Did my first spin class today.

[jdgregory84]

Wow, is all I can say. My legs felt like jello and my grey t-shirt was damn nearly black, it was covered in so much sweat. I was pretty proud of myself though. I didn't slack off once. When he said "turn right" I turned the resistance knob right. (righty tighty, lefty loosey) I slack off on cardio quite a bit, but when I lift, I take very short breaks to keep my heart rate up.

I did notice a lot of people not increase the resistance once in the class. I don't see why people do this, and not try to get the most out of it.

If any of you guys are members at 24 hour, I highly suggest the spin class. I'm hoping my schedule will allow me to do at least one a week now.

At the end he asked the class whether they wanted to do sprints or climbs. I heard a few people say sprints, and a few people say climbs. I yelled out "Sprints AND Climbs!" About 6 people looked at me like I was an asshole. He went with what I said and it was fucking brutal. So awesome.

[Jonny00GT]

A great Instructor can make all the difference, but what I love about spin class is, you are ultimately in controll of your workout. If you're using it as a recovery exercise, cardio or fat burning, etc, you adjust accordingly. It's greatly helped my fitness and cardio improve fairly quickly!
-Jonny

[Beej]

Spin class is great, I hardly ever get in there anymore. I am outside riding when I can.

[8mpg]

What is the point of a spinning class? Not sarcastically...just dont know the true benefit of it vs just cycling or just exercising in general.

[TINKRD]

What is the point of a spinning class? Not sarcastically...just dont know the true benefit of it vs just cycling or just exercising in general.

off the top of my head-
people might not own their own bicycle
people might push themselves harder in a group atmosphere
people might push themselves harder with a trainer leading the class

[Jonny00GT]

Don't have to worry about the weather.
No cars, curbs, people in your way.
Don't have to worry about falling off and getting hurt.
Imediate controll over resistance...don't have to go find hills to ride.
Etc

-Jonny

[Ruffdaddy]

The same benefits as given by treadmills and arc trainers

[jdgregory84]

What is the point of a spinning class? Not sarcastically...just dont know the true benefit of it vs just cycling or just exercising in general.

I don't have a bicycle and I'm not planning on spending $500+ for a decent one. Plus, like they said, the instructor will tell you to increase resistance to mimic hills and shit. There's a point where the resistance was so high, it was like doing leg presses, and my pedals actually locked up. While I live in Central Texas and there are some hills here, they're not exactly "on demand" like they are in the class. You should try a class some time. Like somebody said though, it can depend on the instructor whether or not you like it.

[Beej]

Don't knock it till you try it.

[OldGuysRule]

Andy Potts (2x Ironman winner) use to only ride outdoors during races. All his training on the bike was indoors on a Computrainer.

Biked a 2:06 in the Ironman 70.3 Championships on a 56 mile course. 26.6 MPH average.

Nothing wrong with indoor cycling if you can beat the boredom and you have a plan.

No different than doing your swim training in a 50 meter pool and racing in a lake.

[chuckacosta]

I take spin class regularly at the gym. I try to go at least 3 times a week. I freaking love it. I'm sure my poor bike is jealous of me but I don't care. Spin clas has made me so much stronger in my legs. I honestly didn't expect that. But it's awesome. And not to mention the cardio I get out of it.

[Binky]

When i lived up in plano, i bought a road bike to ride when the mtn bike trails were wet.

After 1 ride, i swore i will never ride a bike in the street ever again. I sold the road bike within 48 hrs.

If i had a membership somewhere that did a spin class it would be as close to it as possible, but alas i dont so i stay on dirt.

[Jonny00GT]

My wife and I just took a tour of Lifetime Fitness...WOW!! That's a cool looking spin room! Air jets, screens that come down and show pro racing, low lights and top of the line spin bikes! Got a free pass...gonna have to check it out!

The guy said, the also do indoor triathalons...that sounds cool!

-Jonny

[jdgregory84]

Lifetime has a lot of cool shit. I could just never justify $80 a month....I guess it would be $120 for you and your wife though. I could see it maybe if I had a kid.

[Jonny00GT]

I share 2 kiddos with my Ex, so I have them half the time. The 2hr kiddo drop off, the crazy cool pool areas and the classes make it worth the $14ish, we'd pay for the 4 of us. We'll end up joining in September, most likely. My wife wants to do Triathalons next year, so we'll need a pool to train in in the winter and they have some really cool treadmills, too!
-Jonny