Seven Benefits of Spinning
If you’re looking to get fit fast, then signing up to a spin cycle class is one of the best things you can do. There you’ll get one of the most intense, calorie burning, muscle quivering workouts of your life. But you’ll have so much fun in the process that you’ll hardly notice how challenging it all is. Here are seven awesome benefits of spinning.
1. Enhanced Fat Burn
As you are no doubt aware, removing body fat requires creating a calorie deficit. To do that you need to choose exercises that will burn the maximum amount of calories in the minimum amount of time. When compared to virtually any other type of cardio that you can do in the gym, spin cycling comes out on top. Over the course of a three-quarter hour session, you’ll burn through between 700 and 900 calories, depending on how hard your instructor pushes you. That is roughly double what you’d expend by spending the same amount of time walking on a treadmill.
2. Total Body Training
You might think that spin cycling provides a challenging workout to your quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves but does little for your upper body. While that may be true of more traditional forms of cycling, a spin cycle class will be designed to activate your torso and your arms. When you walk out of that class, you will feel every single muscle group in your body.
Over the course of your work out, you will be constantly changing position between seated, crouching, leaning forward and standing. Some instructors even add in several minutes when cyclists are punching the air with light dumbbells as they spin. That will definitely provide a challenge to your shoulders and forearms.
Spin cycling does a fantastic job of working the muscles of your core, including the abdominal wall, intercostals obliques and erector spinae. You can enhance the effect by angling your seat slightly downward and maintaining a tight core while you are spinning.
3. Boosted Cardiovascular Endurance
Endurance is all about blasting the distance. It is the key to success on the sports field and in everyday life. In order to get an intense 45 minute spin cycle session you need plenty of it. Do 2 to 3 spin cycle classes a week and you’ll find that your cardiovascular endurance skyrockets. As a result, both your blood pressure and your resting heart rate – two key indicators of your overall health and fitness level – will dramatically improve.
4. Joint Friendly
Spin cycling is a low impact activity. This is great news for your joints, especially compared to running on a treadmill. People with knee and ankle problems will especially benefit from the elimination of stress on these areas of their body. It is the reason why medical professionals often refer their patients with arthritis to beginner spin cycle classes.
5. Engagement
Let’s face it – one of the biggest challenges to consistency of cardiovascular exercise is boredom. Trudging along on a treadmill while staring at a wall, or a TV, can be pretty mind numbing. It’s no wonder that the majority of people give up before achieving their weight loss goals.
Compare the monotony of performing steady-state cardio on a treadmill with the atmosphere and excitement of a spin class. It is like night and day. Your spin class instructor has been employed because he or she has the personality and the skill to keep you excited, motivated and engaged. The can-do attitude of the instructor should be contagious, imbuing you with the self-belief that you can do this workout regardless of how difficult it may at first seem.
In tandem with the enthusiasm brought by the instructor, your workout will be accompanied by heart pounding music. Every track will have been designed to get you part and keep you spinning.
6. Camaraderie
There’s something about working out in a group that pushes us to excel. When we are working out on our own is far easier to give up. When you join a spin class, you immediately become part of a team. And it’s amazing how encouraging and supportive team members can be. If this is your first class, don’t be surprised to have others encouraging you to keep going.
7. Atmosphere
On top of the motivating instructor, blood pumping music and the encouragement of your fellow trainees, you will also probably experience an awesome light show as you progress through your spinning class. This is just one more element that will help you to forget about the pain in your quads and the discomfort in your butt and push on to a successful conclusion.
Wrap Up
Taking a spin cycling class is an experience in itself. In terms of fitness benefits there are few other things you can do in a gym that are beneficial for the time investment. So, join us in our new studio, PURSUIT and chase greatness.
