Spinning/cycling class advice

curiousgemfit
curiousgemfit Posts: 42 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am new on this website and am looking to lose about 30 pounds.
I heard from friends that intense cardio is the fastest way to get there.
So based on that, I just started attending the daily 45 min spinning/cycling class at my gym and am liking it quite a bit.
I have attended 4 continuous days of classes, but today on day-5, i am totally beat.
If any of you experienced spinners(?) can help answer my questions, I shall be very thankful.

1) Is 5 days in a row of spinning a bit too much? (I do intend to rest for the remaining 2 days)
2) Have you invested in a padded seat? (My bottom is sore!)
3) What stretching exercises do you do before and after class?
4) Do you recommend using a heart rate monitor?

Appreciate all the help :)
Thanks so much!

Replies

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Intense cardio is nice, it's fun even. Particularly when you have a partner and it gets all... well, never you mind.

    Best way to lose weight happens in the kitchen, not in the gym. It's really easy to out eat a heavy workout schedule.

    Spinning is pretty awesome, but if you're doing it with any intensity, you probably won't be doing it 5 days in a row. 3 or 4 would be good. Don't forget that at some point, you need rest. Also, intense cardio breaks down muscle, and combined with decreased intake, well... you'll potentially be losing lean mass and fat, instead of mostly fat. So to your questions:

    1. If you are as intense as I am in the classes, yes. Too much.
    2. Padded shorts, and cycling shoes those are musts.
    3. Yoga.
    4. Yes, and I suggest following a strong heart rate zone training regimen when doing spinning.

    Have fun.
  • OnTheGround
    OnTheGround Posts: 78
    dbmata is right.......the way to lose weight is diet. Cardio helps a lot in the beginning though.

    I started my weight loss with spinning and cross training. I did spinning 3 days a week, and cross training 2-3 other days with 1 or 2 rest days a week. You need rest days, and my experience was that more than two days in a row of spinning and I was BEAT!

    1) Is 5 days in a row of spinning a bit too much? (I do intend to rest for the remaining 2 days) - Probably
    2) Have you invested in a padded seat? (My bottom is sore!) - No. You really will get used to it.
    3) What stretching exercises do you do before and after class? - lots of hamstring/quads/glutes stretching
    4) Do you recommend using a heart rate monitor? - good ones are spendy. I honestly wouldn't recommend one unless 1)you get super serious about it 2)you don't see results after a few weeks or 3) you plateau at some point in the future.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
    1) Is 5 days in a row of spinning a bit too much? (I do intend to rest for the remaining 2 days)
    2) Have you invested in a padded seat? (My bottom is sore!)
    3) What stretching exercises do you do before and after class?
    4) Do you recommend using a heart rate monitor?

    1. I think it's too much, especially if you're going all-out and you're not already in excellent shape
    2. You will definitely get used to it and won't be sore anymore (weird I know), but I do wear padded shorts if I haven't been in a while and it helps, and I notice that a lot of people wear them reguarly.
    3. Spinning can make my hips tight so I do lots of hip-opening stretches afterwards. Of course you also want to stretch your quads, hammies, and glutes pretty well too. I wouldn't stretch before class.
    4. It definitely helps a lot to have an HRM, especially if your class is instructed using heart rate zones.

    If you're going to be spinning quite a bit (which it looks like you are!) I definitely recommend investing in some cycling shoes. Confirm what kind of cleats that the bikes at your gym use first. Mine are SPD cleats and they are pretty common but there are some others. I paid $120 for my shoes and cleats at a bike shop and they installed the cleats for me. It makes such a huge difference in class.

    Have fun!
  • curiousgemfit
    curiousgemfit Posts: 42 Member
    Thanks for all the great advice :)
    I do agree that a diet/lifestyle change is the key to losing weight- and I am working towards that.
    Also as suggested, I will try to work in some strength and flexibility routines every other day.
    Seriously, five days straight of spinning is brutal. I don't think this could work out long term.
    Thanks again for chiming in. Appreciate all the good advice :)
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    For item 2)

    I asked about this once myself. People either said padded seat, padded sorts or a towel (though most said it's not much better using a towel). I considered double maxipadding it hahaha.

    But the consensus was that the pain eventually goes away.

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