Fitness Fridays To Spin or Not to Spin?

To Spin or Not to Spin?

 

SPIN!

  If you haven't tried out spin classes before, you don't know what your missing.  I used to work at a gym in San Francisco and everyone would rush in before spin class and demand their name be added to the list.  Then they show up with their weird shoes making noise on the tiles, funky looking shorts and lots of water bottles. I thought they were crazy.  Why would you want to spin in a bike for an hour what's so great about that?

   I now know what's so great about it.  It's the feeling of power in your legs, building up the resistance to do the hill climb, hoovering so that your working your glutes, push and pulling to work your calves, hamstrings and quads. 

That's level 10 right there...

  On top of that you get to listen to awesome music and really get a great workout in.  One that you wouldn't have gotten if you stayed on the gym floor and did the stationary bike for the same amount of time.

  Right now I take spin classes every Tuesday and Saturday religiously.  Mainly because of the great instructors and the way they base their class structure (aka the pain and torture).  Tuesday's class gives us lots of variation weekly, Saturday the teacher is hard we talking were already at a level 9 within the first 5 minutes. 

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One arm spinning one of my favorites aside from the isolation exercise.

 

If you haven't taken spin before here's some key tips that I take in mind:

Workout Clothes - I used to wear soccer shorts or pants and that sucks think fabric rubbing moving and quirming around.  Wear tight fitted shorts or leggings so that your bottoms don't move. 

Bike Placement - Arrive early and get "fitted" for your bike. If your riding at the wrong settings you could easily do more damage on your knees and back along with other body parts.  

I currently ride at B26.  Which means for me my height of my seat is at Level B, the seat is positioned at 2, my handlebars are at a Level 6.  I've been riding this for awhile now after my first spin instructor fitted me   If it's your first class make sure you ask how to position the bike. 

If you can't put the resistance on, then don't.  If the teacher is yelling at you to put it on yell back and say NOOOO..  It's better to keep the resistance off and learn to love spin instead of giving up and leaving.  I hate it when people leave the class because they are failing themselves and aren't letting their body get adjusted.  

i-village says it perfectly:

Why we love it: Spinning burns serious calories (about 450 in 45 minutes) and offers an awesome aerobic workout that makes your heart pump fast. It also tones your quadriceps (front thigh muscles) and outer thigh muscles like nobody's business! Because you stay in one place with the same basic movement throughout, Spinning doesn't involve a lot of coordination; it's easier to concentrate on your form than in other types of aerobic classes. And although you follow the general instructions of the spinning teacher, you are in control when it comes to your pace. You can finish a spin class, regardless of your fitness level, simply by adjusting your pace or the tension knob on the bike.

I've noticed within the past few months that my legs are much more toned and skinnier than ever before.  While this is an upside, my resistance level is high now meaning I've set into a good fitness level that I have to put ALOT of resistance one before I can feel the push and pull of the resistance settings on my bike. 

Not to mention the attitudes in spin class are uplifting because your all riding up that hill fighting for the 1st place position. 

Find a good class, great teacher and start going regularly and you'll love it.  You might not be smiling during the whole thing but you'll be happy when you start seeing those results!

I'm trying to figure out a way to squeeze in another spin class a week and score some spin shoes soon.