We're "breaking in" a new spinning instructor at my gym and, last night, something came up in class that had me confused.

The instructor, who appears to be a fairly strong road rider, had us increase the tension several times to a "7." He suggested that we choose "a good standing tension." From there, he had us get out of the saddle for about 45 seconds. Then he had us sit back down and--maintaining the same tension--instructed us to increase our cadence to match his cadence. And then he started spinning to beat the band (he was well past 120 rpm from what I could tell; his legs were a blur). He held that cadence for over a minute so it wasn't just a short surge. I'm pretty strong on a spin bike, but there was no way for me to spin that fast without significantly dropping my resistance. I looked around the room and most everyone else was spinning at a much slower cadence than the instructor, too.

I expressed my confusion to him after class. I explained that, from my experience in other classes and with other instructors, a tension of 7 (on a scale of 1 to 10) feels like a moderate climb. I further said that at that kind of tension, I usually have enough the power to accelerate a bit, but I certainly can't maintain a really fast spin, at least not without blowing my knees or my lungs.

By this point, another one of my spinning instructors, who also happened to be in class that night, joined the discussion. Having taken her class many times, I thought she'd understand what I was getting at. Wrong. She started going on and on about how everybody and every bike (our current spin bikes are a little old and each one has its own "personality) is different, blah, blah, blah. I kept telling them that I understood all that and that I was talking about "my 7," not someone else's. Still, she kept coming back to that point.

She then suggested that maybe I'm just not in good enough shape to do what he instructed us to do (did I mention that I don't personally care for this instructor). Admittedly, there are a few really strong cyclists who can probably spin fast at just about any resistance, but if a "7" is supposed to replicate a moderate hill who among us, but the strongest riders, can sprint that fast at that tension?

I was getting nowhere fast with either instructor. He finally admitted that he would prefer that we match his cadence rather than his tension, even if it means dropping the resistance. To that, I responded that if no one but he can spin that fast at "7," then why tell us to drop the tension down to a "7" in the first place? He finally said that he'd spend some time next week explaining what his tension levels mean and how he generally wants us to follow along.

Great, but I still felt frustrated by the conversation. I realize that each instruction has their own way of measuring and describing resistance levels, but we were so not speaking the same language. I shared with him what one of my instructors uses as a guide: She equates a resistance of 3/4 to riding on the flats with a tailwind. Level 5 is riding on the flats with no wind. Level 6 is like riding into a headwind. Levels 7-10 replicate climbing, from moderate to steep. While I understand that people who don't ride outside might be a little confused by what she means, from what I can tell during class, most people get it. Last night's instructor, however, looked at me like I was talking gibberish.

Am I missing something? And please tell me if I am. If there's anything your instructors have used that you found particularly helpful, please let me know. This guy has only taught three classes. While he may be resistsant to suggestions, I think he could use some....

Thanks.
Kate

Thanks.

kate