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Spinning Vs. Bike trainer
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 2009-09-09 7:58 AM |
Master  1440   |  Subject: Spinning Vs. Bike trainerWinter time coming up should I look for a Bike Trainer (Used, cheap or Free) or just keep on doing the Spinning classes at the Local Y? We don't ahve a whole leot of snow fall, but it gets semi cold and I might be able to get out for a road ride once a week. |
| 2009-09-09 8:01 AM in reply to: #2396190 |
| Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Pat BT answer: Spinning is a waste of time. A trainer is better, but not as good as the road. But if you had to choose between the two, pick up a cheap trainer.
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| 2009-09-09 9:35 AM in reply to: #2396190 |
Veteran 294 Papillion, NE | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Why is spinning a waste of time? |
| 2009-09-09 9:39 AM in reply to: #2396201 |
Member 190 Panama City Beach | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer wurkit_gurl - 2009-09-09 8:01 AM Pat BT answer: Spinning is a waste of time. A trainer is better, but not as good as the road. But if you had to choose between the two, pick up a cheap trainer.
Why is spinning a waste of time? I've never done a spin class, so I am curious as to how it is different? It might not be as good for training, but can't be as bad of an experience. I hate the trainer. Thank goodness I live in FL. |
| 2009-09-09 9:40 AM in reply to: #2396190 |
| New user 219 | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer both. I think spinning is fun and a trainer gives me an excuse to keep the bike set up indoors all winter. |
| 2009-09-09 10:02 AM in reply to: #2396190 |
Not a Coach 11473 Media, PA | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Do whatever will keep you riding more. Spinning is not a "waste of time", even though I would always prefer to ride my own bike on my own trainer doing my own workout on my own schedule. I use my trainer year-round. |
| 2009-09-09 10:05 AM in reply to: #2396190 |
569 | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Spinning is NOT a waste of time.... Its was the only option avaliable to me last year. I was fine in the spring... Just change the intensity and do drills.. Hills sprints, etc....I love the spin bike at my gym.. |
| 2009-09-09 10:11 AM in reply to: #2396190 |
Master 1927 Guilford, CT | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer I think spinning is awesome. Do both. They are different. Spinning is great interval work, and helps with power quite a bit in my opinion if you are in a good group on a good bike (some gyms suck). I'll do at least one class a week this winter. Last winter, I was doing 2 or sometimes 3 a week.... The trainer is obviously good too, but I'm less inclined to be hammering hard on my bike while it's on the trainer and like it better just for steady efforts....my opinion. I will be doing both this year... |
| 2009-09-09 10:12 AM in reply to: #2396190 |
Master 1641 Seattle, California | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Spinning is just a lot of high intensity work. Whether it is the best training you can be doing depends at where you are in your race season, your goals. Lots of high intensity every workout over the winter probably isn't the best use of your time. I vote for a trainer over the winter. You don't have the instructor motivating you but you are able to chose the type of workouts you want to do. Not the instructor choosing for you. |
| 2009-09-09 10:14 AM in reply to: #2396524 |
Master 1641 Seattle, California | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Thaitri - 2009-09-09 8:05 AM Spinning is NOT a waste of time.... Its was the only option avaliable to me last year. I was fine in the spring... Just change the intensity and do drills.. Hills sprints, etc....I love the spin bike at my gym.. It's not a waste of time at all. It just isn't always the best use of time if you have access to a trainer and can do different workouts. |
| 2009-09-09 10:15 AM in reply to: #2396553 |
Not a Coach 11473 Media, PA | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Global - 2009-09-09 11:12 AM Lots of high intensity every workout over the winter probably isn't the best use of your time. That's exactly what I use my trainer for. It's the perfect answer for many people in winter when the opportunity to do long endurance rides is much lower. |
| 2009-09-09 10:22 AM in reply to: #2396566 |
Master 1641 Seattle, California | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer JohnnyKay - 2009-09-09 8:15 AM Global - 2009-09-09 11:12 AM Lots of high intensity every workout over the winter probably isn't the best use of your time. That's exactly what I use my trainer for. It's the perfect answer for many people in winter when the opportunity to do long endurance rides is much lower. I don't agree that you should be doing maximal training every single workout for 4 - 6 months. Unless my spin classes are different then other peoples they push you to the absolute maximum multiple times every single class. |
