I've taken alot of spinning classes with various instructors. The best ones, IMHO, are those who mix it up a bit.

This winter, I have been taking a 13 week series of 2-hour spin classes on Sundays. The 1st 8 weeks were focused on endurance training. My instructor is a Johnny G certified instructor. Her focus in not on seated or standing, but rather on heart rate and staying within a zone appropriate for the goal of the workout. In the endurance classes, our focus was on keeping our heart rates between 65 and 75% of max, and learning to become more efficient. SO, we practiced pedaling nice round circles, using all of our muscle groups, becoming efficient while standing (keeping our heart rates in the target zones), etc.

Too much seated time is not only boring, but gets uncomfortable. The saddles on most spin bikes stink.

The last 5 weeks have been more focused on strength training. While we still spend alot of time between 65 & 75%, we also do intervals that take us up to 80 & 85% for shorter periods. We've been doing more muscle tension intervals, stomps (these wear us out, but we beg for them!), time trialing simulations (at 10 beats below AT), etc.

The best part is that our instructor is a "real" cyclist, ie. she rides (and races) outdoors - she doesn't just ride a spin bike. This is important to our class (we all signed up for the term, so its always the same group), because we are all outdoor cyclists (and some racers) who are looking to maintain strength and fitness during our long, rainy winters. SO, all of her visualization techniques & routines are focused on making us better cyclists OUTSIDE.

Anyway, this was a VERY long-winded way of telling han-grrl that I think her style of mixing it up, while keeping the endurance goal in mind, is just fine. As others have mentioned staying in the saddle and just spinning for an hour gets tedious.


Miyata912