Spin Class Kicked My Ass

Blair P. Houghton said:

Holy exothermic activity, Batman! That woman ran us up
one hill and down the other for a solid hour.

Ditto. Just got back from the (packed) Thanksgiving Day class.

Probably unlike you, I'm a pretty slow (real) bicycle rider, but riding
18-20 miles a day, I thought I was getting a decent workout. Well, I think
a lot of things that aren't true. Mistress Paula has the ability to leave
me wobbling in a puddle of sweat, pathetically trying to do what she calls
the "hereditary stretch" (either you can or you can't) at the end of 60
minutes. It also seems to me that there is an excessive emphasis on
standing in the pedals, and bike-thing number 17 has too much float in the
right SPD, and number 8 has a bad left pedal spindle, and, and ... forget
it, I'm weak.

Good things about spin class:

- you can watch yourself if you get there early enough for a front-row
bike-thing

- you can ride with your eyes closed for as long as you want

- music from my generation (sometimes)

Bad things about spin class:

- you can watch yourself if you get there early enough for a front-row
bike-thing

- no coasting

- music from my kids' generation (sometimes)

I do think it is helping my real bike riding - we'll see tomorrow after
the 3 bears ride. At least it helps me gauge whether I'm putting my best
effort into the ride. Now I really want an HRM.

Blair P. Houghton <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I also realized I'd never seen myself riding in a mirror
before, either. I'm way bulkier on the bike than I thought.

--Blair

"I'll have to do that again some time."

Does your spin class have not only music......but flashing lights
while you are riding?? The gym I used to go to in my town thought
that was just a fine idea. I had to keep my eyes closed. (As for the
mirrors all around. I went to a casino hotel and stood in a shower
stall which had clear glass doors and the bathroom was all mirrors.
Now that was a nightmare. ;-)

BTW My instructor in spin class was also my personal trainer at the
time. Her name was Michelle and I still have nightmares about her. But
she was the only person who ever pushed me hard enough to work out
properly. Her spin classes were torture. I should go back to her.
After Thanksgiving yesterday......I need to ride a few hundred miles
to work off the meal I cooked for the familia...but I have to work
today and sit at my desk. Oh well. The weekend is almost here. Maybe I
will sneak a guest pass at my friends gym and go after work today.
Then ride tomorrow. I have already lost 10 lbs since I started riding.
I can't believe it. Amazing.

http://www.geocities.com/lindaannbuset/mypage.html

I've been spinning for about 5 weeks now...it's getting progessively easier to
handle. The first class I was a blubbering mass of sweat drained jello.

Now I find myself wanting more time.

Blair P. Houghton said:

Man. I've never ridden in an organized spin-class at
the gym before. But Tuesday it was cold and rainy, so I
couldn't ride outside, and when I got to the gym it was
just in time for a class to start, so I thought, what the
hell, let's see how boring this could be.

Holy exothermic activity, Batman! That woman ran us up
one hill and down the other for a solid hour.

Of course, it's semi-self-paced; I had total control of
the resistance level. And the lady next to me indicated
my ride might be a little maladjusted so it "goes up high
pretty fast". When the instructor was calling out levels
(50, 60, 70%, etc) I may have been 10-20% over. Maybe.

So while I (barely) kept up on cadence through the surges,
sprints, and two-minute standing grinds, maybe I was
actually doing more work than I was supposed to.

Good side: the instructor complimented my form after
the class; no bouncing, no bobbing, nice and supple;
she pegged me for a cyclist come in from the cold, but
she was still surprised when I said I'd never ridden in
a spin class before.

I also realized I'd never seen myself riding in a mirror
before, either. I'm way bulkier on the bike than I thought.

--Blair
"I'll have to do that again some time."

When I tried my first spinning class I thought to myself, "I bike a
lot so how hard can this be?" Boy, was I ever humbled by the
experience! Resistance set high, out of the saddle for a good amount
of time, I felt my legs turn to rubber about 3/4 of the way through
the class. Now, I find spinning an excellent supplement to regular
biking when it's too cold, raining, or too dark to get some miles in..
I've been going twice a week in the early evenings and it's getting
easier as my muscles tone up. Most of the time there are about 25
people in each session so there's the feeling of being with others on
a group ride, staying together, and suffering through the same
"climbs."
-Richard

Erik Freitag said:

Blair P. Houghton said:

Holy exothermic activity, Batman! That woman ran us up
one hill and down the other for a solid hour.

