It’s a snow day here, and I’m home early with a hot chocolate and some extra time. I was supposed to teach my spin class tonight but it’s been cancelled due to weather. The next best thing is a new Spin playlist, right? My first Best of 2010 playlist was heavy on sprints. This one is heavy on climbing.
Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) [feat. Freshlyground] – Shakira (3:23): Warm up your legs and do some dynamic stretching to this cheerful FIFA song.
Dynamite – Taio Cruz (3:24): First hill of the day, a seven minute climb out of the saddle. Alternate between regular and aggressive stances, 45 seconds regular, 45 aggressive, add some tension, then 60 regular, 60 aggressive.
Memories [feat. Kid Cudi] – David Guetta (3:31): Okay, leave the tension where it is but pick up the pace: hup! Add more tension every minute or so to make this an uncomfortable challenge by the time we reach the top of the hill.
I Like It [feat. Pitbull] – Enrique Iglesias (3:52): For this song, we’re going to climb for the verses and sprint for the choruses. Take 50 seconds in an easy out of the saddle climb for some well-deserved recovery before we dig in for the first sprint, 15 seconds from 0:52 – 1:05. Second sprint is 15 seconds from 1:44 – 1:59, third sprint from 2:51 – 3:21 (30 seconds). Because these sprints are short, with lots of recovery in between, I want to see you out of the saddle giving them your all.
Love the Way You Lie [feat. Rihanna] – Eminem (4:23): A seated climb here starting at 0:25. Big hill. High tension. Grind it to the top, four minutes from where we are right now.
California Gurls [feat. Snoop Dogg] – Katy Perry (3:56): Time for some jumps. Let’s start with 8 counts for the verses, 4 for the choruses. At 2:26 when Snoop Dogg comes on, take it to 2 count jumps to 3:04, when you’ll hit another chorus and go back to 4 count jumps.
Blah Blah Blah [feat. 3OH!3] – Ke$ha (2:52): More jumps. Crap. Keep it going, a minute of 2 count jumps, a minute of 4 count, and finish it up with 8 count jumps.
OMG (Almighty Radio Edit) – Usher (4:28): Easy climbing out of the saddle with low tension for the first 30 seconds, then when Usher hits it, we will too – breakaway at top speed from 0:30 – 0:59 (30 sec), then settle into the hill. There’s another breakaway at 1:43 – 2:27 (45 sec). The third breakaway is at the bridge, from 3:43 – 4:28 (45 sec).
Whoa is Me – Down with Webster (3:44): Another seated climb with these Canadian rap-rockers that Timbaland called “the most amazing and creative, innovative group that’s going to come out in 2010.”
Dead – Buckcherry (5:27): Wind it up with some crazy sprints: 15/30/45/60 seconds off/on. The fun stops at 4:45. I’ve shortened the song so that it ends there.
Stuttering – Fefe Dobson (3:10): Cool down with this Canadian artist. Whenever I have new spinners in the class I always ask the class to give them a big round of applause for finishing their first spin class. After the cool down, I’ll go to check on them and see how it was for them and answer any questions they have.
Stay the Night – James Blunt (3:34): A little extra time to stretch your lower body. I usually have the class stretch quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves on each side, then we hang like a rag doll for five breaths, come up slowly, one vertebrae at a time, and give our shoulders a big roll. While we’re stretching, I try to give the class a health or fitness tip. I’ll say my name again at the end of the class and tell them when I’m teaching next. (These days it’s pretty easy as I have only one weekly class on the schedule. I still sub from time to time, though it’s far cry from the 4-5 classes a week I was doing before I got pregnant and little Katiebug came along.)
Many competitive athletes have a ritual or good-luck charm they rely on (playoff beards, anyone?) Cyclists are no exception. But do rituals and good luck charms really make a difference? Turns out, they do. A Cologne University study asked volunteers to try to sink 10 golf putts. Half were told they had a “lucky ball.” They sank an average of 6.4 putts, while the other group, who were just told they were using the same ball as everyone else, sank an average of 4.8 putts. So if you’ve got a lucky head band or water bottle or jersey – roll with it – it might just give you the edge.
S p i n n i n g M u s i c 
Greetings from Los angeles! I’m bored at work so I decided to check out your site on my iphone during lunch break. I really like the information you provide here and can’t wait to take
a look when I get home. I’m amazed at how fast your blog loaded on my phone .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G
.. Anyhow, excellent blog!
http://www.gorgeousjewelrydeals.com/Bicycle-Necklaces-1
I want that necklace! Did that come off a website by any chance?? Love your blog btw…although I don’t teach spin anymore I use your play lists for many of my trainer workouts so thx!
