Blog
1. Seat too low- major no no.
Major. When you spin, making sure your seat is the correct height is the FIRST thing you need to address as you walk into the room and set up your bike. If your seat is too low, it could lead to a myriad of problems. 1) Your knees will hate you forever by the end of class. 2) You’re not getting full range of motion as you pedal so you’re not getting the most out of your ride. 3) It’s harder to stand and ride out of the saddle. Don’t know exactly how high your seat should be? Ask your instructor or one of the front desk staff for help!
2. Your head is looking down. Your toes are pointing down. Shit’s goin’ down.
Have you ever found yourself fifteen minutes into a class and realized, “holy shit, I haven't looked up once this entire time?” Prob. It happens to all of us. Here’s the thing: when your head drops, your neck and shoulders are being strained. And what you probably didn't realize is that as your head drops, your toes will start to point down as your peddling… by this point, your knees are not a fan of what’s happening. It’s easy to drop your head during class to give it a break, but you don’t want to stay like this forever.
3. Can you ride your bike with no handle bars… no handle bars… no handle bars? (you should!)
Guess what, people. Spinning is actually a core exercise too. WIN! But many people don't realize this and are not actually engaging their core muscles during class. If you find yourself putting too much weight on the handle bars it means you’re not using your abs. And if you’re not engaging those abs, your bike posture will start going to shit. You’ll start to feel the hurt in other places like your neck, shoulders, and back. Where does it all begin? Monitor how much weight you put on those handle bars. If you’ve got a death grip or your pushing away from the handlebars, you need to start squeezing that core.
4. Hey….You forgot about the biggest muscle in your entire body… GLUTEUS MAXIMUMS
Is your back hurting while you are riding? Are your quads on fiyahhhh, like, more so than usual? While you’re taking a spin class, it’s easy to forget about the most important muscle that should be working: dat booty! Oftentimes, we don't even realize we’re neglecting our butt muscles until we start compensating with other parts of our body (i.e. like why tf is my back hurting!?) It’s the biggest muscle in your body, so use it. Don't really know how? While you're riding, think of squeezing those butt muscles as you push and pull the pedals, especially through heavy climbs. You’ll start to feel more engagement and more booty burn.
5. Stretch yourself beyond your limits… no but seriously. Stretch.
After 45 minutes of tough hills and sprints, you’re probably thinking helllllll yeeeah, killed it. Now get me outta here. But wait, not so fast. It’s so important to take an extra five to ten minutes outside of the spin room to stretch out those muscles that have been compressed and strained for the past 45 mins. The end of class can often be hectic with people leaving the spin room and entering. So do yourself a favor: set aside a few minutes to do it somewhere else, even outside the studio. It’s annoying, but stretching and recovery is as important as your ride… if not more. You wanna get back on the bike at 6am tomorrow with power? Then stretch.
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