Spinning: what to bring and what to expect first time

Spinning is indoor cycling set to music, in intervals: the music decides when you spin easy and when you push. It burns a lot of energy in a short time while staying joint-friendly, no impact, unlike running. That is why it is many people’s first group class. The first session, though, raises the most practical questions, so here are the answers to all of them.

What to bring

• More water than usual. You will sweat on a spinning bike, that is not a threat, it is a promise. The bike has a bottle holder.
• A towel. Draped over the handlebar it earns its keep.
• Normal training shoes are perfect. No special cycling shoes needed, the pedals have cages.
• Fitted rather than flowing trousers. A loose leg can catch in the drive.

Arrive ten minutes early

The most important ten minutes of your first class happen before it starts: the bike has to be set up for you. With the seat at the wrong height the whole hour is misery; with the right setup you forget the bike exists. Classes are led by Joó Reni and Majoros Vivi. Tell them it is your first time: they will set the seat and handlebar with you and explain what the instructions will mean.

You control the pace

The open secret of spinning is that everyone turns their own resistance dial. The instructor says when to “climb”, how much that means on your bike is your decision. As a beginner you can stay on a light setting for the whole class: you still did the class. Nobody can see your dial, and everybody is busy with their own.

What to expect, honestly

After the first class, the seat stays in your memory for a day or two. That is not an injury, it is adaptation: by the second or third class it disappears. Padded cycling shorts help if it really bothers you, but most people simply wait it out.

Fitness comes fast: in the first class you feel even the easy sections; by the fourth you are asking for the harder ones.

Booking

Spinning, like every group class, must be booked in the timetable, because the number of bikes is finite. If you cannot make it, cancel at least one hour before the class so your bike can go to someone else.