Fitness: Sample Spin Class

Intimidated by going to a group fitness centered spin class?  Understandable.  I remember when I began group fitness I felt embarrassed to go to exercise classes.  It was hard to get out of my own head and realize that no one was watching or judging me.  I felt out of shape compared to the regulars and had a hard time getting past that feeling of discomfort.  Fortunately, after attending a few, I realized what group fit was all about.  It is a sense of community and motivation, not embarrassment and insecurity.  We all come for the same thing when we attend group fit, and it is important to remember this.

That being said, it can be hard to get into the groove of group fit if you do not feel prepared, especially in cycling courses.  It can also be tough when you have a busy schedule; a lot of gyms only offer cycling at certain times of the day that do not fit in with certain schedules.  Other times, I find working out on my own and being in the zone suits my mood better certain days. I think that it can be centering to take time for oneself and work out in your own terms.  It can separate you from the stresses of the day, and allow you to tune out.

It can be difficult to know what to do if you are new to exercising or are very reliant on the direction of your group fit instructors.  For those who are looking to construct their own workouts, for whatever reason, here is a sample spin class of mine.  I wrote it out specifically for someone who sought me out to spin on their own because they were unable to attend a class themselves due to their schedule but wanted to get back in shape.  They also wanted to practice doing these exercises on their own before attending a class, which is completely understandable.

As my readers may know, I am a certified Spinning Instructor, and I use my experience as an instructor combined with the guidance of my Spinning certification to create these classes.  This is not how I conduct every class, but it is one of the ones I have used in the past with success; I hope you get a great workout out of it!

If there is any confusion in terms of format or how a certain exercise is done, comment below.  I can also instruct you as to how to do certain exercises on machines other than a bike.

Of note:
I work on a scale of 1 to 10 of perceived exertion, in terms of what gear you have on the bike.  The gear is the amount of weight or resistance you put on your flywheel.  1 is little gear while 10 is the most gear you can handle on the flywheel without completely stopping your pedalstroke.
Each number refers to a song from 3-4 minutes long.  This workout is probably about 45 minutes in length with those criteria.

1.     warm up

light gear at level 2 or 3, build on your own time to a level 4 or 5 gear by the time you reach the end of the song

2.     light intervals

Level 5

45 seconds in the saddle normal cadence (speed), switch to out of the saddle and increase cadence for 30 seconds, repeat until end of song (you probably will go through 3 rounds of this)

3.     climbing a hill – in the saddle

start at level 5, pedal for 30 seconds then increase cadence for 10 or 15 seconds/ go up to L6, pedal for 30, increase for 10-15/ L7….

Do this until you get to level 10.  You can do the increases in or out of the saddle, whatever feels most comfortable to you.

4.     Hill Climb

Here, you give yourself a 30 second period to build from resistance level 5 until level 10.  You can add this gear gradually or all at once.  Once you get to ten, take it out of the saddle and increase your speed (or cadence) for 10 seconds.  Repeat throughout song. 

Extra challenge: stay at level 10 the whole time

5-8.  Intervals

During my classes, I stick a big block of intervals (all different, I’m going to give you the 1^st type of block that I created to start) to reach our anaerobic threshold (max heart rate).  This is the peak of our workout.  I would work with a moderate gear (L5 or 6) but pick whatever is most comfortable yet still challenging for you.  You can always modify the gear later if you put on too much or too little –your workout your decision!

30 seconds on (30 seconds of increasing your speed), 30 seconds off (rest)

45 on, 45 off

60 on, 60 off,

90 on, 90 off

60 on, 60 off

45 on, 45 off

30 on, 30 off

60 on, 60 off (to the finish line!)

You will probably finish these intervals before the last track I listed in the block.  Use this time to rest and recover.   You may make this an active recovery by adding gear gradually (i.e. started at L5, go up a level every 30-45 seconds until you get to 10)

9. Hill Sprint

Stay at L10. 

A sprint is different than an acceleration or speed/cadence increase.  You go full speed/as fast as you can at a sprint whereas an acceleration is just a speed increase.

Pedal out of the saddle for 30 seconds, drop to L7, drop saddle, and sprint for 15.

Back to L 10 for 30 sec, drop to L6, drop saddle, sprint for 15 sec.

Back to L10 for 30 sec, drop to L 7, drop saddle, sprint for 15.

Final: back to L10, drop to L5, drop saddle, sprint for 30 seconds.

10.  Interval (Gradual)

This is the only time I will ask you to look at your RPM scale.  Basically, you work with a L5 or 6 gear, whatever is comfortable.  You have 60 seconds to increase your speed gradually into a sprint.

Every 15 seconds, increase your speed by about 10 RPM.  Once you get to the last 15 second period in the minute, you will be at sprinting speed.

Repeat until the end of the song.

11. Mini Interval work

L5 or 6

20 sec on, 20 off, 30 sec on, 30 sec off, 60 sec on, 60 sec off , (if there is extra time 30 on 30 off)

12. cool down

Just pedal at normal cadence

Go down a resistance level every 45-60 seconds

You will feel your heart rate go down, at a gradual rate which is what we want

Don’t forget to rehydrate and stretch(: Enjoy!