peterws

OK. I do this Las Mills stuff, regularly; it seems to suit my old legs quite well at the moment. But; particularly during a "sprint" class, one has to propel those pedals at a great rate of knots. Standing up, out of the saddle, like a Tour de France end-of stage.
It's brutal. The idea is that you load the pedals so the handlebars don't support your weight; you pull and push on them.
This seems fine when powering up supposed gradients slowly, heavily. Love it; it's what I do on the road.
You can keep up to the beat, perhaps around 60 rpm or so, can't be sure since I don't know too much about this stuff.
But twice as fast? OK if I support myself using the bars, otherwise I mortgage the boiler in a very short time . . . . run out of steam and stuff. The mostly women seem to have no problems. They not all spring chickens either. . . . .
The instructress has rumbled me, I'm afraid. I'm a sham. I hang my head in manly shame. Back row of the studio from now on . . .where the light of day never reaches, where the non-performers can perfect the art of having fun . . . .
Any sensible suggestions, guys, girls . . . .

masi61

peterws

Thank you. Awesome Ann is the one to ask; she's an instructor par excellence, and a physio too. Goes like a train . . .damn, me and my big mouth . . .

tony2v

https://www.lesmills.com/us/workouts...e=0&classes=sp

Harumph

As a indoor cycling instructor for 20 years I'm not a big fan of Les Mills RPM, mostly because I cannot stand the music and I don't like the idea of having a class choreographed for me. I've been certified through Cyclistics, Keiser, Johnny G Spinning, and Les Mills. None of these companies pushed spinning at a high cadence while standing, especially at light resistance because of the potential of damage to the knees. I can't imagine spinning a cadence of 120 rpm while standing, it's hard enough to do in the saddle.

Just do what you're comfortable with and don't worry about what the instructor thinks. She/he is there to teach a fitness class, mostly to those who are non bike riders. Do what you do when riding a real bike and forget the push-ups and all that other razzle dazzle stuff they try to get you to do.

Climb, grind, and sprint on my friend.....

Carbonfiberboy 

Exactly. Another thing to think about is that spin bikes are all fixies with big flywheels. So they teach you to spin with the artificial assistance of the flywheel. For example, try doing one-legged work on the spin bike. Totally easy, right? But try that on your trainer while keeping a taut chain all the way around the circle. Whole different deal. That creates the problem of being used to sloppy pedaling on the spin bike. Changes the programming in your spinal ganglia. Anyway, as above, try to ride it like your road bike.

fietsbob

old times it was the Schwinn Airdyne in the gyms

Machka 

First of all, it's called Les Mills.

Secondly, the bikes are fixed gear ... let the bike do the work for you. When you push down with one foot, it will bring the other one up, so push down with that foot. Use your body weight.

Third, 60 rpm is pretty slow. Are you just doing that when you stand or when you sit too?

jpescatore

I've been doing spin classes for 15 years, to augment road biking. Most of the people in the classes, including many of the instructors, don't do any outside biking at all. Things like standing and pedaling at high rpm, or the "stand for 10 revolutions/sit for 10/stand again/etc." type moves aren't anything I do when biking on the road, so in spin classes I just ignore those. Standing I'll do 70 rpm max.

The good spin instructors always say "Ride your own ride, you don't have to follow my lead if you don't want to do any particular moves." There is one local gym that has what they call "RPM" spin classes and I didn't like them - the instructors were more rigid about the high RPM stuff. I asked my favorite spin instructor about them (she and her husband do a lot of road biking) and she was not a fan,either.

Maelochs

I used to do four classes a week. I had to stop for scheduling purposes ... but as i was leaving, the last couple months, the RPM classes started taking over.

The music Sux. It is terrible. I am sure drunk, drugged-up Euro-disco folks love it ... I guess, but as far as music goes, it is chosen by beats per minute, and is otherwise horrible noise (IMO.) I don;'t know anyone who likes it.