Hi Stella,
I just Googled bike and good luck to find images and it came up. But when I tried it again to find the site, my blog came up as the source for the image and I couldn’t find the original site. It was an e-commerce site I think. If you try various keyword combinations you might be able to find it again.
Cynthia, I am so glad I found your website! I’ve never attended a spin class but do it on my own regularly. I did your hill workout yesterday and LOVED it! What a great workout! So glad to have some new playlists to workout too. Thanks for sharing your time and ideas with all of us.
Sincerely,
Michelle
Hi Michelle,
Hey, so glad you liked this workout. Are there no spinning classes in your community? The energy of riding with other people can be incredible. If you ride outdoors I know there are cyclists who train indoors together in winter using trainers. I enjoyed riding on my own but I really love it with a full class.
I just want to say Thank you! So glad I found your site today. I love spinning but they changed the hours for spin class at my gym. So now I’m able to spin with great spinning music! I love how you have a variety of Hip Hop and Pop and Rock every some oldies etc. Itunes just made a killing off of me because i just downloaded 45 songs, LOL!!
Hi Rachel,
So glad you like the blog! I have also gone wild on iTunes more than once. I think I probably spend my entire indoor cycling instructor paycheque there. Before I was an instructor, I used to make my own playlists and spin by myself when I couldn’t get to a class. Sadly, my gym no longer permits non-instructors to do this.
All the best,
Cynthia
Hello, nice post Cynthia, your selection of music is almost like mine…. and I can tell I have songs for 8 min (Halo-Beyonce) or 10min (Tiesto) and always I used them for a climb…. and also always say to my class if they need a break take it because this is their work out, almost everybody stay with my out of the saddle, and in the end they feel really good, they feel like it worth it ……
have a questions for you, can you tell what do you mean when you say 45 sec regular and 45 aggressive???
:-)
best regards
Hi Yoli,
Sounds like we teach climbs similarly.
Aggressive stance is basically just a posture change in an out-of-the-saddle climb.
To use an aggressive stance, you ensure you’re in hand position 3 (extended grip), shift your body back slightly, lower your shoulders and raise your hips. It’s riding with a flatter back than a regular climb. If you were riding outdoors, it would be more aerodynamic. Indoors, you’ll feel the position change in your hamstrings rather than your quads. There is no attempt to isolate the upper body or hover.
Hi Cynthia
I stumbled across your site last night and I’m so excited! I qualified as a spinning instructor three years ago, took classes for a couple of months but then changed careers due to a thyroid problem. I’ve recently started teaching again and am trying to build up a bit of experience, but as I’m taking 3 (soon to be 4) classes a week I don’t have the energy to join in other instructor’s classes to get ideas. I think your blog is going to be a life saver! I was taught to offer hovers as an advanced move; is there a reason why you teach an “aggressive stance” in your climbs rather than a hover? I also notice that you don’t do any “arms” tracks (as in chest and/or triceps presses whilst climbing). I know that a lot of courses don’t teach this, and I wondered if it’s unsafe or just not functional. Also the resistance levels you use are a lot lower than I teach to I’m thinking I will have to adjust (for example I was taught that for seated moves used up to 6 resistance, then standing is 7 and above). Thank you for spending so much time and effort on such a useful blog :)
Hi Carol,
Thanks for your comment. So glad you like the blog!
I find longer climbs a good way to challenge the advanced riders in the class but I always encourage everyone to do their own ride and take breaks as needed. Usually when I do multi-song climbs there is a natural recovery break between songs and I will offer the option of working through it for those who want the extra challenge. A good chunk of the class takes me up on these challenges so my sense is it isn’t too difficult for them. I have done as many as three out of the saddle climbing songs in a row, but with posture changes and some seated segments to break them up.
If I see form faltering I never single out the faltering rider but instead cue the class to take a break if they’re flagging. I also model breaks myself and sometimes purposely choose the easier of two options I’ve cued so that riders feel open to doing the same.
Readers, how about you? Do you use longer out-of-the-saddle climbs in your classes? How do you make them work?
I love your site and all of your song selections. I’m wondering though, do you really keep your riders out of the saddle for 5 minutes or more? Don’t you find their form starts to falter. I notice backs sagging around 2 minutes, so as a rule I keep my standing climbs around 2 minutes, add a little seated portion then back out again for an other two (and so on). I haven’t had the courage to keep them up too long. What do other instructors do? I’d love some feedback please. I’ve been an RPM (Les Mills) instructor for 4 years now and a SPINNING instructor for about a year. Thanks so much and keep those great tune selections coming!!