Spinning- Your Bike Doesn't Move, But You're Headed for Healthier You

Spinning has become an exercise phenomenon in recent years. And many fitness facilities are offering with spinning classes. People love exercising this way; not only is it one heck of a workout, but it is a group endeavor. You are all scrunched together on your bikes, sweating feverishly, panting loudly, and pedaling in synchrony to blasting music, it can be a lot of fun.Spinning is really just indoor cycling with am instructor. During a spinning class, the instructor will guide you through periods of intense cycling with periods of slower recovery cycling designed to increase your endurance, strength and speed.

All participants in the class ride on stationary exercise bikes. You’re able to control the resistance of the wheel with an adjustable knob on the handlebars, and this resistance dictates how hard it is to pedal the bike (i.e. how much your quads feel the burn). You can simulate variations in terrain by altering resistance and cadence. During the class, you are your own judge of your level of exertion on an RPE (relative perceived exertion) scale. Instructors guide classes by calling out the level of exertion you should be.

There are three main ways to modulate difficulty of the workout. The first is to adjust the resistance on the fly-wheel as aforementioned. The second is to change the cadence, which is the speed at which you turn the pedals. The faster you pedal, the more calories you will burn. And finally, you can shift your positions standing or sitting on the bike. Each position works your muscles in slightly different ways and usually the instructor will call out the position change based on the interval phase. Besides being a great form of aerobic activity (burning between 400-600 calories in 40 minutes) indoor cycling is also beneficial in strengthening the muscles of the lower body. It tones the quadriceps and hamstrings, along with working the back and hips.

Don’t be scared by the intensity! It is only meant to motivate and push you a bit harder than you think you can go. Remember that you are the one in complete control of how hard you are working! You choose your own goals for the session. You may want to maintain a steady, aerobic cadence during the entire workout or you may want to go all out and get your heart rate to spike new levels during the interval “climbs.” The personalization of your workout is a major advantage for beginners you can start at your fitness level and increase the intensity as you become stronger.