Spin your way to health
August 5, 2003 | 12:00am
When you see the enthusiasm and the intensity of the cyclist in an indoor cycling class, you can’t help but imagine yourself having lots of fun inside the spinning room. That is, until you hear people who have tried. "Oh my, it’s not as easy as it looks. My legs are burning, it’s the longest 45-minute-bike-ride of my life." All over the world, it’s either you hate it or love it. Some say it’s torture, others claim it’s exhilarating.
Before you get turned-off by these frightening remarks, I can attest that I have seen a lot of happy and satisfied spinning enthusiasts. I had lots of questions myself. I have tried the bike but never the class. So, I ambushed the local spinning expert, one of the first Filipinos to be certified and actively teach, Toby Gatmaytan.
Toby is an American Council on Exercise (ACE) certified group fitness instructor as well as a certified precision cycling instructor. He started as an eager gym member, but his passion for fitness empowered him to take a career shift from being a mechanical engineer to an aerobics instructor.
For almost 15 years now, Toby has endeared himself to his students who seldom absent themselves from his jampacked classes. He sees himself in the next five years getting more involved in training others (maybe even some of his eager students) to be certified precision cycling instructors themselves.
In the immediate future, he will be teaching other mind-body classes that will complement his Velo-City Spinning classes. That is a term he has dubbed his class since most of the students have graduated from the starter class (or Easy Rider).
When I asked him if the experience you get in a spinning class can be duplicated, he looked at me as if I didn’t have any right to even think that the spinning high can be simulated at home. Still, he calmly replied in the negative, saying that most home bikes are not built to support the different riding stances, intensity and speed professional precision cycling bikes like Star Trac’s two models (V-Bike and Johnny G Spinning) or those of Schwinn.
Toby said that spinning could be for anyone. He believes that it is a very individualized exercise because you proceed at your own level of stamina, power, and endurance. Hence, participants of any age level or ability in Toby’s mind is qualified to join. Experts advice first-timers though to practice with the stationary bike first. The bike exercise should be a combination of high-intensity cycling and leisurely pedaling. On the first day of the spinning class, a novice should arrive early so that he can receive an orientation on safety precautions as well as proper bike use.
Spinning has revolutionized group exercise, much like step aerobics at least a decade before it. Daily, around the world, thousands of certified Johnny G spinning instructors help millions get into shape, have fun, and enjoy a powerful mind-body connection (remember this exercise involves a lot of visualization). Hollywood celebrities who participate daily in spinning classes include Helen Hunt, Calista Flockhart, David Duchovny, Tea Loni, Will Ferrel and Alyssa Milano.
Toby enjoins everyone to give spinning a try. "Where else can you get an enjoyable 45-minute exercise that can burn anywhere from 400 to 700 calories," he entices. If you check your treadmill and elliptical monitor, you will burn only half of that on the average unless you really run (at twice the duration if I may add). I guess if for that reason alone, people who would like to lose weight should really try spinning.
Johnny used his background and expertise as a professional road cyclist, martial arts black belter, personal trainer and coach to create both a bike and exercise program that allowed him to train for road cycling while optimizing mental strength and discipline at the same time. His motto is to find the champion within each participant.
First manufactured under the Schwinn label and now enhanced and improved under Star Trac, the Johnny G spinning bikes deliver a ride that is very similar to cycling on the road. Its patented design, chain-driven flywheel and precise resistance knob are built with the highest quality components and manufacturing process.
Since spinning is a registered and patented property of Johnny G and Mad Dog, other companies developed their own programs. Before Star Trac got the Johnny G license when he had a falling out with Schwinn, it had precision cycling. The latter is an indoor group cycling program developed by Jay Blahnik in 1988.
• Wear biking shorts, preferably padded, like those that outdoor cyclists wear. Ordinary boxer or running shorts can make your ride unbearable.
• You will not survive a 45-minute class without a full bottle of water. You should consume plenty of fluids during this class.
• The seat should be adjusted to the appropriate height. If the seat is too low, you won’t be able to extend your leg enough during a down stroke. If it’s too high there will be too much strain and you might injure yourself. Rule of thumb: Your upstroke knee should never exceed hip level while your down stroke knee should be about 85 percent straight.
• Don’t grip the handlebars too tight; it will just increase tension on your neck and shoulders.
• Concentrate on exercising at your own pace. Do not be intimidated by more advanced spinning classmates who ride high speeds with furious intensity. Listen to your body and do not be embarrassed to sit back and take a break when necessary.
• Look for instructors who are willing to get off their bikes to help you. Go for those who encourage heart rate monitoring.
As in all exercises, Toby begins his class with a five- to seven-minute warm-up and closes with a cool-down. In between are intervals of intense rides and recovery as well as water breaks.
What sets cycling classes apart is how a good instructor provides imagery and visualization, leading participants to a virtual outdoor road race through hills, valleys, planes, and finish lines.
Seated run is a standard base position used to ride outdoors on a surface that is mostly flat. A seated climb is a profile similar to the seated run but cadence is slower and resistance is higher. This is a profile you would use if you are riding your bike uphill.
Just like in outdoor cycling, standing positions are used when riders need to take a break from a seated position, when they need to increase power for a limited amount of time or when the resistance is so high they need their body weight to assist in pedaling the crank.
Will boredom set in? A challenge to an instructor like Toby, but one he immensely enjoys. If you see how his participants have religiously attended his classes, graduating from one level to the next at their own pace, you wouldn’t even ask.
And for those who prefer a more leisurely ride, there is such a thing as Happy Hour Cycling (Karaoke Spinning). Truly a hit with Pinoys! The participants sing as a group various popular melodies. And if you think it’s all fun without fitness benefit, look again. Since they can still sing while pedaling away, we know they are exercising correctly. I even know of participants whose only form of exercise is regular attendance to this class. Lo and behold, they have lost dozens of pounds.
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