The Chairman's Fitness Challenge Blog

Alex Hutchinson had an article in the Globe & Mail this week comparing indoor "spin" class to outdoor cycling. An interesting conclusion - "the ingredients of a typical indoor cycling class somehow combine to lift workouts to heights that most participants wouldn't achieve on their own." Research shows that the group dynamics of a spin class can push participants to achieve a better workout - so much so that some participants exceeded their measured VOmax capacity. (This, by the way, indicates an error in VOmax measurement, not people reaching superhuman output.)

I have become a convert to the "RPM" version of spin class - for me, it achieves many of the objectives of HIIT and interval training in terms of varying intensity, and I tend to work harder than if I'm on my own. YMMV, of course.