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Talked into giving one a go at St Peter's leisure centre in Burnley, on the promise of a free buffet afterwards.
Jesus H Corbett, that is the hardest, most painful form or exercise I've ever undertaken. I genuinely thought I was going to die.
No let up, no stopping to say hello to sheep or admire a particularly nice crisp packet, no excuses. Just pain.
The delightful Rebecca attempted to show me how the torture device worked, but I just increased the resistance and reduced cadence when shouted at by the Nigel Blackwell lookalike at the front.
The music theme was cheesy pop, which was mostly fun.
Things I have learned:
My natural cadence is about 95.
Spin bikes don't have a freewheel and will spit you off given half a chance.
I've not ridden a fixie for ages, but really enjoyed the reminder.
The shared experience is great fun, very motivating.
It's nothing like geared cycling - apart from me and 'er indoors, there were no regular cyclists. Just masochists.
I really, really enjoyed it.
The buffet was top notch.
My mate runs one at the local gym.
He does triathlons
He occasionally tries to persuade me to go
I always flatly refuse
It's like climbing the Fachwen, riding a fixie, on acid, whilst being chased by werewolves.
I've signed up for next week.
i used to enjoy them. can’t see myself going back.
there’s one in my town that starts early. the instructor is a diminutive machine of a person and the participants are all machine-like pensioners who’ve consistently made good decisions about heath and fitness throughout their lives. it’s said to be the most brutal experience around.
I used to go to one on the Wattbikes in the velodrome in Manchester and really enjoyed it. Hard to justify now that I have a dedicated turbo trainer and bike in the spare room at home but I agree the social/class/shared element of it is really good fun.
The buffet was top notch.
Excellent. On balance is the pain worth it?
The only thing worse is a Zwift race I’d say (if confined to bike like things - I hate running much more).
Used to enjoy spin classes back in the day - we had an instructor called Tash who was very enthusiastic and had good music tracks.
I always enjoyed the shared pain much more than a solo workout. I used to do spin first followed by body pump. I wish I had the time to still do it, it was a great workout but would destroy me now
I've been going to a weekly Monday evening class since the start of the year. I must be honest and say I don't ever think "oh great it's Monday spin tonight", but I do enjoy the experience once I get started. Hard work, but rewarding.
I went to a couple a few years ago and agree - brutal
Mind, chatting on the way out after the class I realised that most of them weren't actually ramping up the resistance at all when "told" to (I guess it might be all controlled like ergo mode on a turbo these days, is it ?)
(I guess it might be all controlled like ergo mode on a turbo these days, is it ?)
In most places I think it is still a lever. Certainly is where I go and there is definitely highly variable use of it.
I do it during the winter since dont have the room for an indoor trainer and the trails round here are sandy clay which love to eat drivetrains whilst being crap to ride.
Does depend somewhat on the instructor but I find it okay to keep basic riding fitness up over the winter rather than slacking off and then wasting a month or so recovering leg strength.
The constant spinning is rather different from normal riding though as is the "lets do a hillclimb". Sure if there is a fun downhill the otherside. Oh wait.
Not for me. You can make it as hard or not as you like, but the silly 'exercises' on the bike - what's that.
I hate turbos, I got Zwift for spinal recovery it did the job. I've found a way to commute off road again after my injury, and that's way better for my mental health than a static bike. Some folk get the 'stimulation' from a virtual environment, I don't. I can't do gyms. I need to be outdoors. My smart turbo is there for injury.
I'm always tempted to attend the classes literally across the road, but after a day at work, then talking the dogs for a walk in the miserable shitty weather, all enthusiasm evaporates.