i have recently started attending an early morning spinning class before work that is run by one of my teammates. they are generally extremely intense, and with the warmup and cooldown, my avg hr for a session is right around 167. that is a great supplement to my usual training, and i am sure that it is helping my training.
however, today my teammate was nowhere to be found, so we had a substitute spinning instrcutur. she was really nice, and everyone was glad that she could fill in. three problems with the session:
1.) she never gave percentages or exertion guidelines, it was only add resistance, add resistance...
2.) she had the class spin backwards while standing (i did not do that part)
3.) certainly the worst, she played "glamorous" and "shawty got low." try having those songs stuck in your head all day.
it really wasn't that bad. i still averaged 166. still, the song choice, yowsa.
MDcatV
06-26-08, 09:47 AM
a spin class in June? you're a bicycle racer for crying out loud, June spin classes are completely unacceptable for you to attend.
botto
06-26-08, 09:50 AM
^
what he said.
rizz
06-26-08, 09:53 AM
3.) certainly the worst, she played "glamorous" and "shawty got low." try having those songs stuck in your head all day.
I'm glad that I only listen to classic rock, as I have no idea what those songs are and thus don't have to worry about your mention causing them to be stuck in my head as well.
And spinning during the race season? Time to turn in your USCF license because I'm sure that's against the rules.
Scummer
06-26-08, 10:03 AM
Is it Winter already? :twitchy:
stenniswood
06-26-08, 10:05 AM
Spinning backwards is a big NO NO.........
fly:yes/land:no
06-26-08, 10:09 AM
6am. i have no problem with spinning class. 6pm, different story. there is no way i can get decent motivation to train at 6 am without people yelling at me.
cat4ever
06-26-08, 10:15 AM
Spinning classes should be led by hot women with only women attending (besides me). That's how it was when I was taking classes at 9am on weekdays when all the husbands were at work.
Big Scott
06-26-08, 10:16 AM
Crap! ...as I leave my cube for a spin class @1pm.
I normally go easy on the intensity in these classes during race season. The insturctor rides and is hot so there is no retarded non cycling stuff going on and plus she rocks the classic rock. I just figure it's another rainy trainer ride.
I had an instructor that spent 1/2 the class saying "1-2....1-2....1-2" over and over. No matter what cadence you were supposed to be doing she repeated "1-2...1-2" at the same speed.
WCroadie
06-26-08, 10:59 AM
In the summer I ride wednesday mornings before work, on occasion I go to spinning instead. My instructors are cool and I just do my own workouts. I sit in the back or off to the side so as to not distract the others in the class. They do all sorts of things that would be of no help in my training, but then again I am usually the only serious roadie in the class.
neurocycler
06-26-08, 11:02 AM
botto is right (correct).
w4ta
06-26-08, 11:04 AM
Sounds like the title of this thread should be changed from " Why Spinning Classes Are BAD" to "Why Some Spinning Classes Are BAD". The OP states the classes led by his teammate are "extremely intense"...and the substitute-led class was bad.
There is no clearer truth... an uninformed instructor who relies on gimmicks will not provide a class worthy of a serious cyclist's time. At the same time, when I've been on business trips and had to attend a class with weak instructor, I sit in the back and get my workout in... without doing push-ups on the bars... standing with one hand behind my back and spinning, etc...
If attacked properly... which is made easier with a good instructor... a spin class can be a great substitute if getting on the road is not possible.
flaco
06-26-08, 11:15 AM
There are so many bogus things that spin instructors can do. Pedaling backwards has to be the worst one I've heard. You might mention to her that it could unscrew the pedals... probably unlikely, but it might get her to stop that nonsense.
Spreggy
06-26-08, 12:24 PM
Whenever I think of last winter's classes, I hear the song "HEY! HEY! YOU! YOU! I DON'T LIKE YOUR GIRLFRIEEEEEEEEEEND!!":eek::D
It does have the right tempo for hammering along though.
caloso
06-26-08, 12:32 PM
Feh. If I wanted to spin alongside 40-something women with their saddles and cadences too low, I'd go for a ride with my wife.
Doctor Who
06-26-08, 01:33 PM
Feh. If I wanted to spin alongside 40-something women with their saddles and cadences too low, I'd go for a ride with my wife.
Snap.