| 2009-09-09 10:23 AM in reply to: #2396566 |
Master 1927 Guilford, CT | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer JohnnyKay - 2009-09-09 10:15 AM Global - 2009-09-09 11:12 AM Lots of high intensity every workout over the winter probably isn't the best use of your time. That's exactly what I use my trainer for. It's the perfect answer for many people in winter when the opportunity to do long endurance rides is much lower. I agree. Even though I used a spin bike last year because I never even owned a bike until late February...the same principle for the most part. I would do a couple of hard 1 hour sessions a week and one or two easier sessions. By the time I went for my first ride, I felt like I already had a decent base to work with and had that extra power in my legs when I needed it... Now that I have a bike, I'll probably only by hammering away on the spin bike once or maybe twice a week as a precursor to swimming because that is where my pool is and the timing is perfect... |
| 2009-09-09 10:24 AM in reply to: #2396584 |
Master 1927 Guilford, CT | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Global - 2009-09-09 10:22 AM JohnnyKay - 2009-09-09 8:15 AM Global - 2009-09-09 11:12 AM Lots of high intensity every workout over the winter probably isn't the best use of your time. That's exactly what I use my trainer for. It's the perfect answer for many people in winter when the opportunity to do long endurance rides is much lower. I don't agree that you should be doing maximal training every single workout for 4 - 6 months. Unless my spin classes are different then other peoples they push you to the absolute maximum multiple times every single class. you're sort of extrapolating from his reply...he never said "every single workout for 4-6 months".... I don't think anyone would argue that point... |
| 2009-09-09 10:39 AM in reply to: #2396190 |
Veteran 294 Papillion, NE | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Excuse me if this has been asked before, but what would you recommend for a first time trainer? I am new to them and don't know/understand how they work. |
| 2009-09-09 10:40 AM in reply to: #2396591 |
Master 1641 Seattle, California | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer acumenjay - 2009-09-09 8:24 AM Global - 2009-09-09 10:22 AM JohnnyKay - 2009-09-09 8:15 AM Global - 2009-09-09 11:12 AM Lots of high intensity every workout over the winter probably isn't the best use of your time. That's exactly what I use my trainer for. It's the perfect answer for many people in winter when the opportunity to do long endurance rides is much lower. I don't agree that you should be doing maximal training every single workout for 4 - 6 months. Unless my spin classes are different then other peoples they push you to the absolute maximum multiple times every single class. you're sort of extrapolating from his reply...he never said "every single workout for 4-6 months".... I don't think anyone would argue that point... I said lots of high intensity every workout isn't good. JonnyKay said that is what he does. Which I assumed means lots of high intensity every workout since it directly references my statement. I say 4 - 6 months because I'm from Canada and winter is at least that long!  |
| 2009-09-09 10:49 AM in reply to: #2396190 |
Master 1927 Guilford, CT | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Ah, ok. Fair enough. So, for me to clarify. I do my own thing on the spin bike and regulate my own intensity on certain days and don't go all out every time. That is a good point to make. Some instructors will have your heart rate at 190 and you'll be on the verge of puking if they had it their way....Don't want to mislead and say, yes do spinning 3 times a week for an hour and trash your legs! Dude, 6 months! That is brutal. New England is bad sometimes, but not that bad! I'd still move there though...beautiful there... |
| 2009-09-09 10:56 AM in reply to: #2396682 |
Master 1641 Seattle, California | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer acumenjay - 2009-09-09 8:49 AM Dude, 6 months! That is brutal. New England is bad sometimes, but not that bad! I'd still move there though...beautiful there... Well I'm in Victoria now and we don't really get cold winters. 4 - 5 months of rain though  I used to live in the prairies though and snow came sometime in October and left in April. I moved away as soon as I could! |
| 2009-09-09 11:05 AM in reply to: #2396201 |
Coach 10487 Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer wurkit_gurl - 2009-09-09 8:01 AM Pat BT answer: Spinning is a waste of time. A trainer is better, but not as good as the road. But if you had to choose between the two, pick up a cheap trainer.
