Going to 1st spinning class tonite

I'm fairly new to all of this too.

I started going to a spinning class too once I decided to this this tri thing a go.  I absolutely love it.  Great music, friendly atmosphere, and a seriously intense cardio workout. 

Make sure you get in a little early (10 minutes?) and let the instructor know it's your first time so he/she can get you fitted on the bike before class starts. 

I will say, I read on one of these posts that riding your bike on a trainer is better than the spin class.  Well, that maybe so, but the traininer is EXTREMELY boring, imo.  I'm back going to the Spin Classes on Tues/Thurs evening.

Have fun, and good luck.

I am not a particularly fast biker, and I am not sure the trainer is better than spins class but here are a few spin class tips:

1.  Most require presign up.  make sure you sign up so you don;t get there and not have a bike.  If your gym requires sign up, don't snag a bike.  that is bad form

2.  Get a cheap pair of extra bike shoes with spin compatible clips.  Sneakers in tow clips suck.

3.  Bring a towel and bottle of water.

4.  Most spin instructors know little about biking and their workouts are geared to weightloss, not bike fitness.  Hence you are constantly up and down, doing things you'd never do on a bike.  I usually spend most of the ride in the saddle, occassionally using "hand position 3" (climbing out of the saddle in pursuit position [sort of]) when my butt needs a break or if I am going hard on a "hill".  I ignore "hand position 2" (standing with your hand on what would be the tops) as that has no bike relevance.  I generally do "jumps" and try and keep my HR at high Z2-Z3 as the classes are usually 45-1 hr long.

I personally really like spin classes (as I find it very hard to focus on the trainer).... oh there are some smokin hot spin instructors at my gym (typical guy comment, but true).  Enjoy.

get ready to sweat!!!  yes to the towel and water bottle!

Spinning is great! Prepare to sweat... a lot... bring a towel and a mop (kidding . Water bottle is a must, like everyone else said get there a little early so the instructor can fit you on a bike. Personally I think the toe clips are fine with my running shoes, I cinch mine down tight and they feel just like clip in shoes. Hopefully you get an instructor that yells at everyone to go faster and harder, it's difficult to conjure up that kind of energy when training solo and having people all around you is great motivation.

I go to spin, but also got the trainer to help me with shifting gears and the trainer is harder than spin class. I have my bike and trainer in front of the TV and I am working on every commercial, sprint... it's hard, but I need practice and will definitely practice not using the trainer at all.

The class is fun, though

Thanks guys.
 
Wow, what a work out, it was fun though. I'll definitely go back! I don't have a trainer yet, so its been all road for me so far. Nice change up.

I didn't swim afterward like I thought about doing.... I thought I might drown. lol.

In response to 4, I'm sorry you feel that way.  I just did my first spinning class tonight as well, encouragingly finding that my instructor was very well versed in cycling.

I thought I was going to drown in my own sweat the first time I did spin class.  I seriously underestimated what was going on in that room with all that darkness and loud music.  I love it.

Instructors at my gym are a mixture of people who know cycling and those that do not.  I go to the classes of those that know cycling.  I've picked up lots of great tips and networked with the local biking community in addition to a great cardio workout.  Recently we did a two hour class in the parking lot of the gym, had a DJ, sweated out tons... I loved it.  

Tips to anyone doing their first class, go in hydrated with a water bottle and towel.  Get there a little early so the instructor can get your bike adjusted and go over anything they feel might be useful.  You will figure the rest out.  

I did alot of spinning this off season (3 or 4 times a week) and I think it helped alot for my first year of cycling this season and gave me a good jump start as a complete newbie cyclist thies year.

I find that out of the dozen or so instructors I've done it with across 3 different gyms in my area that 3 or 4 are good and the rest are a mixture of stay at home moms or other people looking to get a free gym membership and stay in shape.  Nothing wrong with that, but the experience is geared towards a different audience then someone who is serious and trying to train for a race.  I've asked them all about road biking and alot of them don't even own road bikes.  That being said, the 3 or 4 good ones have been great and a couple have done full ironmans in the past with decent times so they definitely know what is going on and have given me alot of tips.  You have to find a good instructor or two and just stick with their classes.  Eventually you'll find the classes where you "fit in" more.  There are harder ones and easier ones....

Now that the season is here though, I do mostly solo spinning (if I can't get outside) more to avoid the ridiculous changes in heart rates and hand positions in order to focus on steady output and endurance and get out on the road every possible chance I get because it just isn't the same.

Don't get me wrong, I've been doing spin classes for 10 years now so I certainly like it (I even own a spinner bike and have memorized Jonny G's DVDs).  At my gym one spin instructor is a very serious bike coach.  However, I find that most spin classes are not geared [pun intended] toward bike specific skills, nor should they necessarily be.  Anyhow, don;t feel bad me, I just wanted to make sure the OP knew some of the ups and downs [sorry can't resist] of spin.  All in all I think it is a very good alternative to the trainer for the days you need some human interaction.

I have my own spin bike at home..and like some have said..be prepared to sweat..because that is for sure the truth. but what a rush..i love it..great for those days when you cant go outside to ride..or just a morning cardio pick me up..

I decided to try to join the fun since i do not have a trainer and every evening seems to be filled with black skies and rain.  So, I did the spin class last night and it was fun.  truely a good workout.  I will do this again.....


oh and now I know why everyone has 2 towels.....I think I left a puddle on the floor.

Oops....and I wanted to add that i tend to be shy at 1st.  I was a little nervous walking in since the others have done this before.  However, they were very welcoming and helped me get set up on the bike.  It was a great eperience.

Edited by DolphinGirlMB 2009-06-18 12:42 PM

I took 2 towles to my first spin class, and needed more.  If I don't wear my bike gloves I literally need 5 small towels.  1 over each part of the "handlebars" and then 2 are left over for general mopping of my head.  If I wear the bike gloves, I can get away with the 2 towels total. 

One of the personal trainers always likes to come up to the room when class is done to give out his "person that looks like they just swam in their clothes" award.

We also have some spin instructors that are cyclists, and you can definately tell.  Position 2 is generally just for a quick warm up/cool down, or quick stretch after a long seated climb.  The other instructors love position 2 and spend at least 1/3 of the time there doing sprints.  Good for the cardio, not so helpful for bike skills.

Being a newbie...what's possition 2?  We varied from a seated warmup, to a hill climb off seat, to "jumps" (up and down off the seat), to a few sprints and then a cool down and stretches.  The whole time playing with the tension.  It was definitly a good cardio workout.