Spinning Class vs. Cycling

I spin all winter. In fact, it's pouring out today and I'll be spinning in an hour.

I find that it does get my HR higher than what I would normally reach cycling by myself. Hanging onto the back of a pack of younger racers, now that's a different story.

I do find that many cyclists (myself included) that come to their first spin class thinking they're in great cycling shape typically have a humbling experience. Try it once and you'll see what I mean.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by yak
I do find that many cyclists (myself included) that come to their first spin class thinking they're in great cycling shape typically have a humbling experience. Try it once and you'll see what I mean.

Well, funny you should suggest that - I JUST got back from my first spinning class (I popped in on the spur of the moment) and what should I read? Your posting...

Humble is the word...

However, in my defence, I must say that I rode a 72,5 kilometre road race yesterday morning, finishing in 2hours 55minutes, and I'm still not recovered, having only been cycling seriously for about 3 months. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it...

Anyway, my impression of the whole thing is that, firstly, when I'm not feeling great (as today, I have a bad dose of sinus), spinning is great inasmuch as it doesn't expose the respiratory tract to the harsh (polluted) winter air, so I can still 'cycle'...

Secondly, because it's getting dark so early around here now, it's safer for me to cycle until dusk, and then hit the gym, leaving me only about 5 minutes of cycling in the dark to get home afterwards.

Thirdly, spinning (my one and only class - all of a sudden I'm an expert!!!!) appears to have the same exertion levels of the aerobics classes I used to instruct - which have now unfortunately become stylised dance classes in most of the local gyms... which is why I gave up instructing altogether...

Finally, I reckon if I attend 3 spinning classes a week on top of my normal training, I

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by yak
I do find that many cyclists (myself included) that come to their first spin class thinking they're in great cycling shape typically have a humbling experience. Try it once and you'll see what I mean.

Well, funny you should suggest that - I JUST got back from my first spinning class (I popped in on the spur of the moment) and what should I read? Your posting...

Humble is the word...

However, in my defence, I must say that I rode a 72,5 kilometre road race yesterday morning, finishing in 2hours 55minutes, and I'm still not recovered, having only been cycling seriously for about 3 months. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it...

Anyway, my impression of the whole thing is that, firstly, when I'm not feeling great (as today, I have a bad dose of sinus), spinning is great inasmuch as it doesn't expose the respiratory tract to the harsh (polluted) winter air, so I can still 'cycle'...

Secondly, because it's getting dark so early around here now, it's safer for me to cycle until dusk, and then hit the gym, leaving me only about 5 minutes of cycling in the dark to get home afterwards.

Thirdly, spinning (my one and only class - all of a sudden I'm an expert!!!!) appears to have the same exertion levels of the aerobics classes I used to instruct - which have now unfortunately become stylised dance classes in most of the local gyms... which is why I gave up instructing altogether...

Finally, I reckon if I attend 3 spinning classes a week on top of my normal training, I'll have somewhat of an advantage over my cycling partner next time we go to a race - I'm 44 and he's 26, AND he was South African kick-boxing champion last year. Every little bit helps... and vanity, thy name is not only woman.... 😉

I'll be back!

I´ve worked as a spinner instructor for about 5 years. Got into it after several knee and akilles tendon injuries.
I did it even before I owned a roadbike. In the winter a lot of riders , recreational, semipro´s , former pro´s (including a former UCI WC) and on rare occasions current pro´s would take my classes and they would often ask me afterwards "so what do you ride" and look stunned when I would reply "my fixed gear city bike". It ofcourse ended with me buying my first roadbike and joining the local club. I fell in love with roadracing and now only spin in the wintertime and only then when the weather is too bad to ride outside. Spinning is alot more social than roadracing (read a lot more girls in a gym than on the road) it´s got music and it´s inside. I prefer spinning to a hometrainer any day, but alone on a small winding road with the wind in your face, nothing beats that.

When I switched from pure spinning to roadracing I found that one thing I really lacked was stamina. I could keep up with the best entry level competition riders at 40+ km/h for three hours - 120 km but then the air went out of the balloon and I would loose 30 minutes in the last 40 k of a race. The reason was probably that I rarely tought more than three spinning classes a day. Also I had no tactical sense and no skills in positioning myself in the group rode too much in the front, lost positions in turns was lost in sidewind and so on. Actually the hardest thing to learn was to ride completely in a straight line while bunched up with 30 other riders. So I got some hard lessons.

You can work up a really good form spinning but you cant get the miles that the road offers and which are necessary to endure races.
The advantage from spinning was the high cadence you can train with and thus transfer to roadracing also the switching of tempo as in interval training when spinning did me a lot of good in races, and just the bewildered look of the category rider next to you when he asks you "so how long have you been riding havent seen you before" reply "oh I bought my first bike 3 months ago" was priceless.

Anyway to reply to the original question I can get my heart to work harder on the road than in the Gym and for a longer period of time. Many have higher heart rates in the gym. One factor can be the higher temperature inside, the higher rate of perspiration and another the more varied exercises compared to an hour on the bike. If I participate in classes nowadays I sit in the back and train with my heartsensor pushing myself for the whole hour and not always doing what the instructor wants.....thus trying to closely simulate an hour of hard roadracing. Also many recreational riders never push themselves really hard on the road they just ride their weekly rides at about the same average speed, so when they enter a spinning class they might be surprised of their lack of form showing because someone else is setting the pace.