Spin Class

Today was the first Spin class session with the Team. The original training schedule showed us starting last week but it was an error. It was actually lucky for me that it was canceled because I didn't realize that I needed a spin trainer to do the class. You see, this class is different that gym spin classes because you get to use your own bike. You also get to have class in a parking lot outside of a bike store. Having to buy the trainer was an unexpected expense but I was able to find a really nice condition used one off of craigslist for under $100. Take a look:















No batteries required. It is a fluid resistance trainer and is set up so that your back tire gets viced into place and you rear wheel travels on a roller. The fluid inside the radiator looking gizmo provides the resistance. The fins dissipate the heat that is generated from your work out. The wire off the edge clips onto your bike and allows you to further adjust the rolling resistance. Not pictured is a plastic block for your front tire so that your bike is level while you train.

Class consisted of about 70-80 people, with three different teams training there. The store, Hi-Tech Bikes appears to be a real hub for biking in the SD area and they are very TnT friendly.

Training on your own bike is definitely a much different feel than on a standard gym bikes. First of all, the bike is already fitted for you. Second of all, the shifting is a lot more controlled as you have real gears to go through rather than turning a resistance knob. Thirdly, you are able to work on your balance and bike handling coordination.

We did several different training exercises, paying close attention to cadence. Cadence is the speed at which you turn your cranks and is measured in revolutions per minute. I don't claim to fully understand the concept yet, but it appears that you want to maintain a consistent cadence when cycling for optimum performance. You shift up and down depending on terrain features such as hills. You want to get into a nice steady pace for maximum efficiency. We start at 65 RPM and sped up by 5 rpm every couple of minutes until we got the heart really pumping at 95 RPM. I didn't have a device to actually measure my cadence so I had to just watch my neighbors legs closely and tried to match their speed. It appears that I need to buy more gear.

We also did another exercise, ILT (individual leg training). When you first learned to ride a bike, you probably didn't have clip-in pedals. Consequently, when you pedaled, you got you power during the down stroke. With clip-in pedals, you are actually able to generate power during the upstoke. The upstroke uses the quads while the downstroke uses the hamstrings. The exercise trains you to use the quads for pedaling.

Next was 3-3-3's. Pick pretty hard gear and pedal. It should be enough resistance so that you can comfortably still chat with your neighbor. Do that for 3 minutes. Then shift to the next higher gear. You can still talk to your neighbor but its pretty hard, maybe a few words. 3 more minutes and then shift up again. At this point, you're lucky if you can grunt. This one is tough.

The last one we did was a standing hill climb. This was a brutal 8-minute exercise. My foot was still pretty sore for the half from hell on Sunday and I was only able to stand for a couple of minutes at a time. Even without the injury, I don't think I could have gone much longer than 3-4 minutes.

Great work out.