For those in doubt, I am still taking spinning classes on a regular basis. I only skipped two lessons, due to having nobody to babysit the kids. I feel like I am edging closer to the first plateau, on which it is supposedly easier to keep going for an hour.
Last Tuesday, I managed to increase the resistance each time we were asked to. Of course, much depends on the bike. On some bikes I cannot get the wheels turning at resistance setting 4, whereas on others – the ones I prefer – I can keep going at level 6. Needless to say, the higher the level at which I can keep riding, the more fine grained I can make my workout session. Still, I was quite pleased, though it had been the toughest session I took since I started.
In the beginning I had problems with riding as fast as I could without resistance. Somehow, when my brain started to think about what my legs were doing and what they are used to doing, I messed up the rhythm, causing strain to my knees. But, I must admit I have improved a lot, and I’m more or less able to really go as fast as I can without missing a beat. Keeping my heels down helps a lot too.
But, alas, no additional weigh loss.
First of all: spinning is definitely better than not spinning.
Secondly my impression is that I do these spinning classes with a very high intensity.
So, I’m guessing it’s more or less the same for you. Basically, I don’t think you’re burning any fat during these classes. Try to include some exercises with a more moderate intensity (such as jogging) if your goal is to lose weight.
I find jogging utterly boring. Even with my Nano blasting waves onto my ear drums. And I find it much harder to keep up for a longer period of time, say anything over 20-25 minutes. Also, I am not the worlds slowest jogger, it has to advance. Which might be the reason for not being able to keep going.