Spinning Your Heart into High Gear

Spinning Your Heart into High Gear

You can literally ride your buns off with a fast-paced studio-cycling or group-cycling class, often referred to by the trademarked name Spinning. Spinning was created in 1987 by an endurance cyclist known as Johnny G as a training tool for the Race Across America. In 1993, Schwinn introduced a stationary bike specifically for such classes,and the concept really took off. The bike features a fixed gear and a heavy flywheel, the weight of which creates momentum that forces you to pedal continuously. Because resistance can be adjusted, however, each participant can custom-tailor the workout to his or her current fitness level—and in studio cycling, there are as many “hims” as “hers.” The typical studio bike also has a racing saddle, contoured handlebars, pedals with toe clips, a tension knob that acts like a gear shift, a hand brake so you can stop the apparatus in an emergency, and a water-bottle holder for the hydration you will quickly need. Other manufacturers now also make special studio-cycling apparatus.
An instructor who participates in all the moves and also provides the motivation—all to a variety of musical beats, leads these indoor cycling classes. The instructor calls the shots on the program’s pattern, which is designed to mimic the feeling of road cycling but without the traffic hazards, bumpy pavement, or weather issues. The instructor, on a bike facing the class, gives directions such as climbing out of the saddle, jumping (in and out of the saddle every two to eight strokes), sprinting, and pedaling with low resistance. He or she might ask participants to visualize the scenery on an imaginary bicycle trip. The whole routine is designed to be motivational and energizing. Studio cycling is an intense activity in which heart rates rev up fast and sweat-dripped shirts are a status symbol. A participant in a 40-minute studio cycling class can burn up to 500 calories.
Since Schwinn’s Spinning classes started the group studio-cycling craze, each manufacturer of studio bikes now has branded programs that go by such names as Cycle Reebok, FreeWheeling, Power Pacing, and Precision Cycling. Studio cycling has been such a success that it has spawned group classes for other kinds of studio apparatus. StairMaster, for example, has created a program called Stomp that uses stairclimbers, and Concept II has a program called Group Indoor Rowing.