The exercise routines are also ... industrially manufactured. But .... i never went to class to equal others. I went to get in that type of workout---I found that it was easier to put in high intensity in a controlled environment for an hour, that to try to ride that hard on the road. Basically there is no time on the road where it is safe to put my head down and work until I am ragged or shaky ... too many variables. In a spin class i could go as hard as I wanted, I could slow or stop when I needed ... and if people didn't like what I did, helical fastener them ... I was paying their salaries. The were Employees. If they didn't like what i did in class, so long as I wasn't disturbing others .. They could quit. I was paying to be there and to do what I wanted to do there.

If you like doing spin classes and can otherwise tolerate the RPM program ... well, great. Go at your own pace. if the instructor doesn't like that, tell him/her, "Too bad." (Not in a confrontational away but still ... ) They are there to enhance Your experience---you are not there to enhance theirs.

Or .... fake a heart attack. If, after a few exchanges, the instructor demands that you ride to the beat regardless, fall off the bike, grab your chest, and wheeze a lot. That'll wake people up in a hurry.

But if it is all you, if it is all your interior monologue telling you you have to compete with the other riders .... Well, that is all you.

peterws

I'm doing the RPM tonight. I thought it was half an hour, like the Sprint, but is 45 mins.
The last 15 kills ya! It helps enormously if you turn up 10 minutes late.
Don't mind the music so much, but before Les Mills, the instructor would just play her own favourite 80's and 90's rock; it doesn't come better than that.
I like it also because there are always others there, who like a natter. And, yes. I do support my weight somewhat when spinning fast, standing up; couldn't do it otherwise, the load'd be too heavy. I suspect as far as the others are concerned, things aren't much different, they wobble like they're underloaded. The women are mainly very fast.
Yesterday was Trip day. And it was mainly heavy uphill stuff, which I loved. I can tell if I done a decent workout from the temperature of the front (only) wheel. It was good and hot. These things need wiring up to the National Grid . . . .
And when I venture out-doors on my trusty steed, I find they've improved the road over my favourite hilly course.
Life is good!

peterws

That (60rpm) would be a slow heavy slog, either sat or standing, which I'm happy with. But out of the saddle, I'd prefer to push with one foot and pull with the other, to a degree, to share the load; seems to work for me on the road too. Different rules apply when things are faster, stood up, and to a degree on the gym bike. Too, I suspect different rules apply to those one might label "elderly" . . . . .but it is such fun, and I manage to keep up most of the time.

Maelochs

You do need to use different techniques because .. you are Not riding a bike. it is a motion Similar to riding a bike, which uses many of the same physiological systems in similar ways ... but it sure isn't cycling.

But ... I am sure no two people ride a bicycle in just the same way either. One must adapt to one's abilities and one's situation.

I kind of wish i could afford to go to some more classes ... but the membership fee and the class schedule mean I would be paying huge sums per minute of exercise at way to large intervals.

And I wouldn't put up with that horrible "music."

peterws

The over 60s at my Council run gym (had ££££s spent on it, to flatten the local opposition) get a great rate, works out at £22/month. All such courses are free. So many older people are here; they, usually, being retired, spend the best part of the day doing classes and the benefits are clearly visible. I spend nothing like that time, but I'm in there 6 days a week for just over 1.5 hours each time total. Well worth it for me.

Maelochs

Four tiems a week was plenty for mr ... i need recovery days and longer-ride days, right? But with my current schedule and the limited offering at the gym ... it is not overpriced, and it is well within my budget, but still not worth it if i can only make it three times a month.

sch

Only one experience with spin class, at local Y perhaps 2005, on flywheel type bikes with a screw type loader on the flywheel to provide resistance
over and above the energy needed to drive the flywheel. Putting a load on means the flywheel warms up during the class and increases the rider work
load. Class lasted perhaps 45 minutes or so.
Cadences were varied at the direction of the instructor but don't recall standing, we may have. At any rate at the end of the class I walked
around checking the temperatures of the fly wheels around the room. Mine was perhaps 20° F above room temp, my inviting friend who asked me
to the class had a flywheel that was notably hotter than mine, but the vast majority in the room, including the instructors were room temp, ie no resistance added.

