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PaperclipPerfector  25d ago (text post)   2848 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for October 27, 2024

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Any suggestions for how to do spin bike sessions properly. I tried hiit sprints and that was a disaster as my foot would slip from the bike at super high pace, I can't use it like an assault bike and want to do something for my heart on days I don't work out. I do hope I find a better gym soon with an airdyne, till then, this is all I got

Do you have no ability to increase resistance?

I don't see the value in cadence over 110, and even that's questionable. I tend to play exclusively in the 60-100 space. Saddle positioning can help. Many people have the saddle too low, fewer have it too high, and fewer have it just right. That will help you get to higher cadences.

Do you own the cycle? Do you plan to cycle outside? If so it may be worth investing in clipless pedals and cleats you can use on multiple machines.

If you can't increase resistance then there's no magical technique to get better besides practice, and I don't know what value you'd get out of spinning out at no resistance all the time.

This sounds super weird to me. I did entry-level competitive cycling on a college team for a few years, and have never heard of that being a problem for anybody. Even with plain flat pedals and ordinary shoes, your foot shouldn't ever slip off. Maybe you're trying to pedal way too fast or have some kind of weird foot motion or position or something. The axis of your toes on your foot should be roughly directly above the axis the pedal rotates on.

Pedals with straps to hold your foot on are indeed a thing, as are various types of "clipless" systems where your shoes lock in and only come out with a specific twisting motion, but they're only really beneficial for allowing you to exert force on the pedals on the upward stroke. If your foot is coming off the pedals, you should fix whatever issue is causing that before you do an equipment change.

My feet come off only when I try to go 100 per cent, so the bike works if I am going slower than 90 per cent. thanks for the pointer about the toes btw. Any suggestions on how many minutes or what intensity I should use it for?

What do you mean by "going 100 per cent"? Are you just pedaling very fast? The exact ideal pedaling cadence varies between individuals, but you should probably be in the ballpark of 90rpm max, no matter how hard you're working. On an actual bicycle on the road, you use your gears to keep your pedaling in the range you're most comfortable while going faster and exerting more force. On a stationary trainer, you should be able to increase the resistance to get the workout you want without pedaling excessively fast. If your trainer can't increase the resistance enough to put you at the effort level you want without pedaling way too fast, then that is an equipment problem that needs fixing.

You might want to try and find a spin class at a proper gym to try, at least once, just to see how you compare to everyone else and get some input on what's really wrong.

Suggestions for how to do interval training and times and intensities aren't really something I know enough about to give advice on. It probably depends a lot on exactly what your goals are - general cardio performance versus actually being competitive at some particular type of racing.

Being able to spin fast without spazzing out is a learnable skill especially on flat pedals, one-leg drills and so on, but outside of some fairly specific applications I endorse all this.

For the viewing amusement of the board, here's a trackie hitting some high revs on rollers: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZiVa0zTRHJk&pp=ygUOMjUwcnBtIHJvbGxlcnM%3D

What sort of spin bike are you using? There is a reason serious cyclists (both mountain and road) use "clipless" pedals. The name is historical: it refers to cycling shoes with a cleat that locks firmly into the pedals. For very maximal force efforts, track cyclists then often add straps ("clips") even now.

I've seen spin bikes with the hardware to optionally connect to cleats (usually Shimano SPD mountain bike cleats) on pedals that can also be used with regular shoes. But sometimes they just have flat pedals.

There is probably also something to be said for good technique. Are you having trouble at high cadences/efforts specifically or more broadly?

A cheap one without any ways of seeing how fast I'm going or any metrics. It has flat pedals without anything holding my foot back like straps.

So I figured that just doing 30 minutes at 70 percent of what I can do would be a start, maybe 40 if 70 is too much.

The seat is fucked too as not super ergonomic but I just want to get my heart rate up. It's safer than running.

There is probably also something to be said for good technique. Are you having trouble at high cadences/efforts specifically or more broadly?

I'll say this: I thought the idea of technique on a stationary bike was silly coming from much more technical exercises, but it takes time to get the rhythm right.

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