The Spin Bike. Worth it or Dump it?
To start this blog off, I want to say right off the bat. If you are someone who enjoys doing spin classes, peloton virtual rides, or just cycling on your own, then keep doing what you love. We are not here to tell you to do things or not do things. You are an adult and can make that decision for yourself. We are here to provide education to empower you to make better decisions based on your goals.
Now thats out of the way….
Spin has been around since the 1980’s. It became popular due to its low impact aspect, unlike running or other activities. It was originally invented because they inventor got his by a car in traffic. He didn’t want to have those issues again while training for his long distance bike rides. Hence, the spin bike.
So how do you know if you should invest in a spin bike, keep doing the spin bike, or sell your spin bike?
The 3 main reasons why you SHOULD be doing spin is:
- Do you want to become a professional cyclist athlete.
- You want to increase your endurance in your quads and hip flexors
- You want increase your aerobic endurance (better heart rate and breathing)
If your goals do no align with ANY of those 3 things, I highly recommend looking elsewhere for your fitness solutions. So, why do we recommend against using the spin bike if your goals don’t align with the previous 3 goals?
There are always better options and if you aren’t careful, the spin bike could leave you with an overage injury.
You see, the spin bike is pretty much good at one thing. Getting you really good at spin. So if you don’t care to be the BEST cyclist to walk the land, then you should probably move on.
The spin bike can actually cause more problems than solutions. Here’s 3 reasons why:
- If you rely on the spin bike to “burn as many calories as possible”, your body will adapt to that. How? Your body will become dependent on cardio in order to burn calories. Meaning, if you ever stop moving, even for a few minutes, your body will not burn any calories. This leads to a bad relationship with exercise because where does it end? To burn more and more calories, you will have to do more and more. The upside of strength training is that you can burn more calories, with doing less work. Win, Win.
- The spin bike is the same repetitive motion over and over again. This can lead to an over usage injury in the ankles, knees, hips, and even lower back. Think about the number one injury in baseball. The shoulder. Why? Baseball players do the same throwing motion too much. Now apply the same principles to the spin bike. If you spin 3-6 times a week for 45 minutes per session, then you will pedal the bike a between 8,100 – 16,000 times…. PER WEEK. That is a bit excessive, and will definitely cause over development in some areas, and under development in other areas. Maybe not in the short-term, but DEFINITELY in the long-term.
- It can become addictive. Hear me out. The fitness industry is a big offender of sleazy marketing tactics. One of which is using pictures from fitness models on their piece of equipment. We’ve seen their commercials people. If you think that you will look like one of those models pedaling on a bike, then you will be sorely disappointed. “If I keep pushing harder and harder, then I’ll look just like that sexy woman/man on their ad.” You won’t. It’s marketing people. In fact, a lot of fitness companies know the euphoric effect of pushing harder and harder. Ever heard of the runner’s high? It’s not different on the bike. It’s an endorphin rush that makes you feel alive. Once you feel that way, you won’t that feeling to go away. And fitness companies know that.
Ultimately choosing to sell, keep, or dump your spin bike is completely up to you. If you enjoy spin and it’s the love of your life, then by all means, you do you. Just make sure that your goals are aligned with what the spin bike has to offer.
Coach Paul
P.S. The only way to lose body fat is through a calorie deficit through quality nutrition. Notice that I didn’t mention anything about burning fat in this blog post. If you are using the spin bike to “burn fat”, then you should instead reconsider your diet. Follow this link to schedule a sit down with one of our trusted experts 👉🏻
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