# Temperature in Spin Class



## Sirveyir (Apr 5, 2008)

Dear Coaches,

Are you all out there really coaches? I hope you can help with a gym rat controversy. I am doing spin classes at the local gym - too cold and snowy here to ride outside. A couple of the 'expert' spin instructors like to turn up the heat - like to 75 degrees. Our spin room is rather small, has no ventilation, and classes can hold about 30+ sweaty people. When you walk in it is like walking into a sauna/sweat lodge. Said instructors say your muscles need to 'warm up' when you ride. I need some expert info. to sway this opinion. Any of you coaches out there have any opinions or facts about this aspect of indoor training? Thanks so much! Wife of Sirveyir


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## MerlinAma (Oct 11, 2005)

Said instructors are clueless. Your muscles need to warm up from use, not heat transfer from your skin, as if that works anyway.
Anyway once your muscles are warmed up, you need a cooler temp and some moving air (BIG FANS). 
What you describe is a little like the people who wear the hot suits (or whatever they are called) while exercising. Really?


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## bbelanger (Jan 15, 2011)

The heat in the room will also will elevate your HR, which may limit you in the class....


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## vs779 (Feb 22, 2005)

I have been doing my workout in my garage at 45 degrees. I can push so hard due to the fact I don't have to worry about heat, which always slows me down. The key is layers of clothing to pull off and a good warm up. I did a few spin classes at the 75 degree mark and yes you have to get past the heat and push harder.


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## UrbanPrimitive (Jun 14, 2009)

The idea of warming up by using heat is a misinterpretation of what's actually going on in the body. When muscles are warmed up they are, indeed, a slightly warmer temperature than they were before. That is an _effect_ of warming up.

This is precisely the reason I _hate_ bikram yoga. Warmed up muscles generate heat, heat does not warm up muscles. This is a classic example where A equals B but B does not equal A.

To put it another way:
Exhaust doesn't make the engine run.
Because the engine is running, there is exhaust.

Heat in the body is a byproduct of the metabolic, pulmonary, lymphatic, and vascular actions brought about by athletic activity.


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## passthestoke (Apr 8, 2012)

Sirveyir said:


> Dear Coaches,
> 
> Are you all out there really coaches? I hope you can help with a gym rat controversy. I am doing spin classes at the local gym - too cold and snowy here to ride outside. A couple of the 'expert' spin instructors like to turn up the heat - like to 75 degrees. Our spin room is rather small, has no ventilation, and classes can hold about 30+ sweaty people. When you walk in it is like walking into a sauna/sweat lodge. Said instructors say your muscles need to 'warm up' when you ride. I need some expert info. to sway this opinion. Any of you coaches out there have any opinions or facts about this aspect of indoor training? Thanks so much! Wife of Sirveyir


Most of said spin class goers are probably going for fitness and you're probably one of the few if not only one who actually cycles. Your goals are far different on the bike than all the others'. I'm assuming they turn up the heat for participants to sweat more, makes people think they're burning more calories. I'm getting the impression the instructor is tailoring the temperature to the "not quite as knowledgeale" spin class goer.


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## Full_Spectrum (Oct 30, 2012)

I dont understand why this is a problem. 75 degrees ambient seems downright mild compared with what we see in the DC area from May thru September.
Further, wouldnt it be a good idea to train in slightly more challenging conditions and be better prepared for the heat when it arrives?

The analogy to Bikram also doesnt jive with reality. A warm environment actually does contribute to increased flexibility, but more importantly provides a challenging environment to overcome. It will also allow for a quicker warmup.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Full_Spectrum said:


> I dont understand why this is a problem. 75 degrees ambient seems downright mild compared with what we see in the DC area from May thru September.
> Further, wouldnt it be a good idea to train in slightly more challenging conditions and be better prepared for the heat when it arrives?
> 
> The analogy to Bikram also doesnt jive with reality. A warm environment actually does contribute to increased flexibility, but more importantly provides a challenging environment to overcome. It will also allow for a quicker warmup.


I see the OP's point about temps in a stagnant environment. If you want the maximum workout you don't want efficiency to be impaired by overheating. 75 degrees with no air movement is not the same as when going 20 mph on a bike. Most cyclists who do stationary training use fans for longer workouts, unless the room is quite cool. 

You're right about Bikram, which is more about flexibility than muscular exercise. It is a hell of a challenge, though, at least for me.

I lived in the D.C. area for a number of years. I remember summertime rides where I felt okay when I was moving, and then when I stopped for a light it was like being popped instantly into a steam bath.