Ditto. Just got back from the (packed) Thanksgiving Day class.

Probably unlike you, I'm a pretty slow (real) bicycle rider, but riding
18-20 miles a day, I thought I was getting a decent workout. Well, I think
a lot of things that aren't true. Mistress Paula has the ability to leave
me wobbling in a puddle of sweat, pathetically trying to do what she calls
the "hereditary stretch" (either you can or you can't) at the end of 60
minutes. It also seems to me that there is an excessive emphasis on
standing in the pedals, and bike-thing number 17 has too much float in the
right SPD, and number 8 has a bad left pedal spindle, and, and ... forget
it, I'm weak.

Good things about spin class:

- you can watch yourself if you get there early enough for a front-row
bike-thing

- you can ride with your eyes closed for as long as you want

- music from my generation (sometimes)

Bad things about spin class:

- you can watch yourself if you get there early enough for a front-row
bike-thing

- no coasting

- music from my kids' generation (sometimes)

I do think it is helping my real bike riding - we'll see tomorrow after
the 3 bears ride. At least it helps me gauge whether I'm putting my best
effort into the ride. Now I really want an HRM.

Do the bike machines still have that troglodyte "Q" factor that used to be
universal - about 10 inches between pedals?

Ron

Quoted message said:

Do the bike machines still have that troglodyte "Q" factor that used to be
universal - about 10 inches between pedals?

Thanks for sending me back to Sheldon -

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_tp-z.html#tread

I'm pretty sure you meant Q-factor in the sense of "tread", rather than
the Fit-Kit definition. To answer: I don't feel any difference in tread
compared to my high-tech and extremely well-fitted Trek 520. Someone who
is more fit, and more aware of the effect of bicycle shape on performance
might notice a difference. I'll try to remember to take a ruler next time
I go. If it helps, I think it is called an "Avenger".

Blair P. Houghton <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Man. I've never ridden in an organized spin-class at
the gym before. But Tuesday it was cold and rainy, so I
couldn't ride outside, and when I got to the gym it was
just in time for a class to start, so I thought, what the
hell, let's see how boring this could be.

Holy exothermic activity, Batman! That woman ran us up
one hill and down the other for a solid hour.

--Blair
"I'll have to do that again some time."

Did your instructor tell you about the five core movements in the
Spinning class. They were developed specifically for the Spinner to
simulate cycling terrain, conditions and techniques encountered on the
road. I was told by the instructor when I took classes that if I
wouldn't perform a movement on a real bike, don't do it on a Spinner.
The only problem was, I had not been on a real bike for a long time
when I took the class. Now that I have been on a real bike again, I
am going to sneak a guest pass to the gym in the morning with a friend
for their 9:00 a.m. spin class. I was also told that there are winter
spin classes sponsored by the Bicycling Club. The Clases run from
November through March. I know some cyclists do not believe in spin
classes, but in my opinion, living in Jersey, its a great alternative.
Plus the Bicycle Club runs them for free. :-)

Erik Freitag said:

Quoted message said:

Do the bike machines still have that troglodyte "Q" factor that used to be
universal - about 10 inches between pedals?

Thanks for sending me back to Sheldon -

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_tp-z.html#tread

I'm pretty sure you meant Q-factor in the sense of "tread", rather than
the Fit-Kit definition. To answer: I don't feel any difference in tread
compared to my high-tech and extremely well-fitted Trek 520. Someone who
is more fit, and more aware of the effect of bicycle shape on performance
might notice a difference. I'll try to remember to take a ruler next time
I go. If it helps, I think it is called an "Avenger".

No biggy, just sorta curious. I remember stationary bikes being a very
non-cycling experience and not well suited for anything like "spinning" big
couch saddles and pedals way too far apart.

BTW, "tread" strikes me as a much better word for that measurement. It doesn't
have the weenie-factor of Q-factor.

