Take a Spin and Boost Your Fitness Game

When weight machines feel confusing to tackle on your own and treadmills feel solitary and boring, it can be fun to hop into a group fitness class. But if yoga isn’t your style and Zumba isn’t your thing, step up your fitness game with a spin class.

High-endurance spinning classes are usually led by a super-jazzed instructor who takes the class on a spin, pedaling standing up or sitting down, going faster or much faster, and increasing and lowering your resistance levels. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t keep up at first. Spinning is about building endurance, and it will soon be your new fitness favorite.

Spinning Shakes Things Up

Spin uses interval training, so just when you think you couldn’t possibly continue cycling so quickly, or you wouldn’t be able to push your pedals one more time going up that hill, your certified instructor will mix things up by telling you to raise or lower the resistance on your bike. In addition, you will alternate between sitting down and standing up by bracing yourself on the handlebars. In fact, you control the imaginary terrain around you and optimize your workout with the perfect combination of steep hills and flat roads.

Since a spin class is flexible, you can stay at your own skill level. Feel like you can’t do another hill? Lower the resistance on your bike a little. And if you are finding the class too easy, raise the resistance. You are in control of your own bike so you can find your perfect fitness sweet spot.

Find the Perfect Spin for You

Not all spin classes are the same so before you start pedaling do some research into what will work for you. Remember, don’t write off spin because one class wasn’t your thing. There are versions for every type of spinner.

For example, if you are a data nerd, find a spin class that uses technology to track your progress like distance cycled, average speed of your pedals (RPM), and calories burned.

If you like a competitive element in your workouts, check out Equinox the Pursuit, which shows your ranking against the rest of the class. Want some spiritual awakening on the side? Join the millennial crowd at SoulCycle for some spin with a side of Zen.

Wish you could get the experience at home? Buy a Peloton bike and benefit from a variety of workout-styles and instructors without leaving your living room.  Spinning®, the grand-mama of spin classes, also offers at-home spinning with SpinTV.

Even if you never learned how to ride a bike as a kid, you can’t crash a stationary bike. With a class for everyone, why not give a spinning a try?