4 WAYS TO BE YOUR OWN SPIN CLASS

It may be a while before gyms reopen to the endorphin-hungry masses, so spinning enthusiasts and newbies alike are looking for ways to replicate the experience at home.

Here’s some advice on how to keep pedaling with a community of sweaty strangers from afar.

1. Ride from home, live

The closest you can get to a real spinning studio experience is by streaming a live class or pulling up a prerecorded session on the website of Peloton — the maker of the indoor cycling bike — which has a library full of content.

Last week, the Times reported on the phenomenon of Peloton panic buying. As the severity and longevity of the coronavirus pandemic have become clear, consumers have flocked to buy home-exercise equipment, from a $5 jump rope to the $2,245 Peloton bike, which offers streaming classes for an extra $39 a month. In April, Peloton reached a record when more than 23,000 people joined one of its live classes

No Peloton bike?

Some popular instructors are hosting live spin classes on Instagram, while other studios host spin classes on Zoom and require participants to sign up and pay online before class begins.

Hop on your spinning bike, prop up your computer or smartphone, squint a bit, and it may almost feel like you’re there.

2. Ride from home, on your own time

If you are not wedded to the live-class experience, there is a growing selection of indoor cycling equipment that can be connected to a variety of cycling apps on a tablet or your smartphone.

Most bikes are $699 to $2,500, including the Diamondback 1260Sc, Bowflex C6, the Myx, NordicTrack Commercial S22i Studio Cycle, Keiser M3i and the Horizon Fitness IC7.9. Some have their own integrated apps, and others allow you to connect to apps like Zwift and Rouvy that focus on road-style cycling and racing. These apps also have some live-ride options but are more geared to cyclists than spinning enthusiasts.

3. Ride from home, on your own road bike

If you’d like to ride from home on your own outdoor bike, buy bike rollers or an indoor bike trainer, which secures the rear wheel and bike frame (about $100 and up). In effect, the trainer allows you to bike inside as if you were outside. And without the distractions of riding outside (potholes, people, squirrels), you may be able to get an experience closer to that of a spinning class.

4. Ride outside, safely

Perhaps the best and most affordable way to keep up your cycling habit: Bike outside while following all traffic laws and social distancing guidelines.

Many spin classes are formatted around a series of intervals or speed repeats, something that’s easily replicable on your own outdoors. Tara Parsons, a cycling coach in New York City, recommends starting with a simple timer to do your own intervals.

You could do an intense session where you go all out for 30 seconds to a minute, followed by a three-minute recovery. As you improve your fitness, you can decrease that recovery time to one or two minutes between hard efforts. Make sure you are focusing on your leg speed, or rotations per minute, Parsons said, so your effort is pushing your aerobic and anaerobic capacity. If you want to do longer intervals, do five or 10 minutes at a perceived effort level of 7 to 8 out of 10, and then break with a recovery session of the equal amount.