Spinning results

First of all, I love, love, love spin. Its a great workout for me (hip issues) and you get about a 200 calorie afterburn. The butt soreness will go away the more you spin. I was away from spin for 12 weeks due to a hip labral repair; went back to spin and no soreness. I get great results when I spin 3 days a week and combine that with strength training 3 days per week. You need to do both. I lost a great deal of weight with this combo.

I LOVE spin. Less impact than running (but I love that too) and still a huge calorie burn if you do it right.

Also, ignore what people say about not building muscle on cardio - pump up the resistance on a spin bike and you build quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.

I do it several times a week because I am training for an Ironman that includes a 112 mile bike ride and I do a couple of MS150 charity rides a year, next one is in 3 weeks (biking from Houston to Austin).

You have to KEEP GOING. Your butt hurts now? It's going to hurt way more the next time you go. The 3rd time, it might even hurt worse. There could also (no joke) be some bruising and some odd numbness in lady parts. It goes away. If you keep it up, it goes away. The exercise benefit is amazing for your cardiovascular system, aerobic and anaerobic endurance. The pain is a PAIN, but I promise it goes away.

I used to use my padded cycling shorts in spin class, but quit doing that fairly quickly. You don't need them as long as you keep going and get used to it.

One thing though - make sure you are adjusting the "fit" of your bike correctly. Ask the instructor if it looks ok if you are not sure.

Good luck and have fun!!

Spinning has been good to me, I've lost 17 lbs. and probably a good 5 inches off my waist size between that and strength training.
Now, I like to cook and eat so you could probably do better than I on the weight loss part. :happy:

I love that I can burn like 500-600 calories before 7 a.m.

For your sore bum, if you're going to commit to a couple times a week get a pair of padded bike shorts or a padded liner. I have a pair of Canari padded liner shorts that I just wear under my reg. shorts. I want some cycling Capris but can't really swing them right now.

I don't agree with going without padding.. either in the form of shorts or a really cushy seat cover. I feel immensely better if I wear my padded bike shorts, especially if I spin 3x/week. Even more important for mountain biking.. all those tree roots and rocks to cycle over, I'm not taking my chances! Buy a good pair of bike shorts and you won't be sorry!
I've had these for over 2 years and I love them. No grippers at the bottom to make your legs look like sausages is a HUGE plus:
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSB_3003.html

Thanks! I don't think we have any spinning classes around where I live though. Do the stationary bikes generally have a setting for spinning or do you have to do it during a class.

No, you will need a spin bike, you can try to "simulate" it on a normal stationery bike but it is not the same really. Spin bike feels more like a real road bike, because of the position thus it does not replace it

Have a look at this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFb3lUU3J_0