AUBURN #- Just about everyone is familiar with the stationary bike. Since its introduction, it has become an increasingly popular attraction at gyms and in the home for many years.
Last winter, the Auburn YMCA's assistant fitness director, Mena Hansinger, along with several others began working out a way to make training with this machinery more intensive.
This led to the creation of spinning classes.
“We started with 10 bikes,” Hansinger said. “And then we moved to 16. At the time Pat Curry was instrumental in getting all of this together and setting up training for the three instructors. Since then it has grown and we've added more classes and more instructors and it has just kept getting more popular.”
These classes have drawn avid outdoor riders and people just looking to get into shape.
“We brought a lot of outdoor riders inside,” Hansinger said. “But when we started, we also got a lot of people right after Christmas looking to take off that extra winter weight and this is a perfect way to do that mixed in with everything else. This is a great way to get into shape.”
Spinning classes are not the typical stationary bike ride.
In these classes members are taken through an intensive course of riding, intended to simulate some of the many different terrains riders may encounter.
Instructors such as Jessica Mosley, try to make the hour in the class as stimulating as possible.
“I play a lot of music,” Mosley said. “And I turn out the lights and have just little Christmas lights along the floor. It helps change the atmosphere a little bit and lets everybody get into the feel of it.”
Mosley said she tries to create scenarios that help work as motivational tools and as a guided visual experience that helps take riders out of the ordinary confines of the classroom and make for a more interesting ride.
“We do a lot of different rides,” Mosley said. “Like one we'll be in California going through traffic and we'll have to get through it as quick as possible or in another a dog will be chasing us. Things like that help change it up a little bit and I think makes it more interesting than just staring at the white walls of a spinning room and it helps keep everyone motivated if they have something else to focus on. I think using their imaginations makes the ride go better.”
From the beginning of class, Mosley said she stresses warm up and stretching before hitting the bike.
Once on the bikes, riders are taken through various stages of a ride.
“We start off easy,” Mosley said. “And we build up and increase the tension (on the bikes) as we go and build up and you can really feel the difference.”
These rides are designed to work the core muscles and lower body.
“It is a really great workout,” Mosley said. “You don't really use you arms all that much, but we focus on the core muscles and using them and it really gives a good workout and works all of those muscles.”
An hour on the bikes can be grueling.
“It is very physical and very psychological,” Mosley said. “We really try to encourage everyone to keep going and it does take a lot to keep going. Sometimes when people walk out of class they know they are going to be feeling it tomorrow.”
Spinning also has a significant impact on cardio.
“It is something that anyone can do,” Hansinger said. “And it has a lot of benefits. It is great for losing weight and working the legs and lower body muscles and it also increases cardio work.”
Hansinger said that since they first started the classes have only grown more popular.
Recently it was decided to expand into what Hansinger called a training wheels course, a half-hour version to help get people acclimated.
“It is a good introduction,” Hansinger said. “It gives people a chance to learn how to use the bikes and how to adjust them and get used to the class without having to dive right into the whole one-hour class. This way they can build up and get used to what this is all about.”
And it is a class that Hansinger said looks like it will keep growing.
“I had one woman talk to me about it today,” Hansinger said. “We usually cut back a little in the summer time and she didn't want to see her class get cut. We have a really dedicated group of riders and we'd definitely like to see more people get involved.”
This led to the creation of spinning classes.
“We started with 10 bikes,” Hansinger said. “And then we moved to 16. At the time Pat Curry was instrumental in getting all of this together and setting up training for the three instructors. Since then it has grown and we've added more classes and more instructors and it has just kept getting more popular.”
These classes have drawn avid outdoor riders and people just looking to get into shape.
“We brought a lot of outdoor riders inside,” Hansinger said. “But when we started, we also got a lot of people right after Christmas looking to take off that extra winter weight and this is a perfect way to do that mixed in with everything else. This is a great way to get into shape.”
Spinning classes are not the typical stationary bike ride.
In these classes members are taken through an intensive course of riding, intended to simulate some of the many different terrains riders may encounter.
Instructors such as Jessica Mosley, try to make the hour in the class as stimulating as possible.
“I play a lot of music,” Mosley said. “And I turn out the lights and have just little Christmas lights along the floor. It helps change the atmosphere a little bit and lets everybody get into the feel of it.”
Mosley said she tries to create scenarios that help work as motivational tools and as a guided visual experience that helps take riders out of the ordinary confines of the classroom and make for a more interesting ride.
“We do a lot of different rides,” Mosley said. “Like one we'll be in California going through traffic and we'll have to get through it as quick as possible or in another a dog will be chasing us. Things like that help change it up a little bit and I think makes it more interesting than just staring at the white walls of a spinning room and it helps keep everyone motivated if they have something else to focus on. I think using their imaginations makes the ride go better.”
From the beginning of class, Mosley said she stresses warm up and stretching before hitting the bike.
Once on the bikes, riders are taken through various stages of a ride.
“We start off easy,” Mosley said. “And we build up and increase the tension (on the bikes) as we go and build up and you can really feel the difference.”
These rides are designed to work the core muscles and lower body.
“It is a really great workout,” Mosley said. “You don't really use you arms all that much, but we focus on the core muscles and using them and it really gives a good workout and works all of those muscles.”
An hour on the bikes can be grueling.
“It is very physical and very psychological,” Mosley said. “We really try to encourage everyone to keep going and it does take a lot to keep going. Sometimes when people walk out of class they know they are going to be feeling it tomorrow.”
Spinning also has a significant impact on cardio.
“It is something that anyone can do,” Hansinger said. “And it has a lot of benefits. It is great for losing weight and working the legs and lower body muscles and it also increases cardio work.”
Hansinger said that since they first started the classes have only grown more popular.
Recently it was decided to expand into what Hansinger called a training wheels course, a half-hour version to help get people acclimated.
“It is a good introduction,” Hansinger said. “It gives people a chance to learn how to use the bikes and how to adjust them and get used to the class without having to dive right into the whole one-hour class. This way they can build up and get used to what this is all about.”
And it is a class that Hansinger said looks like it will keep growing.
“I had one woman talk to me about it today,” Hansinger said. “We usually cut back a little in the summer time and she didn't want to see her class get cut. We have a really dedicated group of riders and we'd definitely like to see more people get involved.”
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