I never hear that spinning is a waste of time, odd perception for sure... to the OP - any training is better than no training but specific training is better than any training. IOW riding your bike will always be the better option, riding the trainer or rollers are the 2nd best choice with spinning very close. Of course for spinning it will depend on the type of class and also how you set up your spin bike. It will be helpful if you can try to roughly match your bike fit into the spin bike at least saddle height. The stationary bikes at the gym will definitely will be at the bottom of choices for training but again, if that's your only choice any trainig is better than no training. Also, look for the Winter Cyling Program I will update and offer to all BTers sometime around Nov/Dec 09. Good luck! |
| 2009-09-09 11:08 AM in reply to: #2396553 |
Coach 10487 Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Global - 2009-09-09 10:12 AM Spinning is just a lot of high intensity work. Whether it is the best training you can be doing depends at where you are in your race season, your goals. Lots of high intensity every workout over the winter probably isn't the best use of your time. I disagree; in fact I would say doing interval training at threshold, VO2 max and tempo power are among the best things athletes can do during the winter when riding long is limited. Improving your Maximum Lactate Steady State is among the most important adaptations endurance athletes can do year around.I vote for a trainer over the winter. You don't have the instructor motivating you but you are able to chose the type of workouts you want to do. Not the instructor choosing for you. |
| 2009-09-09 11:32 AM in reply to: #2396190 |
Master 1411 Lexington, KY | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer If you can swing it, both. Trainer is more specific and convenient, but I like to occassionally substitute a spin class to break up the monotony. And as far as intensity, I am usually able to sustain a higher effort level in the spin class than I can at home on my own. |
| 2009-09-09 11:47 AM in reply to: #2396584 |
Not a Coach 11473 Media, PA | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Global - 2009-09-09 11:22 AM JohnnyKay - 2009-09-09 8:15 AM Global - 2009-09-09 11:12 AM Lots of high intensity every workout over the winter probably isn't the best use of your time. That's exactly what I use my trainer for. It's the perfect answer for many people in winter when the opportunity to do long endurance rides is much lower. I don't agree that you should be doing maximal training every single workout for 4 - 6 months. Unless my spin classes are different then other peoples they push you to the absolute maximum multiple times every single class. Well, you'd need to define "maximal". In the winter, I am 'typically' on my bike perhaps 3x per week. I do most of that in the form of intervals at relatively high intensity. If you're only going to ride 3-4 hours/week, you might as well work. |
| 2009-09-09 12:37 PM in reply to: #2396729 |
Master 1641 Seattle, California | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer JorgeM - 2009-09-09 9:08 AM I would say doing interval training at threshold, VO2 max and tempo power are among the best things athletes can do during the winter when riding long is limited. Improving your Maximum Lactate Steady State is among the most important adaptations endurance athletes can do year around. I don't disagree with that. But spin classes are not threshold and tempo workouts (at least no spin class I have ever been to). They are essentially push until you are ready to die, take a short rest, push until you are ready to die, short rest. I can't buy into that being the best use of your time for every workout for months on end. |
| 2009-09-09 12:39 PM in reply to: #2396729 |
Expert 1123 Falls Church, VA | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer JorgeM - 2009-09-09 12:08 PM Global - 2009-09-09 10:12 AM Spinning is just a lot of high intensity work. Whether it is the best training you can be doing depends at where you are in your race season, your goals. Lots of high intensity every workout over the winter probably isn't the best use of your time. I disagree; in fact I would say doing interval training at threshold, VO2 max and tempo power are among the best things athletes can do during the winter when riding long is limited. Improving your Maximum Lactate Steady State is among the most important adaptations endurance athletes can do year around.I vote for a trainer over the winter. You don't have the instructor motivating you but you are able to chose the type of workouts you want to do. Not the instructor choosing for you. Have you heard that intervals only produce consistent results for about 4 weeks, then adaptions plateau. This seems to be pretty consistent among studies (unless you've seen otherwise), and confirms the old notion that you should only be doing those sort of workouts to peak for particular races. I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of this though so if you've got any info that is contrary to what I posted I'm all ears (or eyes in this case). |
| 2009-09-09 12:41 PM in reply to: #2396190 |
Cycling Guru 15134 Fulton, MD | Subject: RE: Spinning Vs. Bike trainer Fine line here. What Jorge is talking about is improving what everyone refers to as their LT (more accurately their pace at LT). He is not talking about specific work to improve just VO2 max, which is the short lived gains that you are talking about. |
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