Setting Up For A Spinning Bike

So, you have bought a spinning machine, or maybe even you are on the verge of reaching for your wallet and heading to the local sports store, or you have that cup of coffee by the monitor all ready to do that on-line shopping for a suitable machine you have been promising yourself.

Either way, this quick post will highlight some of the main areas of adjustment these spinning cycles (and regular road bikes as well for that matter).  The adjustment is important to get the most out of the effort you will put into your spinning as well as avoiding any injury.

There are usually three main adjustments :

• Saddle height (up and down)
• Saddle position (forwards and backwards)
• Handlebar height (up and down)

Some of the higher end models may even have a smaller adjustment that will allow movement forward and backwards of the handlebars.

Saddle Height Adjustment

Stand upright beside the bicycle, facing forward with the seat by your side.  Make sure you are wearing the shoes you will be using to ride the bike.  Lift the leg closest to the bike until your knee is at the height of your hip, and your foot is hanging naturally pointing towards the ground.  Try to keep your hips parallel and not cocked on the raised leg side.  You will feel your hip bone push out a little.  The height of this hipbone should be the starting point for the height of the middle of the saddle.  Getting this adjustment correct will save you from sore and aching knees after even a short time riding.

Saddle Position (Forwards / Backwards)

Position yourself on the bike, sitting on the now correctly positioned saddle. Start to pedal slowly forwards.  Imagine as the pedal rotates, that the pedal is rotating around the outside of a clock.  For this exercise, you only need to worry about one side.  As your feet are at the top of the pedal stroke (knee most bent), this will be 12 o’clock.  Rotate one quarter of a turn and the position will be 3 o’clock.  In this 3 o’clock position, your knee should be positioned directly over the top of the pedal and your lower leg should be almost perpendicular to the ground.  This will allow you to exert the maximum force into the pedal stroke,  in turn maximizing power output and calories expended.

Handlebar Height Adjustment

This adjustment is mainly an adjustment for comfort.  On an indoor spinning cycle you will not have to worry about any wind resistance as you might for an outdoors road bike, so it makes a little more sense to have the position of the handlebars up a little higher.  This adjustment may only be possible after you have been sitting and pedalling for a little while.  Ideally, you should only be lightly resting your hands on the handlebars – more of an assistance to balance rather than significantly supporting any of your weight.  Leaning too heavily on the handlebars will cause your arms to tire easily and can result in pins and needle feelings in your hands and finger tips after little while.

Footwear for Spinning and Cycling

I mentioned a little earlier about shoes.  While not exactly one of the most important setup considerations for any spinning or cycling, suitable footware will have an impact on how smoothly your cycling effort will go.

For any spinning and cycling, it is best to have shoes that have a firm sole.  Proper cycling shoes have very stiff soles to assist with the power transfer to the pedal stroke.  For beginner cyclists and those contemplating the first attempts at a spinning class, training shoes or sneakers will suffice.

To stop your feet from slipping off the pedals, most spinning bikes will have pedals that have a cage (sometimes called traps) that you can insert your shoe into with some sort of strap that can be adjusted to secure your shoe.  Usually, the underside of these pedals with the cages installed will have some time of cleat trap.  To utilize this side of the pedal, you would need to have custom cycling shoes with a SPD cleat installed.  Another name for these SPD cleats is mountain bike shoe cleats.  The cleats on the bottom of your shoe slot into the attachment on the pedal, thereby securing your foot to the pedal.  To remove your shoe from the pedal, simply turn your ankles away from the bike and your shoe will pop away from the pedal.

If you are using a road bike, make sure you have a few practises getting your feet out of the pedals while you are holding on to something before heading out on the road.  It takes a little practise and thinking ahead to be able to get your shoes free and put your feet down when you need to stop.

All you need now is motivation, a water bottle, a small towel to wipe away that sweat that will happen and some tunes and maybe some company in the form of a spinning class and you are set on your road to an excellent means of improving your health and general fitness and definitely a calorie burning activity.

