Join The 'Venga' Boys (and Girls) (Spinning)

Member Name: zoe_page_1

Product:	Spinning
Date:	27/09/08 (492 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A fun way to get fit, usually with fab music

Disadvantages: The saddle-eating bums you sometimes have to look at

My first introduction to Spinning was through the film "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion". That was about 1998, back when Spinning was a new activity mainly found in the gyms of La-la land where it was primarily the concern of ladies who lunched, perhaps to burn off all those lunches. Since then it has spread quickly and can be found in gyms throughout the world - I've never done a Spin class in the UK, but I have done them in Australia, the USA and now, in Mexico, it's one of my favourite gym activities. It is however SO much more than just sitting on a bike and pedalling, so...


WHAT IS IT?

Spinning is the common name given to group cycling classes. Sometimes it's called Indoor Cycling, sometimes it's called RPM (the brand name of the Les Miles classes, the same guy who introduced Body Pump, Body Combat etc). Spinning is actually a trademark (see www.spinning.com) but like Hoover and Sellotape and Kleenex (what they call tissues in the USA) it has become the generic term used for classes that are not franchised to the company - this being Mexico, even if the rest of the world called it by a generic, non-trademarked name, I'm 99.9% sure they'd still call it Spinning here anyway).

Special bikes are used, which are different from those you normally find in a gym next to the treadmill and cross trainers. Spin bikes have a saddle like a normal bike (not with a back support, like a lazy bike) and have cages that you strap your feet into so they don't spin off the pedals. They have a resistance knob in the middle which you alter to make a workout harder or easier) and have a break as well, that often looks like a big dog's tongue. The handlebars are generally 'W' shaped, and are adjustable, as is the height of the seat and its horizontal position. You can find a holder for your water bottle in the centre of most bikes, and towels can be wrapped around here or threaded through the handlebars. I know it sounds stupid, but just to be sure, you do NOT need to be able to ride a bike to take a Spin class, since the bikes have only one wheel, and that's just for show really - the front and back parts of the bike are set solidly on the floor.

Spin does not require special clothing, but good trainers are a must (that said, I bought mine from a Mexican supermarket, so a posh brand is not essential as long as they're sturdy). I tend to wear my usual gym gear to classes, but some people go all out with little cycling outfits of tank tops and matching lycra shorts. These people are the exception rather than the norm (even the instructors don't tend to go for the full hog) and generally result in the rest of us rolling our eyes behind their backs. It's like the Friends episode where Joey dressed up in the Porsche clothing line to impress the ladies - it just reeks of trying too hard. (NB: These people also often bring their own seat covers to class. This requires double eye-rolling).


THE BENEFITS

Spinning is a great cardio workout, and the resistance elements help you built and maintain muscle. Different sources reckon you can burn between 500 - 800 calories in a typical class though this will depend on your weight, how hard you work, and your level of fitness. The main focus of the workout is on your legs, back and hips. Classes can focus on fat burning or cardio fitness, which is a bit of a misnomer since cardio fitness also burns fat. Generally pedalling slower against high resistance expends more energy than pedalling faster against low resistance, though a class tends to include both of these. I have been back Spinning for two months now after a long break, and do feel my legs are more toned though I'm not convinced bigger calves is better than the former cankles I was sporting so proudly before.

Because it offers both cardio and resistance, Spinning is a nice complete workout - throw in some press-ups and some ab work at home, and you have a nice little exercise routine. I combine these things with hours of walking through the streets of Mexico City on a daily basis, and get the same workout I used to get from hitting the gym every day (but driving to work) in the UK.


A TYPICAL CLASS

Different teachers and different gyms take different approaches to the activity, but they all have some common features.

Usually there are rows of bikes facing the front, and one instructor's bike facing back towards them, so you can see what the instructor is doing. Some trainers spend the whole class on the bike while others walk around "motivating" the cyclists from time to time. In my current gym we seem to have a rather 'special' member who likes to sit on the instructor's bike, and so the instructors have to either take a seat on a regular bike or spend the class standing rather than cycling.

Spinning classes are set to music, which is usually high-power, high volume tracks. These depend on the instructor and to some extent the country, but regular artists include everyone from Rihanna to Right Said Fred. In Australia, Voo Doo Child was the song of choice, and featured in every class we took.

A class lasts 45 mins - 60 mins, and during that time the instructor leads the class through a "choreographed" cycle. This includes:

* A warm up where you start to cycle while stretching out your arms, your shoulders and your back, ready to spend an hour hunched over a bike.

* Changing the resistance using the dial in the centre of the bike.

* Changing the hand positions - there are 3 of these which include top of the handlebars, bottom of the handlebars and in the middle, hands close together.

* Sitting or standing to cycle, and while standing, leaning forward, standing tall or bending over with your arse in the air.

* "Dancing" on the bike as my instructor likes to call it - you move from side to side, cycle with one arm behind your back (rapidly changing from right to left) and generally boogie in time with the music for a few tracks.

* A cool down where you stretch on the bike, and then dismount to do some leg and
hip stretches.

Each of the positions works your muscles in slightly different ways. It's important to have proper form while standing and a good instructor will check people are ok and correct them if needed. The handlebars are for stability and support, but should not take your weight. I've had many people say to me that they find Spinning fine until it's time to stand up...and then they collapse. I have had the opposite experience - I struggle with a high resistance when sitting but can stand up and 'jog' for ages. I think it's because it's a more similar movement to a cross trainer (my equipment of choice for the last year) and because, well, you do have gravity on your side.

