Training & Nutrition - Training with Spinning Class

My goal is to do some Cat5 and time trial races next year, since taking a new job in manahttan i dont get home in time to do any good rides, i have to save those for the weekend. Here is my question, i have been thinking of joining NY Sports club to take spinning classes a few days a week. I would continue to ride on the weekends until it gets too cold but during the winter i would be doing spinning classes and my main cycling. Is this substantial enough to gain strenght through the winter months, i would try and be on the roads again in early early spring to start racing in late March.

It depends on the instructor. I feel like spinning classes are great for the cardiovascular, provided you have a strict training schedule, a heart rate monitor, and a good instructor. However, a lot of the time, you have some really bad ones. I think the best thing you could do is audit classes at a club BEFORE you pay and sign on to something you wish you never walked into.

BTW, there's a woman named Iona Passik who's out of the NY Sports Club in Manhattan. I think she's one of the best instructors I've ever taken classes from- she's very sensible, she knows her stuff, she has great music, and she creates these great visualizations that really get you in THE ZONE. I've walked away from her class in the shivers, it was sooooooo goooooood. She's a master presenter for Mad Dogg, and the presenters in the USA aren't that great, but she is heads above the rest of them.

Koffee

do you know what club location shes at?

you look pretty cute in your picture :)

i know this alone will not prepare me, i will need to do some serious spring training also but i cant sit on my ass all winter long, i get bad winter depression.

Spinning sounds like a good idea, if you like it. Personally, I am not too keen on 'cycling' indoors. (Speed) skating, for me, is a nice alternative. Here, many cyclists turn skaters during the winter and the one activity is beneficial to the other, but of course you need a good ice track and some technique (classes).

I will email my friend and find out, but you should call the NY Sports club if you can yourself, because I'm sure if you mention her name, you'll be able to find out where she is faster than me. I correspond with a woman who went to her club, but she hasn't responded yet with telling me which club Iona is at.

She's very popular. Just pop out the phone book and call the clubs in your area... they'll find her. She was in retirement for a LOOOOOONG time because she was very burned out from being in demand so much. It was a pleasant surprise that she finally decided to come back to teaching. I'm sure that club chain is having a field day that they were able to snag her.

Koffee

you look pretty cute in your picture :)

I'm glad you think the pic is cute. I'm sure Kristin Gum is grateful for your compliment! :D ;)

Koffee

Save your money. Buy a set of Kreitler rollers and ride at home. Take up very little space and you develop better balance and a proper spin compared to any stationary trainer.

too boring, i want to be able to use strength building equipment also, i also will go to the gym directly from work (1 and 1 half city blocks). if i rely on a trainer alone by the time i get home i dont feel like it and there are too many distractions.

It totally can be motivational to have a class full of people around you. Some people need that motivation. Even though I was doing the trainer and strength training in the mornings, I still felt like I needed the interaction sometimes, so in the mornings, I did the trainer, and in the evenings, I did classes. It worked for me.


Koffee