Biking has developed into a well-known option to provide a low-impact workout section into the exercise program. Alas, it can be tough to co-ordinate a cycle outside when the weather conditions are bad. Rain, wild windy weather conditions, or possibly snow may have you seriously contemplating whether you choose to even head outdoors. The very idea of being cold, soaked or both could have you reconsidering just about any outdoors biking activity. |Lots of people discover a good way to have their riding workout is to purchase a stationary or “exercise” machine. Many folk think that buying an indoor stationary bicycle will help them with their planned workout.

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Beware Your Health Before Any Major Fitness Upgrade

A pre-existing heart condition, any breathing difficulty, any chest pain or dizziness, any joint or bone problems may well require some serious thought about how you approach a planned cycling workout. A checkup with your current general practitioner really should be completed first ahead of seriously contemplating planning a series of riding workout routines – particularly if you have recently recovered from sickness, injury, or even if you are elderly or overweight.

Visit http://www.lazygorilla.com to get an idea how to choose the type of equipment that meets your requirements best. A semi-recumbent cycle has a chair style seat with a seat back, so this may be the better choice if you’ve got any back discomfort, balance or even mobility concerns.

Types of Exercise Bikes and What To Be Looking For

The next thing to think about is the system that creates the moving resistance the electronic fitness bike uses.

Upright Exercise Bicycles with flywheels are usually more affordable, with the dearer models using a magnetic type system.

Within the flywheel type equipment, a heavy weight band is adjusted around a solid wheel of the stationary bike, and a small know is used to change the level of resistance.

Electric powered exercise bikes have to have a a close by electrical power supply and utilize magnets to supply level of resistance.

Most exercise bikes will have some form of control console and this may vary greatly. For the best effective work out, it’s useful to have a console which shows readouts of velocity, distance, as well as elapsed time to be able to track how you’re progressing. More expensive models often have control consoles which track pulse rate and burned calorie consumption, or perhaps a computer opponent to compete against or to keep track with.

Bi-cycle sizing is without a doubt a significant concern. The key tweaks in saddle height to match your leg length and height need to be done before you begin any serious pedaling. Several designs may even allow adjusting the positioning of the handle bars along with tilt adjustments of the seat. Make an effort to ensure that things are fine-tuned to a comfortable fit. If your setup isn’t quite suitable for you, it will show up by becoming unpleasant for the time you’re on your exercise bike with future sessions being a mission and much less likely to be continued.

Before any likely purchases, consider a test ride prior to buying. You’ll want a cycle which functions smoothly and quietly at all resistance levels. The level of resistance needs to be variable because as you become better, you’ll be seeking additional pyhysical challenge. The stability of your machine is very important, especially when pedalling hard.

Ahead of any prospective purchases, give serious consideration to a test ride prior to buying. Once you take a look at exercise bike you are interested in, it’ll need to operate smoothly and quietly regardless of resistance level setting. You may begin using a low level of resistance, but with time, you’ll be motivated by your improvement and may opt to vary or raise your resistance levels. For the sake of safety, the exercise cycle should be stable – even when pedalling hard.

Before spending any time on the stationary exercise bike , take time out to become aware of the settings so you are able to work them while doing your riding routines. As with any new purchases, time invested learning the controls will be time spent well. Important considerations might be whether local parts and maintenance are readily available as well as the scope of the guarantee and warrantee.

The nugget of advice “Try before you buy” makes good sense – Take a look at range of upright exercise bikes at your local gym or recreation center. Many gyms nowadays offer “spinning” classes which may be described loosely as pedaling to music on a fitness bike along with a number of other cyclists. In these sessions, the instructor provides a varied workout of different speeds and intensities, combined with music. These types of classes tend to be great fun and will definitely keep you motivated.

Once you discover the stationary bike that’s ideal for you, get ready to enjoy all of the benefits of indoors bicycling – no matter what the weather outdoors will be.