Spinning Your Way to a Healthy Heart

It’s important to eat healthy and exercise, but knowing which exercises will help you most in the long run can be a difficult task if you aren’t armed with the help of a personal trainer. There are a few activities, however, that can provide a host of health benefits, one of which is spinning. Often overlooked by many while at the gym, spinning boasts a range of benefits that can forge a significant impact on health. Daniel Zysblat is an active member of his community, and engages in spinning classes twice a week to reap the benefits of this high-intensity workout. Make the most out of your gym time by engaging in a grueling spinning class to get your heart pumping.

Spinning can be the perfect activity if it’s a cross-training protocol you seek. Spinning classes can strengthen both your heart and lungs with its five Energy Zones, which develop anaerobic and aerobic fitness at once. Spinning’s Endurance Energy Zone is intended to get your heart pumping at 65 to 75 percent its maximum heart rate in order to improve endurance and build an aerobic base. Once this base is established, you can then progress to the Interval Energy Zone. During this time, you will strive to hit 50 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate, going as high as 92 percent during short anaerobic intervals. There are many benefits to spinning. Repeatedly exposing your muscles to this type of high-intensity exercise can improve resistance to fatigue, as well as teach the body to recover quickly after completing a particularly challenging workout regimen. Additionally, integrating spinning into an already-existing weight training routine can enhance caloric expenditure, in turn reducing body fat over a prolonged period. One study by Harvard’s medical school showed that an intense 30-minute period of stationary cycling can result in more than twice the calorie expenditure. If you’re interested in losing fat and gaining muscle and have been engaging in resistance training only, incorporating Spinning into your normal exercise routine can provide a significant increase in your caloric expenditure, as well as strengthen your lower body. Engaging in regular spinning workouts can also help reduce your risk of injury, which can occur during training without deliberate periodization. This can result in muscle imbalances and other injuries caused by overtraining. Low-impact workouts like indoor cycling may also decrease the stress on joints compared to other activities.