Spinning is one of the best ways to burn fat fast. It’s intense and builds your cardiovascular endurance. But sitting in a small, stuffy room full of sweaty guys and gals might not be your thing.
This is where spin bikes can make your life easier.
You get all the benefits of spinning without having to leave the house. If you have a spin bike with a screen, then you can watch recordings of beautiful biking trails, and you’ll feel like you’re there.
What more can you ask for?
Contents
What Is Spinning And Why Should I Do It?
Spinning is similar to biking, however, it takes place indoors. An instructor will guide and motivate you to go harder than you usually go by yourself. This is helpful since this added motivation burns extra calories, builds more leg strength, and conditions your body.
You get different types of instructors that specialize in training different people. For example, young, old, male, female, fit, or unfit.
Finding an instructor that fits you is essential to your spinning journey, whether you’re taking a spinning class or an online video program.
There are several benefits to spinning. Some include;
- It improves your cardiovascular system
- It burns more calories than most exercises
- You’ll develop strong core and leg muscles
- There are online video classes that motivate you
- It’s great for cycling in winter
It Improves Your Cardiovascular Fitness
Most people don’t train their cardiovascular system enough. Your cardiovascular system is the process of your heart, lungs, and blood cells giving oxygenated blood to your muscles so you can move.
If you have a solid cardiovascular system, it means that your heart, lungs, and blood cells have no problem providing the rest of your body with necessary energy. But most people have weak cardiovascular systems, which makes the most effortless activities like walking up a flight of stairs a challenge.
Another pro of training your cardiovascular fitness is that it lessens your risk of heart disease and heart attacks.
It Burns Calories Like No Other Exercise
When starting out, you can expect to burn around 400 to 600 calories per spin class. If you’re more experienced and push yourself harder, expect to burn up to 900 calories.
This means if you’re an experienced spinner and you train three times a week, expect to burn around 2700 calories.
In comparison, running one mile only burns 80 to 140 calories.
It Builds Strong Core And Leg Muscles
Most people tend to skip training legs, and for good reason. It’s painful, uncomfortable, and you can barely walk the next day. However, it’s an important muscle group to train since it helps you in your everyday life.
Weak legs don’t only look weird but can cause severe muscle imbalances that lead to injury.
While spinning, the main muscle groups you’ll be working on are your legs and core. The more resistance, the more your leg muscles need to work to keep you moving forward. These muscles include your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
After a few weeks, you’ll start to see your legs grow due to the amount of strength spinning requires.
But don’t forget your core. When spinning, you need to stabilize your upper body, so you don’t fall over. This is where your core jumps into action. After a tough spinning session, you’ll feel like your abs are on fire.
There Are Online Training Programs To Motivate You
Spinning alone can be tedious. Sometimes you’ll get lazy, not push yourself enough, and make little progress.
If you have a home gym with a spin bike, then sign up for online spinning classes. It gives you the same motivation and environment a regular class would, but without leaving the house.
You’ll find different types of instructors online, each with their own specialty. You won’t like some instructor’s classes because it doesn’t fit you while others have more appeal.
This is my favorite benefit of home gym spin bikes. Just because you’re training at home doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the feeling of being motivated and in a group.
Some spin bikes like the Nordictrack give you free access to a year of iFit. iFit is an interactive fitness platform that allows you to follow workouts at home.
It’s Great For Cycling In The Winter
If you’re a cyclist, then getting a spin bike is a must-have for building your cardio and leg muscles. You can change the resistance more than on a mountain bike.
If you live in a cold and wet city, spin bikes allow you to get cycling practice without having to cycle in the rain or snow.
How To Pick The Best Spin Bike For Your Home Gym
Choosing the perfect spin bike is essential because your spinning experience will go down the drain if you pick the wrong one. For example, if you like taking interactive spinning classes and you buy a spin bike without a screen, then you’ll just waste money.