Training in more challenging conditions to be prepared for the heat is a bit of a myth. You do need to work out at least some in that environment in order to adapt to it, but in terms of how hard you can work and how much fitness you'll gain, the tougher conditions limit you. So you don't want to push it, at least not all the time. High school football coaches used to make their players go without water when practicing in the heat, to "toughen them up." It really just made the workouts less effective. Occasionally it killed somebody, too, which was a problem. I don't think riding a stationary bike in a 75 degree room will kill anybody (though I thought Bikram Yoga was going to a few times).


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## Alex_Simmons/RST (Jan 12, 2008)

Sirveyir said:


> Dear Coaches,
> 
> Are you all out there really coaches? I hope you can help with a gym rat controversy. I am doing spin classes at the local gym - too cold and snowy here to ride outside. A couple of the 'expert' spin instructors like to turn up the heat - like to 75 degrees. Our spin room is rather small, has no ventilation, and classes can hold about 30+ sweaty people. When you walk in it is like walking into a sauna/sweat lodge. Said instructors say your muscles need to 'warm up' when you ride. I need some expert info. to sway this opinion. Any of you coaches out there have any opinions or facts about this aspect of indoor training? Thanks so much! Wife of Sirveyir


I am a coach, and I have run multi rider indoor training centre sessions (and designed them).

IMO - if you have people training properly for performance improvement, then turning up the heat and having inadequate cooling and air flow is irresponsible. I would find another training centre.


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## JasonLopez (Aug 19, 2012)

Sirveyir said:


> Dear Coaches,
> 
> Are you all out there really coaches? I hope you can help with a gym rat controversy. I am doing spin classes at the local gym - too cold and snowy here to ride outside. A couple of the 'expert' spin instructors like to turn up the heat - like to 75 degrees. Our spin room is rather small, has no ventilation, and classes can hold about 30+ sweaty people. When you walk in it is like walking into a sauna/sweat lodge. Said instructors say your muscles need to 'warm up' when you ride. I need some expert info. to sway this opinion. Any of you coaches out there have any opinions or facts about this aspect of indoor training? Thanks so much! Wife of Sirveyir


You didn't sign anything, did you? You paid, didn't you?

.............

If you were a real scumbag you wouldn't eat or drink for days, then go into that place and just ****ing go 110 percent until you are puking and drifting in and out of reality. Maybe your kidneys will shut down for a bit or something cool like that. Someone else will dial 9-1-1 and some lawyer's hot wife in the spin class with more cash in her chest than in her education will probably witness it.

I wouldn't do it, but someone is going to have a heat injury with that idiot teaching the class.


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

if there is ventilation, then I'd think 75F is ok (at least I'd have no problem). I get cold when the temp drops below 65F, shiver below 60F. I remember for a time I was living in Southeast Asia, and it was either hot or rainy. 90F and humid was typical, ha!


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## Kellysauto (Oct 24, 2010)

*Spin Class,*

I take spin classes in a room with 30 bikes, the room is kept at 62-64 degrees, I have a big fan I brought from home that I place in front of my bike, during a 1 hour class I will average around 400 watts and sweat enough to lose 1-2 lbs of water weight due to sweat. I usually drink 1-2 bottles of water per hour. I have seen other people in the class complain that it is too cold in the room. The body has to release heat to make watts, I think the bigger and stronger cyclist make more heat than the smaller cyclist that may be putting out less watts


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

Didn't see this thread earlier. Here is my highly scientific take on spin classes and heat. I did a aircraft carrier deployment in 2009-2010 that lasted 8 months with temps in the spin classes that varied from the 50's to around 110F when we were in the Persian Gulf. The limiting factor in the heat was heart rate, mine would be 15-20 beats higher at 100 degrees than 70 degrees. Hydration was another factor, I used a bike next to the wall and could stash a second bottle on the hot rides. I never saw any issues on warming up my legs since the muscle friction and blood flow creates the heat, not the ambient temp. No need to add external heat other than to keep it comfortable enough so that you don't have to take off too much during the workout.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

Just don't go unprepared. 

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/general-cycling-discussion/nutritional-plan-spin-class-287244.html


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## aussiebullet (Sep 26, 2005)

Kellysauto said:


> during a 1 hour class I will average around 400 watts and sweat enough to lose 1-2 lbs of water weight due to sweat.


 Dude you Avg 400w for an hour indoors? Please tell me you are 80kg + Lol!


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