After driving to my gym last week, I went to my first spin class in maybe 6 months. I think I get plenty of exercise but that spin class kicked my rear! There were several times I had to dial back from where the instructor was coaching us to be at. It was a very different type of workout than what I usually do and there was the challenge. I’d like to do it more often but there are only so many hours in the day.
I hate indoor cycling classes where the instructor directs everyone to turn the knob “X” turns. Well no, maybe where I should be for my fitness level is “X-1 1/2”. I much prefer using relative perceived exertion on a 10 point scale or, if bikes have “gears” on their console, giving a range for riders to be at based on their ability. And with cadence, I either also give a range or tell riders to set their resistance so that they are working hard but can maintain the cadence for the expected interval time.
I read my limit of free NYT articles so I’ll have to subscribe to read this one, but going on MKat’s description, it about rhabdo and spinning.
I am also surprised people are experiencing this. Maybe more people, a broader range of people, are doing spinning now? So there are more people who are susceptible to rhabdo? Or is the spin culture so much more intense? (I have been doing it for some twenty years, too, and it was pretty intense in the old days. I can’t imagine it got more so.)
In all my time in the gym, since high school, I’ve only read about rhabdo in the past 2-3 years and only in relation to CrossFit, not spinning. To me, unfortunately, there’s always going to be a few bad trainers/instructors and a few clients/customers that don’t know their limitations of their body.
And I’d also wonder if there’s a “bad” gene in one’s body that allows something like rhabdo to happen, because there are many many people who exert themselves beyond their body’s limitations and don’t get rhabdo, though they may lose their breakfast.
I’ve exercised and competed at elevation (Lake Tahoe) and a couple times I’ve gotten dizzy and/or nauseous, but a bottle of Gatorade (or similar) has always brought me back to “normal.”
I will admit up front that I’m a spin addict and predisposed to defend the activity. I read the article and my first reaction was one of skepticism.
So the American Journal of Medicine is reporting that 46 people presented with rhabdo, 42 of whom were first time participants. My first question is whether this is cropping up in places like soulcycle, which follows a different sort of routine and which might be attracting a different sort of cyclist. I’ve only done a couple of these types of classes and in the ones I’ve tried, the warm up is not as good and overall I can see that the workout could yield more injuries, especially to those who are not already used to spinning. On the other hand, I don’t think it’s as intense as performance cycling.
The other study providing numbers of any sort tells us that between 2010-2014 there were 29 emergency room visits to NY Presbyterian Hospitalfor exercise induced rhabdo, divided between cross fit, running, weight lifting, P90X, and spinning, but 14 of the 29 cases were attributable to spinning. That’s 2.8 cases of rhabdo per year due to spinning at an emergency room that saw 286,000 visits in 2016. I wonder how many spin-induced cardiac events they see? I don’t mean to minimize any health risk, and it’s entirely possible I’m missing the point, but is this really a new, increasing, and alarming threat that we need to highlight?
Critically missing statistic: what percentage of indoor cyclists get it compared to other high intensity exercise programs.
^^^
According to the reported visits to NY Presbyterian, 14 of the 29 diagnosed with exercise-induced rhabdo over a 5 year period (2010-2014) had engaged in indoor cycling with the rest divided between crossfit, running, weight lifting, and P90X.
Clearly this is an exception to the rule. And it’s probably true that articles like this probably prompt people who are avoiding fitness to have a reason to avoid it. BUT those who enjoy and are dedicated to fitness to a certain level hopefully take this as “it can happen” and just keep the idea of overexertion in the back of their mind.
Michael, my cardiac rehab facility uses the BORG scale of perceived exertion. It runs up to a level 13 IIRC. I’m all for perceived exertion vs. hard-and-fast criteria across the board. What is strenuous to me (a 125 HR) is nothing to other people, but because I’m on beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and other fun stuff, my ummedicated HR is about 30 points higher. I’m getting as good a workout as I can handle for my situation.
I’ve considered trying a spin class (I biked a lot on my youth) but have wondered how instructors handle variations in abilities.
As mentioned before, I’m a CrossFitter and have used “boxes” (gyms) in different locales while traveling for several years. I haven’t encountered anyone getting sick, let alone seeing someone get rhabdo. And I haven’t encountered any trainers/coaches making or forcing anyone to go beyond one’s limitations. For me, I usually do not to participate in a class and do my own CF program.
As for CF beginners, they must go through a 4-6 hour “driver’s license” type course, before they’re let loose in a class.
@CountingDown, it may interest you to know when I was doing HR based marathon training my target training HR was 128. You can definitely get a good workout at that level!
@CountingDown, yeah the Borg Scale is the one that is seen most often in the medical rehab and exercise science world because it is tied into METs and heart rate that correlate together (10x your Borg RPE should correlate to average observed heart rate at the RPE level). I like 1-10 for fitness applications because I think it’s less confusing and easier to use. On Borg Scale, nothing happens until you hit 8 and it goes to 20. So you have 1-7 where people are sctratching their heads wondering what to do with it. And then you have all these small gradations where people can wonder where they really are. 1-10, boom, simple.
CD, don’t be scared off by this article. There is a spin class for you. Find one with a range of ages and abilities and a teacher who takes the time to introduce newbies to the equipment. The one I go to now would fit the bill. Most participants are young, but there are a few middle aged folks and all sizes and shapes. Mostly women. They always make a big deal about having water.
MKat, I too wonder which activities are most likely to induce rhabdo. Football? Military basic training? Or have instructors in those areas seen it for years and so know how to prevent it? (I am picturing young men who go all out on a hot day and are not in the best shape to start.) I had a running buddy get it a long time ago. He was an intense guy training in Vegas (hot), but fortunately also a doctor so he recognized the signs in himself.
I do wonder at these new to exercise individuals who are able to push past both mental and cardiovascular limitations straight to rhabdo in a spin class. Color me skeptical too.
I have seen some stories about rhabdo in college football players at the beginning of practice season. It seems surprising that a whole bunch of people would get it from spin class…but on the other hand, I have never been to spin class. The instructors at the group classes at the gym that I like are all about having each person doing things at the level that is appropriate.
Is it possible that spinning engages more muscle by volume/weight at all times than other exercises, so the injury is more likely to result if the person was predisposed to such injuries? After all, our legs have a lot of muscle.
Well here’s ant article from NIH that’s a bit of an eye opener:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4674583/
Based on this articles conclusions, low load high repetition exercising can cause rhabdo. Puts into a new light the feasibility of spinning causing it if instructors are not sensitized to the issue. I still think, however, when you consider the number of participants in indoor cycling vs the incident rate of the syndrome, spinning is relatively safe.
Nearly right upfront in this case, the subject was using creatine supplements. I’m not a fan.
I have only been to rec center spin, ain’t no one getting rhabdo LOL. Some of the commercial programs are only 45 minute lessons, by the time people piddle about getting on bikes and such, these sessions aren’t even going to be longer than 35 mins.
It is really too bad that the general public either interprets the story as “OMG, spinning is dangerous” or dismisses it as an overblown hype. What people need to take home from such stories is the following: if something does not seem right, go see a doctor, and if a trainer bullies you into exercising to the brink of death, ditch that trainer. I am glad the medical community got to hear about the case; maybe it will make someone else’s diagnosis faster.