OK pros and cons. I know it was posted before!! But I want to know what pros think.

"Pros" don't do spinning classes.

Specificity. Outside on your bike is the best, the trainer on your bike is next best.

Since i have been deployed for the last 3 months and still have a month to go finding spin class has been a wonder for me. So is riding a bike outdoors better, absolutly. But i will argue the pact that a trainer is better. A spin bike with a group of people is a great way to kill yourself fo an hour. I am now teaching spin class and i do both a muscle building class and a severe cardio class. I wear a HR monitor and i easily get with in a few beats of my threshold every class when i want to.

Plus one thing i like is the ability to pedal backward. It allows your muscles a slightly different path thru the stroke and that slight change works them very well.

But by far the best thing is having 20-30 people charging along going nowhere fast. It really helps the motivation and i enjoy meeting new people.

My advice is to try it yourself, many people will say it sucks, however i am willingto bet many have never tried a real class of it.

Bill

What are your goals?

Cons
- standing on the spin bike does not translate well to climbing on the road
- the spin bikes are less than ideal as far as setup and personal options like bars, saddles, etc
- it can get boring, hot and humid in an enclosed gym
- you are not outside on your bike

Pros
- too many to list
- women like spin class
- definitely worth adding to your off season training regimine (sp?)
- what else are you going to go, the eliptical or the treadmill? yuck x 1000

Pros: hot chix

Cons: not enough hot chix

Pros: hot chix

Cons: not enough hot chix

Isn't that true for pretty much any activity though?

Isn't that true for pretty much any activity though?


not here in manhattan beach.

I am now teaching spin class and i do both a muscle building class and a severe cardio class. I wear a HR monitor and i easily get with in a few beats of my threshold every class when i want to.

Plus one thing i like is the ability to pedal backward. It allows your muscles a slightly different path thru the stroke and that slight change works them very well.
Not disputing the motivational elements, these are a definite plus when the option is doing nothing.

But can you explain your rationale behind the "muscle building class". Muscle building simply doesn't happen when doing aerobic endurance exercise. The forces involved are way too small to induce hypertrophic adaptations. If you are talking about a workout focussed on increasing mitochondral density, capilliary density, Lactate Threshold or VO2 Max, I could believe you.

Pedalling backwards might be a nice diversion but is most unlikely to be of any aid to cycling performance (if that is the aim) since the the pedal forces and velocity involved does not mimic bike riding. Indeed any track rider knows how bad "back pedalling" can be for you on a fixed gear bike when you are forced to use that method to slow down. If the pedalling backwards is with no pedal force, then no big deal but it would be better doing that in the correct direction and reinforcing the neural firing being emphasised in pedalling.

I'll add another "pro" to your list;
You have to be a friggin idiot to topple your spinning bike over. Trainer? Not so much. I use a spin bike at home instead of a trainer when I can't go outside. Not perfect, but I can do 6x6 intervals real nicely without worrying about going too hard and toppling my cf bike over.

Cons
- standing on the spin bike does not translate well to climbing on the road
- the spin bikes are less than ideal as far as setup and personal options like bars, saddles, etc
- it can get boring, hot and humid in an enclosed gym
- you are not outside on your bike

Pros
- too many to list
- women like spin class
- definitely worth adding to your off season training regimine (sp?)
- what else are you going to go, the eliptical or the treadmill? yuck x 1000

Pretty well summarized.

In my fair-weather rider old age, I would rather be in a spin class on a rainy, crappy day than out on my bike in the weather. And I would BY FAR rather be in a spin class than at home by myself on a trainer (yuck x 1000).

As stated, it depends on what your goals are. If you are a cat 2 racer, chances are regular spin class is not for you. If you are a non-racer and just want to maintain fitness while away on business trips and decided to join in on the occasional spin class, go for it.

One big variable of spin class is the instructor and how they structure the workout. My current instructor is very cycling-specific (and is a pure climber on the real bike, as am I) and he structures his classes around longer seated 10-12 minute hill climb intervals, which is good by me. Other instructors at my gym focus more on sprints, jumps, and other assorted out-of-the-saddle crap that is useless to me. And they also have no understanding of managing intervals and recovery, so they tend to approach things as go! go! go! anaerobic until you faint. They are there to provide "a tough workout" rather than realistic training for cycling. ie., Not of interest to me.

For novice riders like myself, spin class has been a great way to get in shape and build up endurance and technique.

I know when you ride, you are pushing and pulling. Well the only time, I would pull was when I was going up a steep hill. This year, I started working on pulling more cause the instructor in my spin class rides bikes too. It has really helped me develop those muscles.

Great for off season too to stay in shape when it is too cold out there.