empalminteri
New member
Just went for the first time this morning and really enjoyed myself. Anyone have any opinions on the efficacy of spinning in terms of weight loss, etc?
Spinning
- Thread starter empalminteri
- Start date
mnexercisegirl
New member
When I was a stay at home mom, I went to a spinning class 5/week for 5 months. Needless to say, I only lost about 10 pounds, but I felt extremely healthy. I lost about 3-5% of fat, but didn't see a whole lot of muscle. But every body is different and I've learned from this forum that doing all that cardio didn't help with what my current goals were.
If you are planning on doing more classes, 2 things to buy:
1. HR monitor
2. Cycling shoes that clip on to the pedal. Trust me, your ride is way different with these shoes.
sirant
New member
Different thoughts on spinning...
Spinning can be good or not, depending on what you want to get out of it.
I used to do 30-45 minutes of steady states spinning and really didnt see much benefit from it. However, I am now, at Steve's reccomendation, taking a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) approach. Basically I have taken that 30 minute steady state work out and changed it to 12 minutes, which not only saves more time in the evening, but I feel like I am getting better results. What is HIIT? Well I followed some links in Steves post (search HIIT here in the forum) and here is my spinning HIIT workout.
12 minutes total.
4 minutes of warm up, gradually getting to a nice steady and comfortable speed.
/Then go as hard as possible for 30 seconds \
6X \Then slow it down and rest for 30 seconds / 6 minutes
2 minutes cool down
Now with the extra time I do a 20 minute little yoga routine as well.
So still getting 30 minutes in that workout, but getting HIIT spinning and stretching/strengthening instead of a 30 minute steady state workout.
Is it effective? Ask me in a couple months.
Hope that helps.
sirant
Spinning can be good or not, depending on what you want to get out of it.
I used to do 30-45 minutes of steady states spinning and really didnt see much benefit from it. However, I am now, at Steve's reccomendation, taking a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) approach. Basically I have taken that 30 minute steady state work out and changed it to 12 minutes, which not only saves more time in the evening, but I feel like I am getting better results. What is HIIT? Well I followed some links in Steves post (search HIIT here in the forum) and here is my spinning HIIT workout.
12 minutes total.
4 minutes of warm up, gradually getting to a nice steady and comfortable speed.
/Then go as hard as possible for 30 seconds \
6X \Then slow it down and rest for 30 seconds / 6 minutes
2 minutes cool down
Now with the extra time I do a 20 minute little yoga routine as well.
So still getting 30 minutes in that workout, but getting HIIT spinning and stretching/strengthening instead of a 30 minute steady state workout.
Is it effective? Ask me in a couple months.
Hope that helps.
sirant
In my opinion, spinning is great, BUT, I think alot of people simply go through the motions and cheat themselves of the benefits. If you can easily read a novel while spinning, then you're wasting your time. It's much easier to push yourself on a real bike outside, but you can get similar benefits on a spinner indoors... if you have the mental toughness. It's just hard to keep up your motivation and keep pushing yourself over time, as it just wears you out mentally. I say invest your time into a real bike.
The_Shed
New member
I love spinning
I love spinning but I think I only love it because I've found an excellent instructor. I do 2 classes a week one is just 30mins of spin and one is 30mins of spin followed by 30mins body pump. The instructor varies the routine and throughout each classes we'll get various intervals usually based on the tempo/breakdowns of the various music tracks that are on.
We have hill climbs, statics, sprints and rest periods. As for weight loss I'm not sure. I'm a hell of a lot fitter but my legs are now a hell of a lot bigger. They have bulked up to support my weight rather than my weight coming down to help out my legs.
I wouldn't ever give it up though as long as my instructor is still taking it.
Another thing already mentioned by corndoggy is that you really need to know what your limits are and push past them YOURSELF. It really is one where you can't rely on other people. I had a word with my instructor and just said, "If I look like I'm taking it easy, come turn it up and shout at me!" She does but it has got less and less as I've got into the right frame of mind. You shouldn't go for the no pain no gain option, you should always be aware of your absolute limit but most people can push themselves passed their perceived limit and spinning is one place where you should.
I love spinning but I think I only love it because I've found an excellent instructor. I do 2 classes a week one is just 30mins of spin and one is 30mins of spin followed by 30mins body pump. The instructor varies the routine and throughout each classes we'll get various intervals usually based on the tempo/breakdowns of the various music tracks that are on.
We have hill climbs, statics, sprints and rest periods. As for weight loss I'm not sure. I'm a hell of a lot fitter but my legs are now a hell of a lot bigger. They have bulked up to support my weight rather than my weight coming down to help out my legs.
I wouldn't ever give it up though as long as my instructor is still taking it.
Another thing already mentioned by corndoggy is that you really need to know what your limits are and push past them YOURSELF. It really is one where you can't rely on other people. I had a word with my instructor and just said, "If I look like I'm taking it easy, come turn it up and shout at me!" She does but it has got less and less as I've got into the right frame of mind. You shouldn't go for the no pain no gain option, you should always be aware of your absolute limit but most people can push themselves passed their perceived limit and spinning is one place where you should.
mnexercisegirl
New member
You shouldn't go for the no pain no gain option, you should always be aware of your absolute limit but most people can push themselves passed their perceived limit and spinning is one place where you should.
Yep, I totally agree. Spinning is definitely a class where you can work as hard or not as hard as you want.
It means either riding a stationary gym bike, or a normal bike on a trainer to get the same effect, except actually better.