1st spinning class + 1 week of agony!?

[mimitabby]

RealRyder, thanks for posting, and I look forward to seeing some improvement in
spin bikes. The one I use doesn't even begin to simulate rolling on the road.
I can get the bike to spin madly with little force, it has so much momentum!
On a real bike i WISH I got that kind of momentum.
The teacher is always saying, "go up a gear" well, there are no gears. Each bike is different. How far up should i go? who knows!

[lauraelmore1033]

I've been doing the Spinervals DVDs at home and I started with one of the "base building" (easy?) ones where you're supposed to stay 10 bpms under your lactate threshold. Well, it was easy-ish, except for the standing. The first time I did it I couldn't stand for longer then 15 seconds, much less pop up and down. My legs were so sore the next day and well into the next week too. It hurt to climb up and down steps and it even hurt to make a controlled landing on the couch. It took about a month before I stopped getting sore each time and now I have the strength to make it through all of the standing bits.

[Miranda]

I was a spinner first, then the road bike came later. I have also been certified to teach spinning, but not in practice yet. I have asthma like the other gal in this thread, and can totally relate to the good and bad days. I have an old knee injury that bothers me on and off. One of the teachers does this bit of getting off and checking your spin bike computers, and changing resistence knobs. I modify due to the asthma and knee. She cranked my dial on a day when my knee was bothering me, and I had my eyes closed just enjoying the music. Didn't see her coming until it was too late. I swear, she made me limp for week with this stupidity. Lucky she moved onto someone else's bike, or I might have choked her. Completely contraindicated. I've told her this before, but she never seems to remember. Maybe I need to tape my asthma inhailer to my forehead. Teaching off the bike is suppose to have it's values they train you. But besides the knee story, I just personally do not like it. Yes, motivation is good. Students safety is very important if someone appears in distress. But, one of the fundatmental cores of spinning, is that "it's your ride". So, modification is completely appropriate.

[aicabsolut]

I had one instructor who never rode a bike during class unless he wanted to demonstrate something. He was a roadie, and he walked around to check on everyone. He'd look at people's form, make suggestions, whatever. He never touched anyone's bike. That is completely uncalled for. Luckily, I've never had an instructor who would come over and start messing with the resistance. It's a good thing I can quickly bring that flywheel to a halt without using the break, because I'd probably do so and then smack him/her. Asthma, (preexisting) injuries, or not, that is not ok.

[bikerwannabe]

Thanks to everyone for all of your advice and for the encouragement.

I haven't tried another spinning class YET, but I have been back on the treadmill and the regular exercise bike at the gym. I am hoping to try spining again this weekend.

Since I don't usually bike while standing I'm not sure I even know how to

Should I be rocking up and down/sort of side to side over the bike or should I try to hold my upper body still and more or less "run in place"? Or doesn't it matter?

[Zen]

Get to class early and try it. See what it feels like when you do it different ways. Tune in to what muscles you're using when you do it differently.

[teigyr]

We do it both ways. If you are doing heavy resistance, it's more of a rocking back and forth thing. If we're isolating certain muscles, we keep our upper body very still and hover over the saddle. That is difficult. Jumps still throw me but then again I'm not the most graceful of people.

It takes a while. If you have questions, ask your instructor. He/she might explain better what type of muscle group you're trying to work or what is trying to be accomplished by whatever move they're doing.

I remember my first spin class way back when. I had been doing a LOT of cycling at the time and even with that, I thought that spin class was the most difficult thing I had ever done. It just takes time to get used to it

[karenxfiles]

Your instructor should NOT have touched your resistance. I agree with everyone ese who has commented that is your to control and only yours to control. You go at the resistance level that you can handle. Also, there is another post on here called "spinning no nos" with good info about what can actually injure you - for example high resistance hurting your knees.

As far as recovery, here are my thoughts. If you felt pain during the class, well that was just plain bad. You should feel the burn, but not pain. Are you sure you didnt pull or tear a muscle? OK, lets just say it was some burning. I find that if I work out hard either spinning or weightlifting and I feel sore, the last thing I want to do is rest the next day. I always go for a nice walk outdoors (slow but steady) rather than do nothing. Some yoga or pilates moves and stretches help too. I find this helps me recover faster, and though I stay somewhat sore, it is not as pronounced as it would have been had I just rested.

There is a supplement called Glutamine, they sell it at nutrition stores, and its also in many protein shake mixes (ie MyoPlex) that supposedly helps you repair and recover after a tough workout. I take some of this every night after I come home from the gym. Look it up - its called L-Glutamine.

And please tell the instructor to BACK OFF! Wow, I think I wouldve slapped her.

Good luck. I started 2 months ago, and I love spinning.