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Are spinning classes good crosstraining for a bike race? |
I have a 40k bike race a week from today. 40k is really not a big distance for me. I didn't know what else to do to get better, so I joined a spinning class two weeks ago. So far, I don't know if it's helping at all. The first class the instructor got mad I was going too fast and getting the stationary bike off the ground, so she set the resistance to maximum, I was able to hanlde it still. I've been going everyday, but I'm not even breaking a sweat during the hour. I'm thinking of taking 2 hours in a row just to get my money's worth. Did I waste my money? Or are these classes helping some way I'm not aware of? Spinning classes are good for developing your cardiovascular health, but it's been my experience that it doesn't tranlslate well to road cycling except to get you to a point where you can do decent workouts on a real bike. Once you're fit, continuing with a spinning class is good for maintinance, but that's about it. The best way to get better at cycling (once your base fitness level is good) is to get out and ride. This is the wrong time of year to be cooped up in a gym. Get out on the _real_ bike. That said, I feel you _are_wasting your time and money. Also, I would train lightly this week in preparation for your race. You'll do much better going into it rested than if you do hard workouts the week before. What kind of race are you doing? is this a 40k time trial? If so, the spin class may not be the best thing for you. In my experience, spin classes tend to be good sprint workouts. They are high intensity and hig leg speed (sometimes). If you are doing a mass start road race or criterium, I'm not sure how much benefit they are going to give you in the short term. Quite honestly, three weeks of intensity training is not enough for a single event. Sure it will help you, but the maxium benefit may not realized by weeks or months down the road. Additionally, I'd think about what to do this week. You don't want to work out too hard because you want your body to be fresh. But think about the routine for the day before. When I was racing, I made sure to do a one hour spin on the bike with a couple of small jumps. I found that if I missed this ride, I went into race day with stale legs. |
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