The teachers here also like to concentrate on core stability, so at times we have to cycle without holding on, hands on heads and stomachs pulled in tight, and at other times we are only allowed to rest our fingertips on the handlebars for balance. This is quite fun since most people (me included) are useless at this, and one of our instructors in particular likes to make a contest out of who can balance for the largest number of cycles.

Some teachers like to pretend it's an outdoor cycle, and try to simulate hill climbs and descents, sprints and interval training. Others just change the routine with each CD track, going fast or slow to match the music. I have heard of gyms where they project images onto the wall as if you're in some kind of cheapo holodeck set-up, so you can pretend you're literally cycling though the countryside, but somehow I always imagined the smell of sweat and the pumping music might detract from this.

Theoretically, the instructors will offer "enthusiastic coaching" throughout the class. In reality this ranges from making you sing along to the songs to whatever the particular shout of choice for the country is: in Australia they favoured "Come on...Come on" whereas here they like a simple "¡Venga, Venga!" If you Spin in your country, I'd be interested to know what you have yelled at you every class...

Some teachers yell out numbers throughout the class, for how hard you should be working on a scale of 1-to-10, or 1-to-20. This is a perceived rate of excerption (though some people use heart-rate monitors to help them with this). Others just tell you to go easy, medium or maximum. Spinning is a non-competitive activity. You cannot tell from looking at someone's bike what they have set their resistance too, and therefore how hard they are working. You can tell how fast they're going, but that's about it. I like this, but it also annoys me a little that I cannot tell what resistance I am at, which I would like so I can work on increasing this over time as my fitness increases. You can take a break at any time during the class by sitting down and lowering your resistance and speed. Instructors build in group breaks too, between every track for some, or every two or three tracks for others, when you're encouraged to sit back down, sip some water and breathe deeply for a recovery period before you start again. I try to hold out for these breaks since it pushes me harder, but every so often you need to slow down the speed or reduce the resistance to a level that suits you for half a track or so.


ISSUES / PROBLEMS

* If you don't adjust your bike properly you can strain your back as you lean on the handlebars.

* If you're not used to cycling, then the day after you might be walking like a cowboy thanks to all the saddle time. Although, it does allow you to update your Facebook status to something smutty along the lines of "Zoë can barely walk after last night's activity"

* For the first few weeks I had a permanently bruised knee because I kept bashing it on the knob you use to adjust the height of the handlebars, which is located (on our bikes) to the right of the stand. Whenever we had to stand up I would whack it hard once before I remembered it was there.

* Most Spin studios have at least one wall lined with mirrors. If you have a large bum and sit with your back to these mirrors so you don't have to look at yourself, be aware that by doing this you're angling yourself so as to make the rest of us see how the saddle completely disappears under your, ahem, voluptuous backside.

* If you choose to wear light coloured trackie bottoms (think grey, or baby blue) you WILL get dubious sweat patches on your bum, and look like a twit if you then head home to change rather than showering at the gym. I find that Primark's £2 range in black solves this problem.

* Because most gyms offer open classes, you may be with people who can go harder, go faster, go for longer than you when you start. My motto is "Go Hard or Go Home" but that's for me compared to myself, not to the other members of the group. If you get hooked on the speed and the number of knob-turns those in the matching outfits with monographed saddle covers are managing, you will feel very disheartened very quickly. To distract yourself, see if you have a large bum in the room (see above) and smirk at that instead.

* I have never had a Spin injury. On the contrary, I have a newly sprained ankle (I fell...off a curb...while wearing flat shoes, but I SWEAR if you saw the state of the streets in Mexico City you'd only be surprised it took me this long) and I have been taking it Spinning this week, which it quite liked. The exercise is quite good because it holds your foot still in one position, so you've less chance of jarring it as you might with aerobics or boxing.


SPINNING IN SPANISH

When I moved to Mexico I could have heated debates in Spanish about the environment or immigration (the A/S topics we studied) but barely knew the parts of the body. Spinning in another language is not that hard though, and the instructors tend to instinctively mime along with their instructions, showing you when you need to be up, down, forward or back, and when to circle your shoulders or stretch out you back. The only real difference between Spin here and the rest of the world is that sometimes after class and after stretching, one instructor in particular will slap on some salsa music and have us dancing in the adjoining studio to shake up bodies that have been hunched over a bike for the last hour. Since Spinning is one of the few classes in a gym that attracts a good number of men, this is a fun, social way to end class, though I can't imagine it happening in sunny Manchester any time soon.


VERDICT

I have a low boredom threshold when it comes to exercise but give me a magazine or a book, or, at a push, MTV, and I can stay on that cross trainer for over an hour. I don't cycle much when I go to the normal gym but I do love Spinning, and it's definitely the music (and the instructors, and the, ahem, 'special' people) that keep me interested. I can do 3 or 4 Spin classes a week and still not be bored of it. Spinning is great because you don't need the coordination you would need for, say, an aerobics class, because there are only 2 moves really (and one of those is sitting down), but it still gives you a good cardio workout. It's a fun activity and the group atmosphere is motivating, especially since the same people seem to come back again and again. It's like one happy little Spinning family, and I think everyone should give it a try.

Summary: Great, fun group classes that get you fit