Does anybody bicycle to exercise class?
 

Of course, this is a spoof on bikeman's thread "Does anyone do a cycling exercise class? "

BUT...

It baffles me that some people drive a car to a gym to, for example, do a cycling class.

My wife actually does this. I tell her she should bike to the gym, turn around and come back without going inside that stinky place.

I, of course being so noble, bike to my other activities such as martial arts classes. It gives me an extra workout and truly justifies me returning home and passing out on the couch

I had a friend who used to cycle to the gym, go straight to the weights room and train, then bike home. The instructor used to tell her off for not warming up first!!

My wife and I have a typical early Saturday morning routine of walking 3.5km/2+ miles each way to the YMCA for weight training and indoor rowing. When I go there by myself, I always either bike, jog, or walk. When running, I warm up by walking. When cycling, I warm up by gently spinning the low gears for the first few minutes.

Both MichaelW and JohnE bring up an interesting point.

By bicycling to the sport, you don't really have to spend time warming up because you arrive already warm.

I bike to martial arts classes. Martial arts activities include kicking over one's own head; that means kicking higher than 6'. Obviously, this takes a great deal of flexibility.

Surprisingly, I can usually come right into class (after the 8 mile bike commute) and start kicking above my head without stretching.

That is pretty neat. Even as a kid, I used to have to stretch before kicking. The kids in my class probably think that when they get older, they will be able to kick high without stretching - WRONG! As long as there are four wheels under you on your way to class, you will have to stretch before kicking.

Same thing at our house Mike. I use to give my wife heck for driving to the Y to take her spinning class. However, after a couple months of the class she was a much stronger rider. And since we have a tandem I stopped complaining!

I used to bike to the gym and then do weight training. It worked out well; bike 12.5miles to the gym spend 45minutes or so working out and hop back on the bike and ride home.

Maybe I should start doing this again. But honestly I never liked the atmosphere I found at gyms.

My answer to that and everything else; I use my bike always as an option to commuting. I use it over a car whenever, wherever I can. Errands, you name it.
I feel my cycling group cheats, because they use their cars to get their bikes to our starting point. I very rarely do. Adds about another 24 miles to my group ride, I do that twice a week..If work were closer I would commute by bike 75 % of the time.
So if I used a commercial gym, it would certainly apply here too. My gym equiptment is in the spare room, but then, most often I use the gym equiptment after returing from a ride. So the ride is usually my warming up.

I enjoy cycling whilst gyms always remind of torture chambers.. maybe it's just my school memories, but I'll cycle to avoid the gym.

Richard

Up until now, at least, I have only used the gym when weather conditions don't permit riding . . . so, of course, I haven't been cycling to the gym. -- If I could ride my bike, I'd be riding my bike, and not going to the gym. -- (In fact, I suspended my membership from March through October last year.) -- But, if I decide to continue a weight training program through the spring, I will definitely start riding my bike to the gym as soon as road conditions and weather are conducive to cycling.

Torture chamber. Good analogy. I find my total gym does about everything I need to keep the rest of me, reasonably in shape. Probably spend about 20 minutes on it, three times a week, usually following a bike ride. People think trainers are boring, gym's are totally so, even if necessary.

With permitting weather, I often make the 15 mile roundtrip to the gym for masters swim twice a week on my bike. It prepares the body for the transition from one exercise to another (swim to bike) which often proves difficult for many triathletes. The ride to the gym is typically at a warm-up pace, and I pick up the tempo on the way back to simulate the race experience.

I have found it ironic that people will load their bikes on the back of their car for a 2 mile drive, so they can group ride 40 miles.

A couple of years ago when I was going to the gym regularly, I used to ride there all the time. I also remember a time when I was helping a friend remove banana trees from his backyard. I'd ride to the gym, lift weights for a couple of hours, then ride to my friend's place where we'd wear ourselves out removing these trees (we had no machinery and even less idea what we were doing) and then ride home. That was the most intense training I've ever done.