Spin classes for serious cyclists

Some people are reluctant to do outdoor cycling workouts because of traffic, wind, changing weather conditions, rough roads, the potential for flat tires, and the cost of a bike and associated gear such as a helmet, pump and cycling shoes.

Those are all valid issues, and — for many people — doing bike workouts indoors as part of a spin class may be the perfect way to get some fun low-impact cardio exercise in a motivating group environment.

The question that often comes up from cyclists who normally ride outdoors on roads or trails is “will indoor spin classes help improve my cycling fitness and skills?”

The answer is probably yes — and maybe no.

Indoor spin classes or workouts on an indoor stationary bike at home are not the same as doing rides outdoors on a road or mountain bike.

If your goal is to train for activities such as cycling tours, races or triathlons, then you need to do a significant percentage of your workouts outdoors on a real bike to develop overall cycling skills.

Conversely, if spin bikes or indoor trainers are used properly, they can be a fun and effective way to supplement the outdoor workouts and will help improve your cycling fitness.

Unlike a road or mountain bike being ridden outdoors, spin bikes are rigid metal frames that don’t move underneath you in response to road or trail conditions, wind and shifts in body position.

You don’t go up and down hills, swerve to miss potholes, practice riding in a group, and — most importantly — you don’t have the same ‘feel’ as on a real bike.

Christina McBride, an experienced triathlete, mountain bike racer, personal trainer and spin class instructor, explained that spin classes work well for intense cardio workouts and also for the easy ‘recovery ride’ days.

“The key is to use perceived exertion or heart rate to ensure that you’re working hard enough to get the desired training effect,” said McBride. “If you simply pedal the bike fast at an easy resistance setting you may log a lot of virtual miles but you won’t be stimulating the body as needed to get significant improvements in real cycling fitness.”

“By setting the spin bike resistance to a level that emulates real outdoor cycling and then using an HR monitor to make sure you are working in the desired HR zone, you can do indoor workouts that will improve overall cycling fitness.”

“Serious cyclists may also want to find a spin class instructor who is also an experienced cyclist, understands HR zone training, and know how to use a spin bike in a manner that emulates outdoor cycling.”

One way to maximize the effectiveness of short 45-60 minute indoor cycling workouts is to do intervals in heart rate zone 3 (tempo), zone 4 (lactate threshold) and zone 5 (VO2 max). If you’re not familiar with heart rate zones, visit cptips.com/hrmntr.htm for a comprehensive explanation.

McBride also suggests using spin classes for the days when you need an easy ‘recovery’ ride following a hard bike workout or running session.

“For the easy days, simply set a very low resistance level, spin the pedals to work the kinks out of sore muscles, and enjoy the camaraderie of the group, “ says McBride. “One great recovery workout is to do an easy spin class followed by a short yoga session.”

Almost all top cyclists (including professional athletes) do some of their workouts indoors on a stationary bike trainer or at times in a spin class. In fact, the spin bike was
developed back in the early 1990s by American cyclist Johnny Goldberg, an endurance cyclist who competed in cross-country and ultramarathon races.

So what’s the bottom line on including spin classes as part of your overall cycling training program?

If done properly, spin classes and related workouts that take place indoors using stationary trainers and videos such as Spinervals (spinervals.com), can help you become a more fit cyclist, but you’ll still need to venture outdoors on a real bike to develop overall cycling skills.

Rremember — spin classes are a good way to supplement your outdoor cycling workouts.

Upcoming Events

May 1: Road bike time trial, angelobike.org
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May 16: Relay for Life, relayforlife.org
May 16: Relay for Life 5K, roadlizards.org
June 7: Run in the Sun 8K, roadlizards.org