31 Mar Does Spinning Change Your Body Shape?
There is no disputing that spin classes are a great way to get fit, boost your cardiovascular fitness and raise your metabolism. However, is spin sufficient if you are trying to change your physical shape by losing weight or toning and shaping your body?
This article will discuss what spin classes do for your body and if it is an effective way to change your physical form.
What is a spin class?
For the uninitiated, a spin class is high-intensity interval training using static bikes, also called spin bikes. These classes are often performed in a group with a live instructor or at home on a personal spin bike with an online group or recorded session.
Spinning focuses on endurance and strength training, working at different intensity intervals and different resistance levels set on the spin bike.
The spin instructor’s job is to push the group to their limits, replicating what an endurance cyclist might experience in a race, facing different inclines, declines, and peddling speeds throughout the session.
Spin class fitness
High-intensity interval training, often abbreviated as HIIT, has been thoroughly studied by sports scientists and has been found to have significant positive impacts on human fitness, health, performance and metabolic efficiency.
Below, we will look at some of the main aspects of spinning and its effects on your physical form.
The afterburn effect
One of the most beneficial effects of HIIT training is what is known as the afterburn effect, which refers to the additional energy expenditure that occurs post-workout and during recovery. The official term for this effect is EPOC, short for excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Although all sweat-inducing workouts have some residual effects on metabolism, high-intensity interval training, like a spin class, takes the afterburn effect to the next level.
Although the afterburn often peaks after the first hour of recovery, an intense spin class could keep your body burning energy from 36 to 72-hours after your workout. If you are dieting to lose weight or aiming to maintain a healthy weight, spin classes could go a long way in achieving caloric deficits; a regular spin class can go a long way in changing your physical shape and size.
Low impact exercise
Spinning is considered a low impact exercise, which means the body is getting a considerable workout with minimal impact on the musculoskeletal system.
Why is this relevant to body shape? If your exercise regime always has a heavy impact on the body, you may suffer excessive soreness, reducing your ability to work out regularly. This may even discourage you from exercising.
Although soreness is a sign that you have had a solid workout, choosing workout methods that you can sustain will go a long way in providing the caloric deficit needed to change your size and shape for the better. Spin class is a great way to break up your heavier impact exercises, like running and weight lifting, and give your bones and joints a rest while still pursuing your health and fitness goals.
Builds muscle and cardiovascular fitness
Often, people associate cardiovascular exercise and muscle building as two different aspects of fitness. However, while the activities you may perform to build muscle differ from cardiovascular workouts, they are symbiotic allies in losing weight and building a toned body.
A spin class addresses both of these fitness essentials in one system.
During a spin class, a wide range of muscle groups are engaged and pushed to hypertrophy which tears, repairs and builds muscle.
At the same time, your heart and lungs are being pushed to the limit, addressing your cardiovascular training while applying strong resistance to your muscle groups simultaneously.
When performing resistance training alone, like lifting weights, your cardiovascular system is often not working as hard as running or cycling. This means you are not maximising blood flow and oxygen levels to those muscles as they are worked.
During a spin class, you perform resistance and cardiovascular training simultaneously, supporting muscular endurance and encouraging and supporting optimal growth and recovery, both during and after your spin session.
Although cycling is heavily leg orientated, many other major muscle groups have engaged the body.
Muscles that are used during a spin class include, but are not limited to:
- Quads
- Hamstrings
- Hip flexors
- Glutes
- Calves
- Back muscles
- Core muscles
- Shoulders
- Arms
- Forearms
- Hands, wrists and more
When people are trying to lose weight, something that is often overlooked is the more lean, active muscle you have, the more calories you burn when at rest.
Although the number of calories active muscle burns per day alone might be a lot compared to other exercises, it can contribute significantly to your whole weight loss program over a year.
Cardiovascular training is also an excellent tool for burning calories and controlling a person’s body mass index (BMI). Cycling, like spinning, is one of the top exercises for cardiovascular health and endurance, next to swimming and running.
A person who weighs around 70-80kg can burn up to approximately 300-calories in 30-minutes of high-intensity cycling, like the kind performed in a spin class.
All these factors considered the conclusion is that spin classes can reduce your waistline while building and toning muscle, meaning spin classes could be one of the best fitness tools to add to your exercise toolbox to change your body shape.
In conclusion
spin classes:
- Burn calories and fat
- Continue to burn excess body fat long after your spin session expires
- Builds strong lean muscle
- Increases cardiovascular fitness and health
All these factors combined make it an ideal exercise for changing the shape of anyone’s body while supporting physical and mental performance and supporting optimal health.
Are you interested in spin classes in Richmond
Cycle collective is a Spin Class in Richmond and one of Melbourne’s leading spin class providers and are industry leaders for certified spin class instructor training online, Australia-wide.
If you are ready to take your fitness to the next level with a community of passionate spinners, contact our Richmond headquarters on 03 942 59319. Send your inquiry via our online contact form, and one of our representatives will respond promptly.
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