Social distancing and the death of Spinning classes.
Published via Gript
Spinning. A fitness class that had taken the gym industry by storm, may just be on its death bed due to Covid-19 regulations. And thank god for that.
Why am I happy with the potential decline of Spinning classes in gyms?
Spinning, or more importantly cycling is not an adequate foundation of fitness due to a number of important and often unacknowledged reasons, yet many people are unaware of this. I aim to outline these reasons and perhaps persuade you not to waste another 45minutes being shouted at by a trainer who must be snorting cocaine to feign that level of enthusiasm for a fitness class.
The average participant in a gym class is a desk bound worker, who just clocked off from an 8 hour shift. Throughout the day, they have probably spent 7 hours on a chair and up to an hour commuting in a car or bus. But now their chosen form of fitness is a seated on a bike. Go figure.
There is little doubt that the health of the hips of these participants is not being dealt with sufficiently in a spin class. When you analyse the percentage of the day that the typical participant is seated versus standing, you might be inclined to give this issue some consideration. According to the HSE, “at least 4500 hip replacements are carried out each year in Ireland, usually on adults aged over 65. Additionally, women are more likely to need a hip replacement than men.” There ya go, straight from the horses mouth. This issue is only exacerbated given the fact that the vast majority of spin class participants are female. If 4500 people are getting hip replacements, I can only imagine the number of people that are experiencing pain and discomfort due to a lack of hip mobility, perhaps unbeknownst to them.Despite what gyms may claim about spinning as a form of fitness, spinning does not build an adequate amount of muscle mass and only deals with two aspects of the body; cardiovascular health and the muscles of the quads. Do a quick google search of the purpose of spin bikes and you will find claims such as “spin bikes are designed to help you meet your weight-loss goals” or that spin bikes offer “a full-body workout while focusing on major muscles such as the thighs, calves, abs, hips, and shoulders”. I hope you noticed that hips aren’t muscles, and I won’t insult you by explaining why cycling doesn’t offer your shoulders a workout. And if you are ready to dispute this, I seriously advise you rethink the definition of the term workout.
And to address all the people who drop the caveat “I don’t want to get big and bulky”, (as if it happens overnight), perhaps take a look at a study entitled “Skeletal Muscle Mass as a Mortality Predictor among Nonagenarians and Centenarians: A Prospective Cohort Study” by Hui Wang in Scientific Reports, which proved that “low muscle mass was associated with a higher risk of death” for both men and women in their later years.Finally, the return on investment of spinning is simply so small. You have a finite amount of time each week to invest in your health, and spinning does not deserve your time. It will not increase the mobility of your hips, nor the strength of your back. It will not help your posture and it will not improve your athleticism. All that will happen is it will burn you calories and improve your ability to cycle.
However, let me remind you that squatting, and resistance training in general, would do the same and more. So much more. Many people don’t seem to notice that those who squat well and often can obviously cycle, however I know many avid cyclists who can’t squat.
Despite what many people believe, a 45 minute training session, 4 times a week, is actually enough time to develop some serious improvements in your overall health in a matter of 4-8 weeks. However, a class like spinning which focuses on such a small aspect of your body, is simply insufficient. So I sign off here with one request, ignore Dory the Fish and your cocaine fuelled gym instructor when they say “just keep spinning, just keep spinning, just keep spinning”.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————--
Hello,
As some of you may know, Personal Training is my bread and butter, however I moonlight as a writer in my spare time.
Should you find this article, or any other article or presentation interesting, please consider donating a small amount by using the 'Donate' button linked.
Do not feel obliged to choose any particular amount, as all donations will be greatly appreciated and welcomed.
Moreover, I will send you a discount code for both Online Coaching and/or Personal Training in gratitude of every donation made, regardless of the amount donated.
Thank You,
Simon
