Confusion during my spinning class (sorry; it's kind of long)

[PinkBike]

kate, maybe what he was trying to say was to maintain your "intensity" instead of your tension. you see this in the spinervals and trainright videos, where they have you achieve a certain intensity (like a specific heart rate) and then carry it through different cadences.
i just cant imagine doing a superhigh cadence in the same configuration as a hill climb.

[indysteel]

Pinkbike, that's what I wondered too, which is why I asked him because he I noticed that he did not lower the tension on his bike as he increased his cadence. From what he told me after class, he may have assumed that we'd all kind of "just knew" to lower our resistance to match his cadence, but I think he'd better off specifically instructing us to do that.

I talked to the Wellness Director at the Y last night about it. He's a cyclist and spin instructor too, and he agreed that it sounded a confusing. He said that the instructor is a really, really fast spinner and may need to just tone that bit down a bit to match the abilities of the average person in the class. Interestingly, he told me that the guy is an experienced instructor and has taught at a different Y for a long time. That surprised me because he just seems a little rough around the edges.

In the end, I think my experience with this instructor is a good reminder that what an instructor tells the class to do is just a "suggestion." I may find myself doing my own thing in his class a bit more than usual. Since I'm a spinner on my bike, I prefer to really work on my form during spin class, especially on my pedal stroke. In particular, I like to challenge myself with a long seated climbs to work on my stroke and to develop the mental discipline in takes in stay outside my comfort zone while "climbing" (my weakness outside).

Bluetree, you're absolutely right. I thought about "reporting" her to management, but then didn't and really regret it. If she does it again (although the instructor she criticized is no longer teaching at the Y; she had her own issues with management) or does anything equally boneheaded, I will say something.

Thankfully, with warm weather on its way, I'll be riding outside more and spinning less. I think I could use a break from the politics of the spin room for a bit.

Thanks for all your input! Have a great weekend.

Kate

[KSH]

Well Kate, I'm sorry to hear about your frustration. It sounds like you really care about your spin class and instructor.

For me, I just do what feels like real cycling to me... when I'm a spin class. If I wouldn't do it on the road, I won't do it in a spin class. If I'm going to hurt myself... aka: my knees.. I don't do it.

Let's face it, unless we live where there are huge hills and we don't have a triple... we are RARELY going to mash the pedals with extremely low cadence, sitting down. But, spin instructors tell people to do it all the time

Good luck on getting it all worked out... but I think if you just do what feels right, it will all work itself out.

[Derf]

Let's face it, unless we live where there are huge hills and we don't have a triple... we are RARELY going to mash the pedals with extremely low cadence, sitting down. But, spin instructors tell people to do it all the time

Good point. I've started to ease up on that type of stuff since it's causing me pain in my right knee.

[indysteel]

KSH, I had to laugh at your reply because I am SO analytical and earnest about everything I do. I give everything LOTS of thought and I love to research/learn things so I'm always way more "informed" than I need to be. It's a blessing and a curse! I drive my friends nuts. Since I'm an attorney, I think I picked the right career.

I agree with about not doing anything on the spin bike that doesn't feel like riding outside. I tend to avoid doing "speed bumps" over and over again because of that. When am I ever going to have to get out of the saddle for four counts 20 times in a row?

I do like doing some harder seated "climbs" though because, sadly, the hills in my neck of the woods and in southern Indiana are often really steep (in the 15-20% grade). They're the kind that you have to just grin and bear because they're often too long to just power over out of the saddle but too steep to just spin away. So, working on slower cadenced seated climbs helps me develop the patience and capacity (I hope) to deal with the hard stuff. That said, I avoid resistance levels that are too tough on my knees. I'm still able to spin, just not very fast and not without really paying attention to my form to maximize my hamstrings and glutes. I hated doing it at first, but kind of like it now, which I hope bodes well for this season.

After all this discussion, it occurs to me that I should just get trained to be a spin instructor. Then I can do it my way, right? I would actually do that, but I don't want to commit myself to teaching evenings when I could be outside.

As an aside, can I just say how excited I am that the weather this weekend is finally going to allow me to ride outside again. I haven't since December 30th. I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve!