Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
As I wait impatiently for the weather to cool enough to be able to run outside and not at an ungodly hour, keeping fit has involved hitting the pavement after dark or increasingly tedious daytime treadmill runs.
Coming to the rescue, has been the wonderful world of spinning sometimes referred to as indoor cycling, on a stationary bike with a heavy, weighted flywheel which is linked to the pedals.
I choose to spin at Bodyline, in Saar because it’s convenient and also because I’m under the guidance of a fantastic instructor and athlete called Vanessa.
With Vanessa’s pumping music and motivating words I am able to burn some serious calories, with an average spinning workout of 45minutes to an hour burning 500 or more calories.
She will call out when to pedal hard and when to slow it down. The amount of calories you burn will depend on the intensity of the workout, and how hard you want to push yourself. Spin bikes have resistance dials - so a stronger cyclist can turn their dial right up to the max, whilst a beginner may want to be a bit more restrained. No one gets dropped and no one gets frustrated.
Vanessa also changes up classes, from High Intensity Interval Training (HITT) to endurance training. She covers hill climbs, sprints, jumps and downhill freewheeling and manages to get her audience to visualise outdoor environments like wind.
Spinning helps increase cardio endurance and it won’t put pressure on knees and joints like I’m sure my running does and it also appeals to the outdoor cyclists who have been narrowly missed by erratic car drivers, or for the more professional cyclist when the conditions outside make it difficult or want a quick super intense fitness fix.
My only recommendation would be to purchase a padded seat or padded shorts – that is money well spent and be careful, spinning can be very addictive.
