Spin Class

I'm a fairly ambivalent about Spin classes. At this time of the year, they become quite the talk of the town as the weather begins its slow downward spiral.

Spin classes are inherently intense. I would be surprised to find out that there wasn't some secret competition between spin class instructors/studios to create most gut-busting, anaerobic class possible. Intensity is fine and all for the average joe/jane trying to burn some calories and lose weight, but for endurance athletes, it has to be used judiciously.

Spin instructors are not interested in what your goals are and when you will be racing -- they just want you to feel like you are inhaling pepper spray and your quads are going to set your bike shorts aflame.

Now is the time when plenty of athletes start to flesh out goals for next year and get really psyched -- hey, july is a long time from now, lofty goals are now within reach, and preparation can begin NOW. Time to hit the pedals hard now, right?

There's a problem.

If I start hitting spin class 2-3 times a week during off-season & base training, I can forget about peaking in June-July-August for a few reasons:

1) I haven't built an aerobic worth building an anaerobic base on top of. There's a few wackos out there who insist on doing things the other way around, but they are few & far between, and tend to experiment on those who are already world class athletes.
2) How will peak weeks be different? Friel and Carmichael won't be sending their athletes up Alpe d'Huez in January....why do you need to blow your head off now? You should be doing it a week or two before your intended peak performance.
3) I can easily burn myself out by April, not to mention August. Who, other than the pros, can sustain 3 or more high intensity workouts a week for months on end? I can't. This is especially telltale when you observe the difference in gym traffic between January and April--everyone tries to lose weight that weight, overdoes it, and they can't sustain what they started. I'm beginning to come to grips with the insanity associated with trying to do the Birkie on top of a season of triathlon/cycling. It might be time to pick one or the other, or drop the priority of one way below the other.

My general strategy has been to hit the spin room when class is not in session. That way I can focus on the needs of my training PLAN, staying in target heart rate zones and avoid drifting from them when the testosterone goes airborne during those spin classes. Bring a movie or some good music -- laying down 3 hours of zone 2 on a spin bike will get monotonous. I had several such session in March.

And there's no point in going to spin class in June...I've three bikes and the city has roads! (And I have a trainer if it's crappy outside ;) )

However, I still tend to belive that consistency is more important than just about anything when it comes to training, including periodization. If you can do spin class so religiously, my hat is off to you.