Originally Posted by
MRT2
Spinning class was a revelation for me when I started up a few years ago. Made me a much better cyclist. Learned to use clipless pedals, learned cadence, and got much better at climbing out of the saddle from doing it in spinning.
Yes, my first spinning class was a revelation for me too.
I had a long distance event in early April that year, and living in Alberta, Canada didn't provide me ideal conditions to prepare for that event outside. For one thing, they don't plough the roads very well there and cycling on a 6" layer of bumpy ice isn't exactly conducive for good training.
So my options were to just ride my trainer ... or ride my trainer some days and join a spinning class 2 nights a week for 10 weeks, starting about mid-January.
The instructor was a triathlete, so he had some idea about cycling long distances outside, and he put us through our paces. It was a really good and tough class ... and it was interesting. The class was a full 60 minutes, with about an extra approx. 15 minutes for warm up and cool down etc., but I don't recall ever being bored. We certainly weren't just sitting there mindlessly turning pedals!! Lots of variety!
I also spent about an hour after the class doing weights, and using either the track or treadmill.
And then, in early April I was able to ride a hilly 200K randonnee quite comfortably (despite crashing badly at the 100 km point), and I started a 400K randonnee and made it to about 250 km before my crash injuries brought it all to a halt. But nevertheless ... I don't think I would have been in shape to do that much without that spinning class.
I would love to find a well-equipped gym with good spinning classes again.