Does spinning get more enjoyable?

[PissPotPourri]

I do a body pump, body conditioning and some cardio based workouts regularly. Loads of people have suggested I try spinning too.
I went for the first time this morning… popular instructor- I assume this means a good instructor.
It was hell. Hot, sweaty, pushing yourself to the max, then once you’re there, pushing yourself to the max again and again. I was literally watching the clock waiting for it to be over.
On the plus side, I’ve come out feeling tight around most of my upper leg area, and like I’ve burnt a ton of calories, so it obviously works.
Has anyone else felt similar after their first spin class and if so, does it get more enjoyable? Should I persevere?

Loathed every second of it. The noise, the killer competitiveness, the shouty bootcamp “instructor”, the sweaty humidity, the ground down ladyparts. If i could have worked out how to get off the bike and out of the room safely I would have left halfway through.

I've tried it twice but absolutely hated it both times due to the extremely loud shit music we had to listen to whilst the instructor screamed over the top, complete with flashing lights.

Give me a bike ride on a road any day. Or pilates. Or paddle boarding. Or anything not to do with a spin class.

I'm very fit, but I find that Spin kills me! Partly because I follow the instructors when they tell me to turn up the resistance - I realised that I really don't have to. So maybe take it a bit easier for your first few weeks.

I think Spin also feels quite tough because it's just our legs & butt working. In Pump etc, your arms & torso do the work as well.

I do two spin classes a week and really enjoy it. Each person has a circle with their name on on the screen which changes colour depending on effort level. The programme scrolls along the top and the idea is match the colours on your programme with your circle.

Padded shorts help stop the uncomfortable undercarriage.

Edit: It nearly killed me the first couple of times I did it but it’s improved my stamina dramatically and now, while it’s hard work, I don’t usually feel like I’m about to die at the end.

No, it is boring and I used to teach it! Also I don't agree with the scores on the screen, many less fit participants find it very demoralising. The room is usually dark and there are often pools of sweat on the floor under the bikes especially from big sweaty men.
In a closed room which is often much smaller than a regular studio, bugs are spread much more and it can cause niggles in knee ligaments or ankles. I get that people love it but I much prefer to run in the open fresh air for my cardio.
It was an easy thing to teach when I first qualified as an instructor along with aqua but it is definitely not as popular as it used to be and at every club I teach at, it is pump, barre, yoga and Pilates which are more popular.
I think it is like zumba - has peaked and is now waning.

I've been doing Spin/Studio Cycling for about 4 years mainly in our Sports Hall at work. Really enjoy the sessions and my fitness has improved.

i find my enjoyment and benefit of the class depends (a) on the bike (the ones we have at work are excellent, but I've been on some really ropey clunky old buggers, even in commercial gyms) and (b) the trainer.

if the trainer is just there 'ticking a box' shouting out a few instructions and not really challenging us, then it's boring and I find I have to do my own thing, ignore their instructions otherwise I wouldn't even break into a sweat.

the best trainer I have, has a pre-planned session each time with a mix of sprints, endurance over 1K, 2K, 3K / 1 min, 4 min, 6 min intervals etc), distance, hill-climbs and a blend of these.

ETA - I did a class in a commercial gym and he was getting us to do press-ups, body turns, standing up then hovering then seated. It was exhausting but my arms and shoulders got a good workout!

@CCormorantStrikesBack Yes, definitely possible to do on a spin bike with the app. You'll need your phone or an ipad to see the class. Peloton resistance goes from 0 to 100, around 30 is a gentle cycle pace that you can pedal quite fast at, 40 upwards would be enough resistance to stand on. I just go by feel for the resistance, using enough for it to feel challenging but able to keep the right cadence. The gym bikes probably have cadence on the monitor which will be the same as the Peloton but if they don't then it's just about cycling in time to the beat of the music. Have fun 😁

I have never enjoyed an exercise class in my life. I find them hard work and I do it because it’s good for me, not because I enjoy it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt endorphins from exercise. I love walking and getting outside, and being able to do things like walking up mountains, and I have enjoyed the team game element of a team sport. Suspect I might be a bit unusual in this, as everyone always says “oh you just need to find your right sport / class”. I really don’t think that’s the case for me!

