Spinning and its principles!
Spinning is a registered brand and a training program that was created by Johnathan Goldberg (Johnny G.) in the 80’s. The first Spinning center opened in California in 1994. Johnny G. and one of his student then founded Mad Dogg Athletics Inc. which remains today a leader in this industry and offers the official Spinning certfication program around the world.
Spinning is a training program that has its own philosophy. We need a physical but also a mental training to change our body and lifestyle. This program is a simulation of a real outdoor route, so we ride through flat roads, hills and wind. This is reproduced indoors by adjusting the level of resistance of the Spinning bikes. Standing, we can run on a flat road or climb a hill with power. Jumps are a mix of standing and sitting positions in alternance, to create an acceleration, maintaining a fluid transition in between each position. With these basics position there is an infinite range of possible combinations to create a challenging workout.
One of the most important rules in Spinning is to always keep some resistance from the moment we jump on the bike, we want to ride the bike, the bike shouldn’t ride us! Each pedal stroke should demand physical effort, otherwise there is no work being done and it can result in important damages to the joints.
Sprints are a more advanced technique that applies the same principle. The main goal is not to go so fast you can’t see your feet moving, the goal is to generate a maximum push and effort with a big load of resistance, for an established short time. You should not feel like your knees will come off your legs or your buttocks are bouncing on and off your seat!
There are so many points to bring into this topic (bike adjustments, shoes, heart rate management, etc), and much more will come, but today I wanted to bring the aspect of ”focus and meditation” into Spinning.
Our state of mind while making the effort is a tremendous aspect of the sport. According to me, this aspect is one of the major strength of the Spinning program. We barely encounter that philosophy in other sports but at the same time this principle can apply to all spheres of our lives. In Spinning we use a lot of visualization. Yes this can include the sun, clouds, mountains, trees and other cyclists, but what we really want to visualize is the consciousness of our body and mind, our positioning, feel certain muscles work and others remaining relaxed, control our breathing and remain calm (except in sprints and high climbing!). The challenge is to do all this but to keep pushing the effort and power in our legs, with focus, it is pretty much like entering in a meditation mode, making our workout much more efficient. It makes the heart stronger, improves aerobic and anaerobic system along with our respiratory capacity, not to mention it really plays a great role on our mood as well. So the key is to keep going, any stressful and irrelevant thoughts abandoned outside the room, concentrating on our journey, emptying the mind, focusing on our moment… Classes can become a transcendental experience each time, with the right mindset, focus, calmness and joy… What an impact that will have in your everyday life!
By following these advices and if you have a good certified Spinning instructor to lead you into that fabulous journey, you will see extraordinary changes physically, but also mentally. Spinning is a true passion for me and I bet you it will get to you as soon as you give it a try and apply these important principles.
I’m inviting you to come try my classes or any other certified Spinning program facility, make yourself a huge gift and watch all the positive changes in your life!
There will be many more posts to come on Spinning, until then, enjoy the ride!!
Annie Cap, certified Spinning instructor