Ron

Ronsonic said:

Erik Freitag said:

- no coasting

Not only is there no coasting because it's never in the
lesson plan, but if you forget and try to coast, the bikes
are essentially fixies, so you'll snap an ankle hard.

Quoted message said:

Do the bike machines still have that troglodyte "Q" factor that used to be
universal - about 10 inches between pedals?

They are a bit wide, but it's maybe half an inch wider than my bike.

I am getting pretty lucky though in that both my SPD-R
cleats for my bike and the SPD cleats I got for the
spin class will adjust to the right position for my old
strapped-in foot alignment.

No pain in either regime.

And I've been meaning to mention, if you need a cheap,
decent pair of road shoes with universal cleat mounts built
in, either as a backup or as spin-class kit, I recommend
the Exustar SR920, available at PerformanceBike.Com and
other outlets at rather deep discounts (I got my two pair
for $29.95 each.) Light enough, plenty stiff, and they
have air channels in the soles that probably stop a lot
of foot-sweat. But all those mounting holes in the built-in
adapter plate are the prize.

--Blair
"I bet I could bolt a set of
crampons to these things."

Maggie said:

Did your instructor tell you about the five core movements in the
Spinning class.

Nah. She turned on the music (no disco-ball or
strobe-lights; no lights on in the room at all, in fact,
just spill-in from the windowed wall to the gym proper),
clicked-in, and started cooing orders (yes, cooing orders;
I've never been wrung into a croissant by a less abusive
tone...)

Quoted message said:

They were developed specifically for the Spinner to
simulate cycling terrain, conditions and techniques encountered on the
road. I was told by the instructor when I took classes that if I
wouldn't perform a movement on a real bike, don't do it on a Spinner.

Well, I suppose that's an obvious theory to presume,
but riding on a stationary bike is nothing like riding
on the road. The bike never moves; the dynamics are all
totally different. It's similar exercise for the major
muscles, but the coordinative muscles are getting a totally
un-roadlike workout.

Which isn't necessarily bad. It's important to mix
up exercises in any program so your muscles develop
proportionally. In addition to my legs, I got some
unfamiliar crimps in my shoulders and sides.

Quoted message said:

The only problem was, I had not been on a real bike for a long time
when I took the class. Now that I have been on a real bike again, I
am going to sneak a guest pass to the gym in the morning with a friend
for their 9:00 a.m. spin class. I was also told that there are winter
spin classes sponsored by the Bicycling Club. The Clases run from
November through March. I know some cyclists do not believe in spin
classes, but in my opinion, living in Jersey, its a great alternative.
Plus the Bicycle Club runs them for free. :-)

Any exercise is better than no exercise.

Any exercise that innervates your quadriceps and hamstrings
and hip-flexors and glutei (and all this stuff here:
http://www.gwc.maricopa.edu/class/bio201/muscle/leg1.htm
and expands your cardiovascular capacity is better than
whining that the scenery doesn't change, because it means
the whiners' scenery will never change because out on the
road they'll be staring at your ass in the distance from
start to finish.

--Blair
"Me spin hard. Me get better."

Pay money to get yelled at by a woman... Geez - I can do that in the
comfort of my own home! Of course, most times I deserved it. I don't
like to hear load music not of my choosing. I am certainly no adonis
or Paavo Nurmi but I never found any structured activity to fit my
training at the time without certain injury lurking around the corner.
I've only used eliptical machines twice. They are supposed to be knee
friendly - both times I got a minor strain TO the knee with minimal
time on the trainer.

I have a bike trainer and it is OK for me.

Quoted message said:

No biggy, just sorta curious. I remember stationary bikes being a very
non-cycling experience and not well suited for anything like "spinning" big
couch saddles and pedals way too far apart.

Oh yeah, those. Spin bikes are not quite like the conventional exercise
bikes you may be remembering from the clubs. Unlike the exer-bikes,
spinners have SPD clips and Terry saddles, and up-down and back-forth
adjustments for saddle and handlebars for instance. But like the
exercise bikes, resistance is adjusted with a brake, and the pedals drive
a rubber belt, not a chain. To me, the feel is similar to a real bike, but
missing the side-to-side and front-back motion of a real bike - as Blair
pointed out.

