No pain, no gain!
TOP TEN BENEFITS OF SPINNING
1. Burn those Calories
A good thirty minute workout on a Spinning Cycle can burn as much as 500 calories. Even at challenging levels other cardio equipment couldn’t burn that many calories in such a short time. Longer workouts burn anywhere between 800 to 1,000 calories.
2. Cardiovascular Health
Spinning is primarily an anaerobic exercise, pulling energy from your reserves and building up your muscular endurance over an extended period of time. However, there are also aerobic benefits of Spinning. Planned Spinning programs include both endurance and cardiovascular training during the workout. At several points you may be required to break your steady pace and speed up to increase your heart rate.
Heart health is an obvious benefit, as is lung capacity. As you work harder during your Spinning workout you will learn to work on controlled breathing, as well. This may help you with anxiety and help lower your heart rate when you get into a situation where physical exertion begins to take your breath away.
3. Progress at Your Own Pace
Whether following a live instructor or video, the amount of resistance you apply, as you gain strength and endurance is up to you. Each spinning bike has a resistance control knob within easy reach of the handle bars. It works something like switching gears.
While instructors recommend an RPM, as you work toward increasing your RPM and maintaining a steady pace you can’t fall behind the rest of the class. You don’t feel out of place for not knowing an aerobic or step routine. No one really knows what level at which you are working, so you are free to progress at your own pace.
4. Time Flies
Have you ever walked or ran on a treadmill for an hour only to discover you burned around 400 calories? Did you enjoy the time on the treadmill? On the spinning bike, the challenge is constantly changing. As you work through each level you tend to lose track of time.
5. Low Impact
Many people avoid the treadmill, elliptical, and stair stepper because of the traumatic impact on their knees or feet. Spinning keeps the pressure off of your knees and feet. You are able to work out hard on a Spinning bike without hurting your knees and feet. It is also a good workout for those who cannot use the treadmill or elliptical because of arthritis.
6. Shapely Legs
It will not take long for your efforts on a spinning bike to show up as weight loss, but there is another great benefit to Spinning. Spinning uses large muscle groups in your legs. It does not take long before your thighs, hamstrings, and calves begin to take shape. Three spinning workouts a week will make a difference in the shapely appearance of your leg.
7. Lower Your Body’s Workout Breaking Point
As you learn to work harder on the spinning bike you will begin to find that the breaking point, at which you begin to feel the workout, will become lower the harder you work. The great thing about working your body into this kind of shape is that you feel better without the use of drugs. You feel better throughout the day following a workout and you have more energy. You are simply training your body to work more efficiently.
8. Get an abdominal workout while you Spin
Spinning instructors never give up when it comes to talking about technique and posture. Correct posture is important to working the right muscle groups. In addition to the major leg muscles worked during a Spinning routine, the abdominal muscles get a workout, as well.
As you spin, unlike racing a bike on the road, you get an upper body rhythm going that helps you keep your leg rhythm. The movement from a slightly bent position and side to side works both the central abdominal muscles and those along the side of your abdomens.
You may not see immediate results of your abdominal work, but over time you will feel your entire body begin to tone up, including your abs.
9. Ride Together
Regardless of your fitness level riding Spinning bikes keeps everyone together. This goes beyond sitting in the same spinning class, but each individual works equally as hard at their own level. It is amazing how you can feed off of the energy of other riders when you begin to fatigue and start thinking you might want to quit.
Riding together also gives you the opportunity to encourage others. You can inspire those who have not yet reached your level of fitness, while those stronger than you inspire you. Working together, everyone who spins can reach their goals.
10. Mental Strength
Spinning does two things mentally. First, the warm up and cool down are great ways to relax. Before and after putting your body through a strenuous Spinning workout you can close your eyes, work just a little, and allow the physical exertion to become a catharsis for releasing pent-up emotions.
Spinning also builds mental strength. When you spin, there are good days and bad. The important thing is that you carry through with your regular Spinning routine. Push through difficult times. Push up hill climbs and push through endurance training.
Self discipline of the mind gained in spinning can be applied to all areas of life. It coulf be particularly beneficial in areas of self-control and confidence. Spinning helps develop a positive, “can do” attitude.
Trainers recommend Spinning no more than three days a week. In addition to Spinning, strength training is recommended so that Spinning does not burn away muscle, but burns the fat you want to get rid of.
The FIU REC Center offers Spinning classes Monday through Friday and at different times on a single day. You can find the class schedule here: http://recreation.fiu.edu/ClassSched.htm
Now there’s no excuse really to give this class a shot!
Compiled by: FIU Recreation Services
Source: Wendy Dawn, Yahoo! Contributor Network
About the Rec Center and Rec Services
Recreation Services offers recreation and fitness opportunities to Florida International University’s students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Recreational Facilities such as the Recreation Center, swimming pool, Rec Field, and tennis, racquetball and basketball courts are available. Participate in Intramural Sportsin team or individual/dual activities such as flag football, basketball, tennis or racquetball regardless of your skill level. Women’s, men’s and co-rec (co-educational) leagues are available in most team sports. Improve your fitness and self-esteem levels through a variety of Fitness & Recreational Instruction choices such as PantherFIT Group Fitness Classes,tennis lessons or running clinics. Work as an IM Sports Referee or Fitness Attendant. Iif you’re interested in pursuing a specific sport/activity at a more intense level, Sport Clubs such as Rugby, Kempo, Water Polo, Scuba Diving or Table Tennis may be to your liking. Maybe take a skiing or whitewater rafting trip out-of-state, or experience some of our local natural attractions like the Everglades or Shark Valley. All these activities are on a non-varsity level and are not for class credit - no grades and no pressure!
FIU is more than an academic institution with textbooks, laboratories and professors. When you participate in extracurricular activities like Recreation Services, you find opportunities for leadership, social and multicultural interaction, camaraderie, physical activity and stress reduction that you can’t find in the classroom.
Located in the Recreation Center on the MMC campus, Recreation Services staff can provide you with schedules, entry forms, informational brochures, and even help match you up with an Intramural team if you can’t find one.
Join the fun of Recreation Services - there’s something for everyone!
The Rec Center goes digital
With the world evolving so fast and social media quickly becoming a norm, the Rec Center decided to get with the times and now we’re on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and tumbler.
We’ll post information regularly regarding new events and classes at the Rec Center. We will also post the latest information on health, fitness and nutrition.
This could very well be your one stop shop for everything health related. 
