How does spinning compare?

I've started taking spinning classes in hopes of building bike endurance, because I have the ultimate goal of doing a sprint triathlon that has an 11 mile bike ride component. I am trying to track my mileage in a training log, and I am wondering, how should I record spinning? Is there any way to estimate what the equivalent distance would be for a 1 hour spin class? The spin bikes don't have any mileage info on them...

Also, please tell me this will get easier. The rest of the class is climbing away and I have to sit in the saddle and lower the resistance and catch my breath after a minute or two. (I feel like it will be a banner week when I can follow the instructions for the entire class!)

It doesn't get easier, you get better;)

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Originally Posted by Zen

It doesn't get easier, you get better;)

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+1. How long before your tri?

I think spinning classes help a lot and they are good for winter building or maintenance but you still need time on your bike out in real conditions. You might want to ask your instructor though because maybe he/she knows the approximate miles you ride in a class.

Spinning classes are brutal :D Fun, but brutal.

The tri is in May, so I have a bit of training ahead of me. I don't plan on slacking!

Spinning really helps with my winter training. Unfortunately, I'm not able to go to spinning this winter (no gym membership any more), but I bought a trainer and am doing my own version of it. Luckily, I've done spinning for several years and am pretty comfortable with doing it on my own.

I agree that spinning is great. I am an endurance cyclist, regularly spending full days in the saddle. I wouldn't really say that spinning helps with endurance exactly, but it definitely helps with strength, sprinting, climbing, and cardiovascular conditioning, which, when putting it all together, helps with my endurance events.

For an eleven mile event, I think that spinning would be a great addition to your training. But it is really just that, an addition, not your sole source of training. Most of your training should be on the road in conditions that you will be riding in on event day. I would recommend doing regular rides (once a week) at almost twice the distance that you will race. Intersperse those rides with higher intensity rides (this could be on the road or spin class, or your bike on a trainer).

I realize that if the weather is bad, riding on the road is next to impossible (and often not safe). However, I would still try to get your longer rides in on the trainer. I would not recommend spin bikes for your longer rides, because you want your body to adjust to your bike. First of all, you wouldn't want saddle pain the day of your race. Secondly, and even more importantly, when it comes to longer rides it is very important to train on your own bike because you have (hopefully) been fitted to it. That way you are more likely to avoid injury.

I always assume that if I cycle for one hour in a spin class, I have "traveled" somewhere between 15-18 miles. Generally I go with the lower number because the class has a warm up and cool down period and we don't always sprint or do speed drills.

I really enjoy spinning, though as I am just learning to cycle I can't compare the two as of yet. My instructor, who is also my personal trainer and is helping me get in shape for cycling, wants me to stay in the seat for now instead of doing the assorted standing runs, climbs, and jumps - to only come out of the seat from time to time to relieve my legs. I can do the other things, but his point is that standing up on a bike is a rather different thing than a spinning bike (of course) and right now I need to focus on getting stronger. I would like to eventually be able to do distance cycling...