Is spinning good for weight loss?

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NotSoPerfectPam
NotSoPerfectPam Posts: 114 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just went to my second spinning class, and I really like it. BUT, i've seen several websites and "stories" that spinning isn't good for weight loss. Any success stories or results that anyone can share??
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  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    The key to weight loss is calorie deficit, plain and simple -- you can always eat back far more than you can exercise off.

    Spinning can be a good cardio workout, so it's good for your health, and the lower-body work helps limit waist-down muscle wastage. Doesn't help much with upper-body muscle sparing, 'tho. If you like it, roll with it.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Weight loss is primarily about diet. Get your intake dialed in and you'll be set.

    Calorie deficit for weight loss... exercise (including spinning) for body composition, fitness, strength, health, mood, etc.


    But to your question directly, spinning (or any kind of exercise) is won't HINDER weight loss.
  • NotSoPerfectPam
    NotSoPerfectPam Posts: 114 Member
    edited January 2015
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    here's one of the stories: http://www.today.com/health/your-spin-class-addiction-may-be-reason-youre-gaining-weight-2D11899301

    Looks as though the claim was made based on people who spin every day.I don't want to do that, but am interested in spinning related weight loss success stories.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    edited January 2015
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    NotSoPerfectPam wrote: »
    here's one of the stories: http://www.today.com/health/your-spin-class-addiction-may-be-reason-youre-gaining-weight-2D11899301

    Cliff notes: spinning builds muscles in flabby thighs. This is a good thing! And, as the article points out, dieting without keeping the muscles active will cause muscle wastage This is a bad thing!

    If you're focused on the scale instead of your health and you're out of shape, any exercise is going to cause some temporary weight gain while you add some muscle. If that's a problem, then throw away the bloody scale, and focus on NSVs, like how you feel, how your clothes fit, your waist and hip measurements, or something else useful.

    As for success stories, I lost 60 pounds over the last year. Half of that was during the summer, when I mountain bike probably five days week (not spinning, but same effect on the quads). I still lost weight just fine.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
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    The woman who spins next to me has an artificial knee and can't do most exercises so she spins 5 or 6 days a week and says it's the best to get your heart rate up without the damage that running can cause. Swimming is good exercise too but it's not as easy to find a pool as a Spin class.
  • NotSoPerfectPam
    NotSoPerfectPam Posts: 114 Member
    edited January 2015
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    hill8570 wrote: »
    Cliff notes: spinning builds muscles in flabby thighs. This is a good thing! And, as the article points out, dieting without keeping the muscles active will cause muscle wastage This is a bad thing!

    hmm, I certainly don't need to gain muscles on my thighs or quads. they are already big because of hereditary and lots of biking in my youth
  • astrose00
    astrose00 Posts: 754 Member
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    I love my spinning bike. I do HIIT and/or Spinervals on it and really get a good sweat in. I agree it won't hurt your weight loss but CICO is the bottom line.
  • Roxiegirl2008
    Roxiegirl2008 Posts: 756 Member
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    I do spin twice per week and have for a year. I love it. I it has helped with my endurance while not being really hard on my knees on my non running days. I have lost 90lbs since Sept/Oct 2013. Here is my week to give you an idea

    Sunday- Long runs
    Monday- Spin
    Tuesday- short run or yoga
    Wed- weight training (Les Mils Body pump)
    Thursday- trainer (cross fit, HIIT or TRX) with added 45 min spin class
    Friday- med run
    Saturday- trainer (cross fit, HIIT or TRX)

    Like others said thought calories deficit.
  • callmerundmc
    callmerundmc Posts: 2 Member
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    Roxiegirl...do you ever take a rest day?
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,949 Member
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    NotSoPerfectPam wrote: »
    hill8570 wrote: »
    Cliff notes: spinning builds muscles in flabby thighs. This is a good thing! And, as the article points out, dieting without keeping the muscles active will cause muscle wastage This is a bad thing!

    hmm, I certainly don't need to gain muscles on my thighs or quads. they are already big because of hereditary and lots of biking in my youth

    Your thighs will slim down with a calorie deficit, even if you're retaining or even gaining a little muscle. I wouldn't worry about it.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
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    If you enjoy spin, do it.

    Weight loss comes from keeping your diet in check and eating at a deficit. I have done the whole "I'm working out but not losing" bit before. It wasn't because of the workouts, rather it was because I was eating more than I was burning and thus eating in a surplus. You can lose weight without working out, but working out is good for your joints, muscles, heart, and lungs.
  • douglas49461
    douglas49461 Posts: 12 Member
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    Its been a while since I was at a spinning class but an hour of intense cycling was a but kicker and would have to help slimming down, just from the fact that you can eat more in the day due to burning 500 to 750 extra calories.
  • Roxiegirl2008
    Roxiegirl2008 Posts: 756 Member
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    callmerundmc wrote: »
    Roxiegirl...do you ever take a rest day?

    I do every other week take an active rest day which I stretch. It is built in as part of my training plan. I am running a marathon on Jan 25th so after that yes I will be resting a little more. :D
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
    edited January 2015
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    NotSoPerfectPam wrote: »
    I just went to my second spinning class, and I really like it. BUT, i've seen several websites and "stories" that spinning isn't good for weight loss. Any success stories or results that anyone can share??

    Spinning is fantastic exercise...but you can't out-exercise your diet. Weight control is about energy balance...you can spin your *kitten* off, but if you eat too much (i.e. consume too much energy) you aren't going to lose weight.


    Diet for weight control, exercise for fitness.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    I have to say, I think claiming that exercise makes you gain weight because it makes you pig out and not count your calories might be the stupidest claim of all time.
  • Codefox
    Codefox Posts: 308 Member
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    Anyone who writes an article that says any type of exercise may cause weight gain because "an lead to weight gain: It makes you super hungry, and gives you a handy way to justify post-class beers, or fries, or whatever your personal caloric Kryptonite may be" should be fired. I'm so sick of seeing this in articles about weight loss and healthy lifestyles. I've seen the same thing said about running.

    No, exercise does not cause fat build up. Eating food does that. And anyone worried about gaining muscle mass as 'weight gain' is doing it wrong.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    sofaking6 wrote: »
    I have to say, I think claiming that exercise makes you gain weight because it makes you pig out and not count your calories might be the stupidest claim of all time.

    But it does happen, quite a bit. a lot of people training for a marathon tend to gain a little weight. But if you count calories and pay attention to what you are doing then it can help you lose fat.
  • NotSoPerfectPam
    NotSoPerfectPam Posts: 114 Member
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    accd to my heart rate monitor I burned about 600 calories. Not nearly as hungry as I would be had I run/walked that amount of time
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    If exercise, spinning for example, makes you hungry so you eat more then you will gain weight. Weight gain and loss depends primarily on whether you eat more or fewer calories than you burn each day. Increasing your activity (through exercise, for example), increases how many calories you burn but not as many as people tend to guess. They say losing weight is 80% diet and 20% exercise.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    erickirb wrote: »
    sofaking6 wrote: »
    I have to say, I think claiming that exercise makes you gain weight because it makes you pig out and not count your calories might be the stupidest claim of all time.

    But it does happen, quite a bit. a lot of people training for a marathon tend to gain a little weight. But if you count calories and pay attention to what you are doing then it can help you lose fat.

    You gain weight if you eat more than you burn. Period end of story. You do not gain weight because you exercised, no matter how much you exercised it did not cause you to gain weight ever ever ever no matter what.

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