FAQs & Spinning Notes

Below are some quick notes that further explain some of the routines I reference in the main blog posts, such as Power 10 sprints, stair climbing exercises, and speed bumps.

1) For the Spinning newbie, you may want to check out this short article, which explains that when it comes to indoor cycling, there is nothing to fear but padded Lycra shorts. I also recommend the four-part spinning tutorial authored by Dave Draper. Part 1 provides a introduction to spin training, part 2 explains the basic components and characteristics of a spin bike, part 3 offers tips for using the spin bike as a training tool, and part 4 explains some advanced spin techniques.

2) General spinning form:

• Keep your head up, looking about 10-20 yards on the “road” ahead.

• Breathe deep and slow—in through your nose, filling your lungs completely, and out through your mouth. (You may find that your “default” breathing technique, especially when sprinting, is quick and shallow. This is what we want to avoid.) No matter how fast your legs are pumping, try to keep your breathing steady and under-control.

• Keep your shoulders, arms, and hands loose and relaxed. Spinning is a leg and lung workout—if you feel sore in the forearms or are tight in the triceps, you are probably leaning too far forward over the handlebars and using your upper-body to support your weight. The handlebar is there simply to help with balance—it is not a stress ball that you should be squeezing. I like to tap my fingers and move my hands in different positions every few songs to make sure I’m not white-knuckling throughout class.

• Try to keep your abs tight: suck in your belly, pulling your navel to your back. This will strengthen your core and keeps your hips in the proper position over the pedals.

• When spinning with heavy tension or doing some seated climbs, I usually scoot back on the saddle a bit. For the sprints, I move up a bit more on the nose of the saddle.

• Pull UP with your legs. Too many riders think only of hammering down on the pedals, which is inefficient form. I try to lift my knees to chest with every pedal stroke.

• Keep your knees bent every so slightly inwards, towards the center of the bike. (A lot of new cyclists will ride with flared legs, their knees angled out. This will cause undue stress on your joints and is inefficient riding form.)

• Try to kick your butt with your heels. This will improve the power and speed of your leg turnover.

• Dance on the toes. As soon as your forefoot “touches the ground,” push off as if going into a running spring, try to kick your butt with you heel, and pull your knee to your chest. Think of running over hot coals—light, quick, fast feet!

• And again, breathe deep and slow.

3) Power 10 and Power 20 sprints

These are double time, all out, everything you’ve got, warp speed sprints! Increase the resistance/tension on our bike just a notch or two before starting each set, and then hammer!

For Power 10s, I count down real slow from 10 to 0 (usually taking 15-20 seconds to do so). For Power 20s, I count up to 10, then back down to 0 (usually taking 30-40 seconds).

Even though your cadence and wattage output during the Power Sprints may be off the chart, try to keep your breathing slow and focused—take deep breaths, filling your entire lungs with fresh air. In a complete Power 10 circuit, I often only take 1-3 breaths.

Note that the Power Sprints can be done on the flats, while doing a seated climb, or out of the saddle up a steep mountain.

4) Out of saddle/climbing sprints

In addition to the notes above, keep this in mind:

• If you are starting from a seated position, add some resistance/tension before standing up. This will help you maintain balance when you transition to a position out of the saddle.

• Keep your hips and butt thrust back so that you are supporting yourself entirely with your legs. Remember, your arms should be loose and relaxed, with your hands just barely resting on the handlebars to provide a bit of balance. When you do the standing sprints properly, you will notice your quads, hamstrings, and glutes engaging with the climb. If, however, you notice that you’re a bit sore or tight throughout your shoulders and arms, make an adjustment—thrust the hips back so that your butt is only 1-2 inches about the nose of your saddle.

• Try to stay as “quiet” with your upper body as possible—you should not be swinging side to side, nor should you be doing any kind of bouncing on the pedals. If you find yourself swinging and bouncing a bit, try a couple of things to get your upper body in control: thrust your hips backwards, slow down and focus on your breathing, add a bit of tension, and ease up on your cadence so that you isolate the muscles in your legs and core.

5) Stair climbing exercise

As the name implies, this is a modified climb position that will tax your lower legs, especially your calves and quads right above the knees. To do it properly, first add lots of resistance/tension to your bike, then stand-up. Now imagine yourself on the stair climbing machine in the gym—rather than thrust your hips backwards, as you would do in a regular climb, stand tall and erect. Keep your fingers gently resting on the handlebars, your head and chin up a bit, and then dance on your toes—light, quick feet. Picture yourself running stadiums or racing a friend of yours to the top of stairwell in a high-rise hotel (last one to get to the top has to buy room service). This can be an exhausting set, especially after a minute or two, but stay strong to get strong!

6) High tension sprints

If all you have is five minutes a day to workout, this is the best exercise you can do—it spikes one’s heart rate like nothing else!

I usually do three high tension sprints throughout a song. Here are some cues to follow: (a) before you start sprinting, add as much tension/resistance to your bike as you can muster—3, 4, 5 complete turns, maybe, as if you were riding up Everest; (b) stay seated and take a deep breath; (c) pound on those pedals!

There will be so much tension/resistance on your bike that you are going to want to stand up, but don’t give into this impulse. Stay seated and hammer out the sprints. It may feel a bit weird, a bit like running through quicksand or waist-high wet cement—considering how hard you are working, your legs should barely be able to turnover the pedals.

The first two high tension sprints in a songs should be around 15 seconds in length. For the third and last, push through a 30 second set.

7) Speed bumps

I was a bit skeptical about the value of speed bumps the first time I did them in a spin class, in part because its a routine one would never do on a real road or mountain bike. But 30 seconds into the set—whoa! Rarely had my core and cardiovascular system been so quickly taxed.

To do them, find a song with a consistently high number of beats per minute—many dance, trance, and electronica songs work well. Add a bit of tension/resistance to your bike, and for the first 30, 60 or 90 seconds, on counts of four—”up, two, three, four, down, two, three, four”—stand up and then sit down, out of the saddle and then back in the saddle, over and over again.

Again, it is worth reminding riders that this is a leg workout—many of them will want to push off their handlebars as momentum when standing and sitting. Your arms are only to gently be rested on the handlebars for balance. If you feel sore anywhere in your upper body when doing speed bumps, you are not using your legs properly.

For the second half of the song, try double time speed bumps: “Up, two, down, two, up, two, down, two…”

8) Random other thoughts and ideas

• As mentioned throughout the page already, indoor cycling is a workout for the legs, lungs, and core—if you want to do curls or other arm exercises, do so before or after class.

• The louder the music, the better. Usually.

• During the warm-up of each class, I ask riders to introduce themselves to their neighbors. This establishes a collegial and team-like atmosphere in the very beginning of class. “If you’re going to be sweating next to someone for an hour, you might as well get their name.”

• Other questions or concerns? Let me know and I’ll address them here.

J.R. Atwood

http://spinningmixes.wordpress.com