How do you do press-ups on a bike?!

I would HATE having my name and effort level on the screen, does anyone know if Everyone Active do this?

This is David Lloyd Cyclone so I’m not sure if it’s standard for spin as I’ve never done it anywhere else. Tbh, no-one really looks at anyone else’s circles - it wouldn’t mean much anyway as you have your individual levels set in the app.

Press ups can be done on a bike by standing and leaning forward and back on the handlebars.

Thanks, so like doing them against a kitchen counter or similar. I had visions of everyone leaping off their bikes to do them on the floor.

I love it and bought a peloton! Mostly do 30/45 min classes but sometimes add in a 60 min
I'm not fit at all

certainly some do, yes! Not sure if all do but locally to me, EA have a new spin studio with a screen and scores.

Is Les Mills a name of a person? Or is it French as in Les?

I can't ask anyone in rl

I enjoy the first 20 mins and suffer through the rest for the endorphins, and because I think you get a lot of benefit for the time, fitness wise. When I do spin consistently both my road cycling and my running improve.

We have screens and scores at Everyone Active, but not names. The scores are against the number of your bike and the bikes are arranged randomly, so only you know which bike you're on.

Thanks, it is a new EA centre with a dedicated spin studio so it will have all the tech although if its anything like the rest of the tech in the place it'll be broken already.

I go to a gym which has technogym stuff (no idea if that’s the norm!) but I can change my ftp on the app, so on days I feel powerful I set it high to 150, when I’m on my period I put it down to 120 and on a normal tired after work day at about 135/140. That works for me as it’s always as hard as I need it to be! I do love it

A person! But I spent the first 5 months of my gym membership pronouncing it as Les mills like Les Mis the musical and was mortified when I was (finally) corrected!

I hated it.

However, I am more of a pilates, yoga or barre person! I do like a run on the treadmill though.

It is brilliant when you have a good instructor, and when they really use the music properly so that its rhythms motivate you to stay at the required pace. Years ago my Bannatyne gym had a genius instructor and I came out of every class feeling more dead and more alive than at any other point during the week.

Now they have unmotivated and unmotivating instructors, and they don't use the music properly. The speeds you are instructed to cycle at bear no resemblance to the music's rhythms. It is just a huge noise in the background.

If your classes are good, yes, the experience will get better, because you will become addicted to the high created by endorphins and the shared experience of pain

A word of warning: I really damaged my shoulders and forearms by years of spinning with poor posture. Now, if I spin at all, I make sure that I am not dragging on my arms at all. I only use the handlebars for balance and try to make all the effort come from my core and my legs.

Lololol.😂 It is actually a popular musical about flour production in France.

I loved used to love it but it does take some getting used to! And some instructors are harder and some easier.

My favourite was a lovely prison guard who used to just know how to work it so I was completely knakered and lungs opens up but without giving up.

Sometimes I didn't put on as much weight as the instructor said (to the bike wheel) but depends on the bikes and instructors if you can do that.

Get a gel saddle cover for a few quid to save your undercarriage! Although it does toughen up!!

Did you 🤢 afterwards?

if not it could get worse 😂

I was a total spin addict as I stumbled across a fantastic instructor in DL. Loved his choice of music along with the build up of intensity, and his motivational words, the group collective... it put me on some sort of a high! I even bought him a Christmas present He'd say a few nice words at the end and honestly I would walk out of that studio feeling empowered.

They brought in cyclone and another fixed format class. They were tough too but not like his unique class.

You know you can totally cruise along and not work hard in a spin. But one thing we always did was "empty the legs" - you leave with nothing. This Is The Way. By the end you should have given it your all.

One instructor must have turned up pissed or buzzing from the night before. He blasted the music in the dark studio and stood at the front absorbing the music, arms out like Jesus Christ, in a huge sweat.

Spin can be mental!