I literally felt my heart beating out of my chest and my legs were on fire and super tight. Everyone around me was all happy whooping and cheering and I just kept thinking to myself “I have to be doing something wrong. I know I am not this out of shape”….”geeze, when is this going to end”….”I have no idea what all the hoopla is about indoor cycling but this is so not fun”. The demo class finally ended and I hopped off my bike faster than anyone in there. Little did I know that we would mount that bike 3 more times that night.
The certification was Friday night 4 hours, Saturday 8 hours and Sunday 6 hours.
So now Saturday morning I’m back at it, and thinking a good nights sleep was all I needed. It’s time for another demo workout and as I got on the bike tears literally came to my eyes, and I am not kidding ….nobody had warned me of the crotch soreness (or saddle soreness) I would experience. This is not sore butt muscles, this is major pain that doesn’t even involve the butt. It felt like bruised crotch bones, and to sit on the saddle was tear-jerking. The girl next to me said, “I felt the same way when I first started but if you keep riding it eventually goes away”. In the meantime, I learned of padded shorts and a gel seat and whipped my credit card out for those necessities. Turns out the padded shorts felt like I was riding with a full diaper and the gel seat never stayed on the seat properly while I would ride so I gave up. The instructor told me that I could ride standing instead of sitting to help take some of the pressure off the sore bones. But what I didn’t know is that you need to build up your “indoor cycle legs” to hold your body weight up there that long so soon enough I plopped down in that saddle again.
By Sunday, I was beyond sore and so convinced that nobody at my gym would enjoy indoor cycling since I myself was thinking “you couldn’t pay me to take this class”. Well, the good news is I passed my certification and learned a heck of a lot about cycling, the bike, and teaching but the crotch pain was still so raw that I wasn’t sure I wanted to bring indoor cycling to my gym. However, too late on that since we already ordered the bikes and promoted that we were bringing indoor cycling to our gym.
Fast forward one-week later….our Cycle Reebok bikes arrived at the gym and our indoor cycle program was launching two days later. I was the one who was scheduled to do all twelve “intro to cycle” classes that week.
Happy Ending…Believe it or not, that girl next to me at the certification was right, my crotch got used to the hard seat, the bruising no longer was an issue, my legs got stronger and I was able to do the 20-minute workouts pretty easily by the end of that week.
Some Advice:
Take the workout in small steps. Only add 30 seconds to 2 minutes on per workout in the beginning weeks. Eventually, you’ll be able to add on 5 to 7 more minutes in the following weeks. Finally, you will get through the workout…. never easily…. but that’s a good thing. You always want a challenge. Oh and one final thing, don’t go more than 2 weeks without indoor cycling at least once. If you wait too long, you will have to start all over again with your crotch soreness.
So go mount that saddle and give it your best shot….whether it’s a long or short ride, give it what you’ve got!
Good Luck!
Related Articles By Cathe:
Indoor Cycling for Fitness: 5 Reasons to Try a Cycle Workout
Exercise Bikes vs. Spin and Indoor Cycle Bikes: Choosing the Right One for Your Home Gym
What kind of indoor bike do you or anyone else out there suggest. I saw a gold’s gym brand one for less than 300 that looked good.
Cathe – thanks so much for this article! I am one of the many enthusiastic Cathletes that purchased an indoor bike for Cycle Max and you hit the nail on the head! I knew I would need to start with the Premix, since it was a little shorter, but still, I was no where near prepared for the ‘ride’! I definitely cannot stand up on the pedals for long and I wondered if it was me or if the bike I got was just not up to it. The soreness wasn’t an issue because thankfully the bike I got has a good-sized, padded seat so it’s pretty comfortable to sit on but the workload is really tough. I’ll take your advice and work up to it and try not to beat myself up too much for it because yes, indoor cycling is WAY harder than I thought. 😀
I bought CycleMax hoping to use it with my outdoor bike on an indoor bike trainer. Unfortunately, the feel was not the same, and I could not get the resistance up enough to be able to stand on the pedals for the hill climbs. The “flywheel” just did not “grab,” and it felt strange. I still decided to put CycleMax to use, even though I do not have an indoor bike. I adapted it for use with my elliptical! It worked great! I would just increase my resistance and pace right along with Cathe’s instructions. The only difficult adaption was for the up/down intervals since I was “up” all the time on an elliptical. I just chose to stand straight for up and bend down lower for down. In the end, it was a great workout to follow for the elliptical as well!
