Alison’s Fitness & Wellness Corner – Indoor Cycling
Alison’s Fitness & Wellness Corner – Indoor Cycling
Ready To Give Indoor Cycling A Spin?
The Spinning indoor cycling program was developed by South African endurance bicycle racer Johnny Goldberg (known as Johnny G) in the mid-1980s after he was struck by a car while training for a race at night.
Indoor cycling, often also called spinning, as an organised sport, is a form of exercise with classes focusing on endurance, strength, intervals, high intensity, and recovery, and involves using a special stationary exercise bicycle with a weighted flywheel in a classroom setting.
If you’re ready to give indoor cycling a spin, prepare to drip with sweat and get your heart rate really pumping.
Indoor cycling classes help you burn calories, improve your heart health, and boost your muscle endurance. Your legs will get a serious workout, and by the end of class, you’ll have a steady stream of feel-good brain chemicals called endorphins, which leave you wanting to come back for more.
Many gyms offer indoor cycling classes. However, from my experience, the level of instructor competence is questionable in some establishments. What is horrifying, is to see some instructors remove the bike seat, this without question, is NOT how a professional spin class works.
Plan to do 3-5 classes a week for best results. Or add 1-2 classes a week into your workout routine. Classes usually last about 45-60 minutes. 45 minutes being sufficient for a well-rounded class.
An instructor will lead the class through different types of cycling, like uphill climbs, bursts of speed, and short recovery periods with easy pedaling. Sometimes you’ll get off the saddle and pedal in a standing position.
There’s a bike for each person in the class. They usually face the same direction, either toward the instructor or a mirror, and the instructor chooses music to go along with each phase of the class. They may play an upbeat song as you pedal as fast as you can. Then they may play a slower tune while you catch your breath and pedal slowly. You may bike with a lot of resistance, to mimic riding up a major hill, with a song to match the mood.
Some instructors use imagery to keep you going. You’ll imagine yourself pedaling fast on a highway, or steadily up a green mountain. It’s a great way to keep boredom at bay.
Expect to burn between 350 plus calories in a 45-minute class, although this will depend on how hard you’re working within the class. Burning more calories than you consume is the key to weight loss.
Indoor cycling is a low-impact way to get a high-intensity cardio workout. In addition to a heart-pumping cardio workout, cycling works your lower body, especially your legs and butt. Your core will also benefit, once you engage it, with paying attention to proper posture whilst on the bike.
You can safely Indoor cycle every day and it is ideal for people with joint problems, (only if proper positioning on the bike is safely set up).
It also has a place in the training repertoire of even the most dedicated outdoor cyclists and triathletes, and not only by offering respite from bad weather but by practicing in a standstill setting, it offers a chance to build turnover speed, leg strength, and hill-climbing technique.
Summarising the benefits:
1. Burns more calories faster
2. Improves heart and lung health/ function
3. Builds strength in the legs
4. Improve posture and core
5. Boosts mental health
6. Increases your maximum oxygen intake.
7. Low impact form of exercise with high impact benefits
8. Good for strengthening knees (if positioned properly)
Alison Ngethe
Founder/Owner ~ Body by Alison Caroline and Alison Caroline Institute