[email hidden] (Dan Barch) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Pay money to get yelled at by a woman... Geez - I can do that in the
comfort of my own home!

I am on my way to get yelled at by my old trainer. She is a beast. I
took her spinning classes years ago then stopped. Spinning class is
very difficult. I think if one can live through a spinning class, one
can do anything. The bikes they have are spinners from "Mad Dog
Athletics" so I am told. So I am off to listen to "the beast" and ride
the "mad dog spinner". This should be a challenge. It seems like a
nice day, I should just ride my bike instead......but now I am
compelled to find out if I can actually survive this spin class. I
have a feeling spin class will do more than kick my ass.
I do believe if I sign up for these classes through the winter....I
will be a better rider in the spring. I have my sights set on a
charity ride in May. Everything will help.

Some thoughts from Blair P. Houghton. BPH is a Troll. And a poor
loser. But never wrong.

Blair
"I'm a left-wing lemming"

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

People who considered intelligence an important issue

voted 85:15 for Kerry.

If you think that the intelligence issue worked in Bush's
favor, you ignored all the other issues.

--Blair
"Keep voting like a sheep.
You're making mutton cheaper.">>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I understand Chalo's sentiment perfectly. Bush voters are

either ignorant, liars, or dupes. In any case, they need
to be incredibly selfish in order not to see that Bush's
policies are antisocial, not antisocialist.

Yours, on second reading, is ambiguous.

--Blair
"I rode this morning. Tomorrow I ride
again. Each day is a stroke in a longer
ride. I make the effort, and it brings
me home, and allows me to cycle again.">>

Blair P. Houghton <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

[email hidden] (Fx199) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I've been spinning for about 5 weeks now...it's getting progessively easier to
handle. The first class I was a blubbering mass of sweat drained jello.

Now I find myself wanting more time.

Maggie wrote:
I just attended a spinning class. Those people are nuts. If you can
live through a spinning class.....you can certainly ride a bike. If
you can live through a spinning class, I think you can do virtually
just about any exercise. I have taken alot of classes at the gym and
nothing compares to spinning. I came home and went for a ride on my
bicycle and it seemed like a piece of cake. I don't know if I will be
able to walk tomorrow.....but it was an experience.
This article was interesting....

THE BENEFITS OF SPIN CLASSES.....
Spinning is a high-energy, indoor stationary cycling program where the
instructor takes participants on a "virtual" outdoor road race
complete with hills, valleys, and finish lines. Created in the 1980s
by world-class cyclist Jonathan Goldberg (a.k.a. "Johnny G"😉, Spinning
has become hugely popular and has spawned many "spin offs"--making
indoor cycling programs one of the biggest trends to hit the fitness
industry.

Blair P. Houghton <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

[email hidden] (Fx199) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I've been spinning for about 5 weeks now...it's getting progessively easier to
handle. The first class I was a blubbering mass of sweat drained jello.

Now I find myself wanting more time.

Maggie wrote:
I just attended a spinning class. Those people are nuts. If you can
live through a spinning class.....you can certainly ride a bike. If
you can live through a spinning class, I think you can do virtually
just about any exercise. I have taken alot of classes at the gym and
nothing compares to spinning. I came home and went for a ride on my
bicycle and it seemed like a piece of cake. I don't know if I will be
able to walk tomorrow.....but it was an experience.
This article was interesting....

THE BENEFITS OF SPIN CLASSES.....
Spinning is a high-energy, indoor stationary cycling program where the
instructor takes participants on a "virtual" outdoor road race
complete with hills, valleys, and finish lines. Created in the 1980s
by world-class cyclist Jonathan Goldberg (a.k.a. "Johnny G"😉, Spinning
has become hugely popular and has spawned many "spin offs"--making
indoor cycling programs one of the biggest trends to hit the fitness
industry.

sppedy said:

Some thoughts from Blair P. Houghton. BPH is a Troll. And a poor
loser. But never wrong.

You're a moron. And you prove it every time you communicate.

Pretending that 59 million is "most of us" is just one
lunacy you've uttered.

--Blair
"Go run into a tree."