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If You Are Just Spinning Your Wheels in Spinning, Add A Race Day
By Christina | September 29, 2009
I have been a group exercise instructor for 25 years and can teach just about any type of fitness class. My lack of hip action and rhythm makes Zumba probably the one exception. Of all of the classes I teach, spinning is right up there with one of my favorites.
To my surprise, the other day I heard a member say that she spins because it is fun, but her body has become so accustomed to it that she might as well be drinking coffee. It has always been my philosophy as a spin instructor that my role is to lead you on as challenging a ride as possible. If you do not leave spinning completely spent and drenched than it is your fault that you did not work hard enough increasing your speed and resistance.
Well, I did a spin ride on my own today that was a real eye opener for me. It was the most intense spin ride I have done in a long time because it was completely different than the typical interval spin ride that you find in group exercise. My quads were on fire. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. Pools of sweat formed under my bike from my dripping body. In other words, this was a spin ride.
I decided just for fun to spin as fast as I could for 20 minutes or until I reached 15 miles, whichever came first. My bike had a flat road resistance of a lower gear, but a gear that felt like I was at the base of a small hill. Put it this way. My goal was to go as fast as I could in as high a gear as I could hold. I knew I was doing something right because I was not in my comfort zone.
An endurance ride of this kind which encompasses speed and distance training is heart rate intensive and challenges the muscles differently. In a typical interval ride where there are a variety of speeds and terrains, your heart rate has time to slow down and your muscles have time to recover. At the end of 20 minutes of my race day ride, I had a newfound respect for Lance Armstrong.
Spinning is like any other type of exercise. If it becomes so routine and predictable than you are not doing your body any favors. Add a race day ride once a week to your spinning repertoire and I will guarantee you that you will fall in love with spinning all over again, in a love/hate kind of way!
Topics: Spinning |