Wow!! Is that ever my story!!! I was approached by the owner of another club that I wasn’t a member of. She asked me if I’d ever considered teaching spinning and I replied…”OH NO!!” I hated it!! I had taken 1 class many yrs ago when spinning first came out and I hated it with a passion! I am a fitness instructor and have been for 16 + yrs and this didn’t appeal to me at all. She said, “just try it….it’s one of those things you hate at first then end up loving it!!” Well, she was right!! I went and got my certification, just like Cathe I had only taken 2 classes before this certification course and I spent 45 minutes on the bike for the first part of the course and by the end of the day we had another 35 minute ride. I couldn’t hardly get off my bike and walk. Needless to say, the crotch and butt soreness isn’t there anymore and I’ve been teaching a year and a half now and it’s one of my favorite things to do and teach!! Hang in there all!!
can anyone suggest what bike to buy or the bike Cathe is riding..
I bought the sunny pro from amazon it is a lot cheaper than the star trac that they use on the tape makes a little noise but my husband did some adjusting and it works find
Cathe, thank you for writing this article! You are the best!
I have enjoyed the feedback I am reading from your wonderful and informative article. I did not purchase the cycle max when I per-ordered the low impact series as I do not have a spin bike, or any exercise bike in my house. I am contemplating adding this to my workout rotation in the future, and this article was very helpful. Thank you Janet who answered my question about spin bikes and what to buy. I am wanting to know from Cathe if she plans to offer spin bikes in the future that you can buy from her online store. Thank you so much for an informative article.
Cathe, thank you! I have done the workout 3 times since I got it and have been disappointed in my performance, even having done spin classes before and being able to work out with you for years. I will stick with it. It’s so great to read about your challenges when you seem so perfect to us out here…thank you for sharing.
@Karen – We’re not planning on selling spin bikes. Spin Bikes take up a ton of warehouse space and you have to have have skilled technicians to answer customer service issues and to handle replacement parts as well as repairs. It’s just beyond the scope of what our business is set up for. However, you can find numerous sites online that specialize in selling spin bikes that can certainly help you.
I absolutely am thankful for the 3 workouts on a DVD since I am not able to make it to the gym classes. In fact I have been able to advertise cathe when I put my reading rack up on the gym bike and plug in my headphones, people around me try to glance at my screen without staring and then I can just whip out the DVD case and show them what a great fitness instructor and personal trainer I use at home or at the gym.LOVE this, thank you for creating it.
Karen, I bought the Golds Gym bike from Walmart and love it! Whatever you choose, make sure the flywheel is atleast 40lbs.
Wow, if Cathe found it hard, what kind of mess will I be in when I buy one? Forewarned is forearmed ( or whatever the saying is) and I won’t be disappointed when I try Cycle Max for the first time.
Hi! Loved the article, it’s always nice to be reminded that even a Superwoman like Cathe is human! Thank you for being so open and honest! I have a recumbent stationary bike, would I be able to do CycleMax with it?
Hi, I’ve been considering ordering Cycle Max but have a few questions. First, I consider myself a beginner runner with my first half marthon coming up this may. I’ve heard that cycling is a great way to cross train, in that it strenghtens the leg muscles thereby making you a stronger runner. After taking a spin classes at my gym, I invested in a spin bike and have used the dvds that came along with it a few times. However, I did not find these dvds to be that challenging. Therefore, I was wondering if Cathe’s Cycle Max included some up hill interval or something that will help strengthen the leg muscles?