Spinning Bike Review

The morning started off right: a delicious breakfast a la Amazing Grass.

The Chocolate Infusion Amazing Meal to be exact. It’s my favorite. (Chocolate, nom)

I had a bruised and battered Anjou pear that had to be eaten and a brand of yogurt I wasn’t fond of–both went into the shake. Along with a scoop of protein power and oatmeal.

Add water and some ice cubes, then blend.

I drank the shake and ate the extra pears for breakfast. It really hit the spot.

It was an ugly, rainy, foggy morning on Saturday as I made my way to the gym. I didn’t really have a plan in mind for once I got there. I decided to just wing it. By winging it, I mean I hopped on the only open treadmill the second I got there. Since the weather was so moody out, I knew the gym would be more crowded. I was lucky to get a treadmill. I pounded out my jogging in 25:43 minutes, feeling good.

While I was on the treadmill, I watched the big TV on the wall–of course it was on the Food Channel. Isn’t that masochistic?? Show food when people are working out? Or is it supposed to be motivating? I can’t tell. The Food Channel was of course focused on Thanksgiving too and thankfully my time was up because I was salivating!

I switched gears and lifted weights. I went back and forth between the regular weight machines and the FreeMotion machines. I noticed I had to increase the weight on a few of them.

That’s a good sign! I think I’m gaining back some of the progress I made before I got sick.

For some reason the weight lifting just wasn’t holding my attention today. I decided to go back down to the cardio room and give the Spinning Bike a try!

I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. No matter what angle I was at, I couldn’t get rid of the glare from the overhead lights.

There were a few different programs you could try:

• The guided Spin Class by the guy above
• Build your own program or
• Just watch TV on the screen

I chose the Guided class to just get an introduction. The bike had aero bars, which can be nice. All in all, the Spin Bike was much better than just a regular exercise bike, but it’s nothing compared to a real bike. It tracked my heart rate and my cadence.

If I wanted to plug in my headphones I could hear the Guide telling me what to do. I chose not to do that today since I was just getting a feel for the machine. I did intervals…I increased and decreased the resistance, plus I did standing and sitting intervals. I was on the Spin bike for about 20 minutes and burned around 180 calories. My heart rate definitely spiked and my thighs were burning–in a good way. It’s been ages since I was on the bike!

I’ve missed the bike.

It’s such a fantastic workout and I remember when I was training for Reach the Beach how good (and sore) my legs felt!

The Bottom Line: I will try the Spin Bike again and actually do the program, Guided by That Guy. After my 20 minutes on the Spin Bike, I went back to my weight training. It was a nice break and helped me refocus. I concentrated on the FreeMotion machines for the upper body. What’s cool about them is that there’s multiple exercises on one machine.

I think I found a few new favorites too! I still haven’t figured out how to do all of them. Sometimes the little “How To” pictures are just not helpful. But I’ll figure it out.

I spent extra time on my Hip Strengthening exercises and stretches before heading home.

Gym Stats:

Time: 1:38

Calories Burned: 645

Activities: Jogging on Treadmill, Spin Bike, Weight Lifting Upper Body, Stretches

It was a solid workout. I’m pleased with my progress and glad I finally tried the Spin Bikes. I was also glad that the Amazing Grass shake kept me full all morning. I wasn’t hungry at all. Winner!

QUESTION: Do you have one of these Spin Bikes in your gym? What do you think of it?