I understand high end sport places now have computerized spinners that automatically up and down the resistance electrically so spin classes can
be a different experience from the low tech version I saw. It was interesting that most were content to just spin the fly wheel with no added work load.

woodcraft

I do that sometimes- check the flywheel temp. Newer bikes have magnets that lower down over the flywheel without touching, but it still heats up.

Many folks in the class never work up a sweat, but that's a good thing- you can work as hard as you want.

peterws

Our bikes are magnetic but i suspect, have seen better days. The saddles point downwards, the maintenance is non existent and the wheel sure gets hot! I dunno how anybody could pedal on the hoof without load.
best measurement of effort would be the sweat . . . .

Machka 

These are the spin bikes in our gym ...

https://lifefitness.com/facility/pro...cg-series/ic7#

peterws

One might conceivably adapt that to the open road . . . .

bruce19

I did spin classes for several years. I stopped about 2 years ago. I have found that many of the "instructors" are fitness trainers who have become spin instructors because it became a new "in" thing. Most of them don't ride bikes except in a gym. And, almost none actually raced or know anything about cycling as a sport. I have a few ex-racer type cyclists who actually build their classes around training strategies and techniques. So, my goal is always to find the right instructor first.

Maelochs

Spinning is no more cycling than using an eliptical is cross-country skiing. They are exercise modes that resemble one another but are not otherwise related.

One could design a spinning class to mimic a cycling experience ... but i have yet to ride a road bike with a flywheel, not have I ever ridden a bike where the wind was not the greatest obstacle---except a spin bike.. There is only a certain amount of overlap. They use mostly the same muscles, and a plus with a spin bike is that the rider doesn't need to balance (much), nor be aware of road conditions, nor watch for cars---you can put your head down and hammer when you want to.

Until the Les Mills not-music program took over at the local gym I really enjoyed spinning. Some classes more than others though .... as @bruce19 notes, instructors vary and some will really suit you and others, not at all.

The big benefits were the ability to work as hard as i liked and not having to worry about getting back home if I got exhausted, the ability to adjust the load to however I felt each day, and the externally imposed discipline of someone else's riding program.

Sure, I could slow down or stop whenever I wanted, but it is like riding with a partner or a group on the road---you can find a little more and make a little more effort sometimes when there is a carrot dangling in front of you, but if you are both the carrot and the stick, it is easier to slack off.

gif4445

I've only participated in spinning classes at the local YMCA for the last few years. Initially, we had instances where the RPM's would hit 150-160. Maybe we were doing the Les Mills stuff. I don't know. It didn't take too long for me to figure out that pace wasn't too smart for me. Eventually, that fad or whatever went away. Currently, most rides top off at 110. For what it's worth, I credit spin class with helping me turn a corner in cycling. The use of intervals and such have really helped me in the off-season (Mid-West winters), along with some gym work on the core and flexibility.. I rarely attend spin classes when the weather is suitable for real cycling. This past year, I actually have felt stronger in March, than in September. Probably as a result of just riding and not spending as much time on the previously mentioned stuff. And yes, most of the class members and instructors are not cyclists. We hit a rainy spell in August, so I joined in my first class since April. The instructor asked me where I had been. I looked at here with a little humorous contempt and simple responded with, "Outside?"

peterws

I told my spin instructor a few weeks ago that I'd been on a real bike the day before, over Kirkstone pass. Turned out she was a bike addict like myself. Just not too fussed as to what form that takes . . . .
Interesting thing was, last time I did that run was a good two, maybe three years ago. I had to get off for the last steep climb leading to the pub at the junction, and consequently thought those gays were behind me. I'd be 67 or so then.
I found out they weren't! Marvellous! Down to spinning? I personally think so. Less time, but greater output, and loads of sweat! And I ride my bike differently. . . . "One two one two one two. . . faster, you old bugger . . . ."

Garfield Cat

So, who DOES pick the music?

Don't the paying customers have any say in the matter?