If you have a trainer, what's the point of a spinning class? I'll admit, I've done a few (I was on a cruise, and last winter a friend of mine got us free passes to Crunch), but I'd much rather listen to my own music in my own apartment. I've never heard Slayer, Nitzer Ebb, or Jesus Lizard in a spin class, so the only reason I'd go is for the 'atmosphere', which is pretty much awful anyway.
chipcom
06-26-08, 01:45 PM
6am. i have no problem with spinning class. 6pm, different story. there is no way i can get decent motivation to train at 6 am without people yelling at me.
Yes, Lebanon is apparently a suburb of Wussyville.
fly:yes/land:no
06-26-08, 01:46 PM
Yes, Lebanon is apparently a suburb of Wussyville.
lolz!!!
Shayne
06-26-08, 02:01 PM
Skip the spinning class with your teammate. Instead, go ride with same said teammate. When I ride with this particular spinning instructor, it's like a motor pace workout. :)
justinb
06-26-08, 02:11 PM
If you live in a really hot place (like Tucson) trainer season is backwards from the rest of the world. 5 days a week, I'm up at 4:30 am to ride... not because I have to be at work at an early hour, but because it's already 90, and will be close to 100 when I finish. One day a week in an afternoon spin class gives me a reasonable workout (according to my HRM) in an air conditioned room, allows more time with my SO, and lets me "sleep in" that day. Not all bad.
ri_us
06-26-08, 02:13 PM
Several bike racers I have worked with (who are on periodization training plans) have used spinning classes to supplement their super-threshold training. After road testing and fitness tests, the results I've seen show that spinning has ZERO practical benefit. I suspect that the problem is that the spinning environment is so different from the real world. When you spin, you're using your muscles slightly differently (if you don't use your own bike), there's no head wind so you're working under hotter conditions and acclimating to an environment you don't race in, and there's no skill or brain work. I found this to be true for men and women, riders using HRMs and watts, and riders of different categories. Obviously, this isn't a survey. But it has motivated me to tell them to spin for fun, but not believe that it helps with racing.
Snuffleupagus
06-26-08, 02:19 PM
a spin class in June? you're a bicycle racer for crying out loud, June spin classes are completely unacceptable for you to attend.
Yes, Lebanon is apparently a suburb of Wussyville.
Not much else to say here...
Duke of Kent
06-26-08, 03:38 PM
Whenever I think of last winter's classes, I hear the song "HEY! HEY! YOU! YOU! I DON'T LIKE YOUR GIRLFRIEEEEEEEEEEND!!":eek::D
It does have the right tempo for hammering along though.
I, too, will reluctantly admit to having this on repeat on the iPod for 20min at a time last summer. Central IL got the better of me, and I had to fight the boredom somehow.
Yes, that was a dark period in my life.
chipcom
06-26-08, 03:54 PM
Whatever song and imagery you have locked in your mind, this will replace it...
Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?
Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?
http://www.chipcom.net/pvt/chipou7.jpg
Don't you?
KirkeIsWaiting
06-26-08, 04:09 PM
Spin class???
is that what the Hadassah crowd is doing in that room at the gym?
You mean those fat women who wear the overpriced LBS bike shoes and sing along to "It's raining men"?
cat4ever
06-26-08, 04:47 PM
You mean those fat women who wear the overpriced LBS bike shoes and sing along to "It's raining men"?
Glad my spin classes weren't like that.
Bob Dopolina
06-26-08, 06:04 PM
I was visiting family (on the other side of the planet) and my sister gave me some passes to the gym where she was the nutritionist.
The first class was boring and, after the warm-up, I just hammered away at the back of the class. Music...I hadn't expected much anyway.
The second class was an 'interval' class. We warmed up, did a few basic intervals and then the instructor asked for favourite intervals from the class. Someone would suggest an interval structure and we'd do them.
I suggested 15x15 for 5 minutes. It was near the end and people were working pretty hard. Everyone gave it a go. A few people couldn't finish but they were all game.
Then we cooled down and everyone chatted like we were in a double paceline heading back into town. It felt a little bit like a ride.
I hated the bikes even though I had my own shoes and pedals.
If I was traveling I do it again.
Red Rider
06-26-08, 10:47 PM
a spin class in June? you're a bicycle racer for crying out loud, June spin classes are completely unacceptable for you to attend.
Not with the smoke we have in NorCal. Indoor exercise is far preferable. Outside is like breathing a cigarette without the filter.
Red Rider
06-26-08, 10:50 PM
Feh. If I wanted to spin alongside 40-something women with their saddles and cadences too low, I'd go for a ride with my wife.
I need to have a conversation with your wife. ;)
Some people are going to work too hard, some not hard enough, and 1% will get it. I teach to that 1%. The rest of them come along for the ride and take what they can from it.