Spin Class No No's

[Zeek]

I believe as you do. The number of lousy instructors far outweighs the number of good instructors. You are very lucky if you have a good spinning instructor in your area. Again, there are lousy ones around where I am. I am an outdoor cyclist and I spin in the winter months. I became certified because I just couldn't take it any more. I keep my education current, I read read read and I try to be bring the best indoor cycling class that I can, mimicking only the realistic moves on the bike (flat road and climb, in and out of the saddle). Nothing fancy, but challenging and fun (and SAFE). That's all it was ever supposed to be. Others took it to the extreme and ruined it, in many cases.

[Dogmama]

Years ago, I had an instructor who was strictly Mad Dogg. Used visualization, focus, safe moves, etc. Everybody thought she was really weird.

Now, they have Reaction Cycling (Bally's). One of the most popular instructors has people sprinting hard after a 5 minute warm up. People line up to get in his class.

My point is - as cyclists we know contraindicated moves because we've spent long hours on the bike. The normal exerciser wants to burn as many calories as possible. Most of these people are mid 30's. Maybe they have aches & pains due to bad form, bike fit, etc. but are not aware that they don't have to endure discomfort.

I watch trainers take brand new middle aged exercisers to failure on weight equipment. I just shudder to think what is happening with their tendons & ligaments.

Just like anything else - caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.

[Julibird]

Years ago, I had an instructor who was strictly Mad Dogg. Used visualization, focus, safe moves, etc. Everybody thought she was really weird.

Now, they have Reaction Cycling (Bally's). One of the most popular instructors has people sprinting hard after a 5 minute warm up. People line up to get in his class.

Classic. The bottom line for management is "is the room filled - every bike with a person sitting on it?" It's not "Are these classes taught correctly?"

This is as much (or more) to blame for the preponderance of bad teaching as anything. People think that sprinting and suffering after the first 5 minutes means that that is a great class.

That means that many instructors who know better, teach these sort of classes to keep their numbers up and keep their jobs. Can't blame Madd Dog or Johnny G for that.

[aicabsolut]

In contrast, at the last gym where I actually enjoyed spinning classes, there were 2 very popular instructors (compared to several very unpopular ones).

The first one was a road cyclist and racer. He taught "base training" and endurance workouts in the fall, as much as he could given time constraints. He educated people on building a good fitness base. By the end of the fall, we'd maybe get a few long intervals at 85%--like TT intervals. He would break each set into a range for the less experienced/fit and the more fit. He taught correct form for standing on a spin bike and never ever did jumps or anything you wouldn't do outside. I'd leave his class feeling energized and educated. He really helped me by giving me some advice about getting into road cycling.

The other instructor taught the Johnny G method, even down to those pushup things to kill your triceps. The good thing about his class was that you learned how to push at AT. Lots of interval training helped recovery time. Some of the moves helped develop explosive power. He was also very good about telling newbies to skip a certain interval or how to modify it. Ultimately, though, unless you were trying to be a sprinter, these workouts were very tough on the body. They stressed my joints and every single muscle. Any minor discomfort with bike fit and pedal float and hot spots from the SPDs were magnified over time. It was a little too much at or above AT and really nothing for endurance. That wasn't too bad for most people but on Saturdays he'd teach 2 back to back. I'd usually take both and he'd definitely chill out in the second class. Was it that good for my body? Probably not. I'd leave feeling sore and achy most of the time, more like I'd been lifting weights heavily or done a boot camp class than cycled.

So sure, people like torture, and those who recognize that need to at least make some modifications based on who is in the class for their safety. Newcomers and those with poor form need to be watched closely. That is probably the only reason I trusted instructor #2, because he would really keep an eye on people. At the same time, he'd pick on those who were more fit. Good to be pushed out of one's comfort zone, but sometimes, it seemed like a lot. I think a lot of people don't know the difference between "tough" and careless. I don't think enough instructors are aware about the potential for injury.

My experience with instructor #1 at least made it clear that you can make a popular class based upon good cycling techniques. One day, that guy showed up in full kit because he'd ridden to the gym straight from a ride, and people seemed MORE intimidated by him than by the instructor (#2) who was known to kick your *** in every type of class he taught (he did a lot of stuff). It was like they felt like they weren't hardcore enough to take a class from a cyclist, because they just wanted a good cardio workout, and they were kind of scared. So I guess enough people saw it as a challenge to make it popular even if the workout was basically tempo that day. Those of us who had an interest in road cycling loved it.

[Zeek]

The other instructor taught the Johnny G method, even down to those pushup things to kill your triceps.

To be clear, this is NOT a Johnny G "method." This is a contraindicated movement in the spinning program that NO certified instructor (who is current in his/her certification) should be practicing.

[aicabsolut]

Really? I thought I'd seen some old Spinning videos where they do that as part of the warmup. So..I guess they changed the program? Good! (btw, the story about that instructor was from my old gym, around 2006)

[Flur]

No matter what a gym's "policy" is, there's no guarantee that the instructors have any real certification. I used to be a trainer and yoga instructor at a popular national chain and MOST of the trainers and some of the group instructors did not have certifications. I was seen as a prize to them b/c I came in with an ACE personal training certification and an RYT-500, so I was easy to hire and presented well to management. MOST new hires had no certification and they put them out there teaching and training and had them get proprietary 1-day certifications (with NO contraindication training) so that they could say all the trainers and instructors were certified. Before you take a class, check out the instructor's credentials every time, especially if they're new.

Also, for group classes, the managers all had teaching experience but usually in one area, not all of them, so it made it hard for them to properly evaluate their instructors. My manager used to have me review potential employees' yoga training to tell if I thought it was adequate, but before she took over, the managers were kind of guessing and doing really brief (15 minutes or less) sample classes to see if the instructors "seemed" to know what they were doing. I would imagine this is an issue with niche classes at all clubs.

[gleeclub]

Hi.

New to the boards here. Interesting and great reading so far regarding spinning.

What's your opinion on doing crunches on the bike(standing run and bending forward with hands in position one)?

Personally, I cant stand doing push-ups or crunches and even though it's only once a week from one of the instructors i take im going to stop doing them.

Also, spinning at a high resistance/low cadence with your hands on your hips or behind your back?

Thanks.

[Dogmama]

Hi.

New to the boards here. Interesting and great reading so far regarding spinning.

What's your opinion on doing crunches on the bike(standing run and bending forward with hands in position one)?

Personally, I cant stand doing push-ups or crunches and even though it's only once a week from one of the instructors i take im going to stop doing them.

Also, spinning at a high resistance/low cadence with your hands on your hips or behind your back?

Thanks.

Both moves are wrong & potentially dangerous.