Discussion: Spin DVDs???

In January I will be taking up spinning. The only DVDs I've seen are Spinervals. Any other suggestions? If it matters, I want to be able to ride up hills on my mountain bike in the spring/summer. Big dirt hills.

Initially this will be just for me or maybe me and someone else. If I get good enough, I might be able to start going to spin classes, but right now I have to bow out after 30 minutes or so. Way too intense for me.
thanks...frankj

Well, I learned something new after googling spinning... I've always considered the definition "Spinning on a bicycle is the technique of using a range of gears to maintain a constant rapid cadence of pedalling at low resistance." to be what was meant by "spinning" & I confess to wondering why a few people were logging "spinning" as opposed to just "cycling".

So apparently what you're calling "spinning" is a specific training regimen which somebody had the bright idea to trademark under the name "spinning". And it seems to combine a lot more than just the traditional low resistance / high rpm definition, but is limited specifically to indoor stationary bikes.

Hmmm... sounds kinda like when a certain compass manufacturer trademarked "orienteering" to emphasize the compass aspect & sell more compasses.

right. i'm not any where near suggesting that it is a substitute for single-track mountain biking, but with the cool weather here in toronto, i doubt if i'll get much outdoor work this winter. and if i do, it'll all be low intensity so i don't fall.

hence: spinning.
...frankj

Mike:
I think some company has a patent on "spinning" They make the machines, program the music, and carefully teach the instructors.

Spin classes that I've attended here in Chicago were at 5am at my local health club, and packed with young women, barely dresssed, on special stationary bikes. No gears, but a resistance dial that enabled the rider to increase the effort of his workout at will.

The session would start out with the instructor egging us on to get up on the drops, increasing the resistance, pedaling faster and faster, to this special pounding soundtrack he'd have playing in the background.

After a 20-minute "warm-up" he'd boost the volume of the music, and walk between the stationary cycles, twisting up the resistance dials right and left. Since we were packed into the small "Spinning" room, with semi-naked, sweating young women on all sides, we dared not wimp out and turn down the resistance.

Then the lights would start to go down. And soon we'd be furiously spinning, in the dark, VO2 maxed, sweat streaming down...and enjoying some kind of athletic euphoria. If you haven't tried it, don't knock it.

I don't know how spinning classes affect others, but for me, they were a great way to start the day.

It was originally a Schwinn thing, but when Schwinn went under, I don't know who wound up with the rights. Wikipedia is telling me that Nautilus bought it. Or part if it, anyway.

There are multiple manufacturers of the bikes. I couldn't handle the "traditional" classes because of the music volume, but Rhonda now has 4 of the bikes and her classes are not so loud. Also no particular emphasis on cranking up the resistance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_(textiles)

There's discs by Spinervals, RIDEs, Carhmichael Training Systems, and Cycling Fitness Results....you can find the last three here...http://www.endurancefilms.com

Personally, I think they're pretty expensive for what they are... a video of 10 people indoor cycling in a room, with a workout and some dodgy music. Personally i can get the same effect if I plan out the workout in advance, then I can have whatever inspiring videos and music I like.

As the other poster says, Spinning is a bit of a different animal, and is more about general fitness and weightloss, rather than specific cycling fitness

I much prefer watching real bike races while on the trainer. If it's something I've recorded off TV, I'll often ride easy while the race is on and hammer during the commercials. Of course, this has the effect of making the commercial breaks seem even longer and more frequent than they are, but it is a good workout. Another thing you can do is watch a time trial stage and match your cadence (without shifting) to whoever is on the screen at the time. This drill will make you hate Lance Armstrong, as you'd have to go back to the days of 2-speed bikes to find someone using a lower gear in a TT.

Then there's an even lower-tech method. At a spinning class I did down here in Texas, the instructor would simply put on Stevie Ray Vaughan's greatest hits album, and we matched the tempo of every song. For example, a long, slow climb for "Texas Flood," and alternating standing and sitting every two beats for "The House Is A'Rockin." Substitute your favorite musician...and your imagination. :-)

Robbie Ventura (Ex USPostal team member) did a criterion race while wearing a camera, with other cameras on his teammates.

"Using bike mounted cameras, this ground breaking training DVD places you along side Robbie Ventura in an elite-level national criterium race. A sophisticated dash board displays elapsed time and cadence, as well as Robbie's power and heart rate data for the entire race. You have never trained like this before and once you have, you'll never want to go back to the old way."
http://www.realrides.tv/

I found it a lot less boring than the Spinervals type.