Think of the most important factors to you when picking a spin bike. Write them down and when shopping for one, check if they meet your criteria. The most important factors are;
- Cost
- Space
- Fan and air circulation
- Noise level
- Incline and decline features
Cost
Having a set amount of money you’re willing to spend on a spin bike helps make your buying decision easier.
There are different types of spin bikes, and their price ranges from $200 to $500. Each price range has more quirks and features.
If you’re looking for a spin bike with a screen, tiny dumbbells, and incline features, then prepare to dish out some extra cash. If all you care about is having a good workout, then feel free to buy a basic spin bike without fancy features.
Space
There are different sized spin bikes. Some are portable and small, while others are huge. Consider where you want to put your spin bike. If you live in a more spacious house, then you’ll have the necessary space to store it.
But if you’re a college student living in an apartment, then a tiny spin bike is the better choice. Also, choose a spin bike that’s easy and doesn’t take a lot of space to assemble.
Fan And Air Circulation
When exercising or doing any type of strenuous cardiovascular workout, you’ll sweat a lot. This is annoying, and you’ll need to clean up afterward. That’s why most people put fans close by to cool off during a workout.
But if you have a spin bike with a fan, it’s like killing two birds with one stone. The bike doesn’t only give you a fantastic workout but cools you down, which is a big help.
Noise Level
How big of an issue noise is to you depends on what time of the day you exercise. If you like waking up early in the morning and having an excellent cardio workout, then a quiet spin bike is necessary.
But if you spin during the afternoon while everyone is awake, this shouldn’t be a dealbreaker.
Most spin bikes are somewhat silent, but if you go for a cheaper bike, it’ll make a lot of noise. Again, you might not mind since you work out in the afternoon, but if you spin in the morning, spend some extra cash and don’t wake up your family.
Uphill And Downhill Features
If you’re a cyclist or mountain biker, then an incline and decline feature on your spin bike can help you develop explosive pushing strength to get you uphill faster.
Putting the spin bike in incline mode forces you to work hard, and your quads, hamstrings, and glutes will feel the burn. So when you hop onto a real bike and you’re driving up a mountain or hill, you’ll have the experience and strength needed to push harder.
The decline feature is helpful since it can give you a much-deserved break after going uphill for a long time. It also works on your control of the bike downhill, which prevents you from going faster than you’re comfortable with.
Why Nordictrack S22i Is The Best Spin Bike For Your Home Gym
The S22i is Nordictrack’s response to the Peloton design. However, it’s more affordable and has way more features. When you hop on the S22i, the first thing you’ll notice is the massive screen in front of you. It has a 22-inch smart touchscreen that allows you to watch an array of different videos and classes. Here is a video review of the 15-inch here:
You’ll also notice a fan and other features that we’ll get into soon.
It Offers Great Training Programs
What makes Nordictrack different from other manufacturers is that when you buy the S22i, you access a free iFit program. It has different instructors and classes so you can pick one that you like the most.
This is sure to get you motivated fast.
With other home gym spin bikes, you’ll need to buy your own spinning classes, which can be a hassle and expensive.
The Best Integrated Fan To Keep You Cool
This is by far my favorite benefit to the Nordictrack spin bike. It has a small yet strong fan below the screen which cools you down during workouts. You can also increase or decrease the strength of the fan so if you’re towards the end of your training session and feeling hot, you can increase the strength.
This is helpful if you live in a hot climate.
With other spin bikes, you’ll need to bring in a fan from another room to help cool you down.
It’s Super Easy To Assemble
The Nordictrack bike is advanced, but it’s super easy to set up and doesn’t require much space.
Setting up your Nordictrack bike only takes around 5 minutes and it’s pretty portable. So if you’re visiting friends or family for a few weeks, then simply pack everything up and assemble it wherever you’re traveling to.
Cheaper Than Peloton
The S22i was Nordictrack’s response to Peloton’s spin bike. Nordictrack also made a few improvements where Peloton could’ve done better.
This resulted in a more affordable spin bike with more features.
Silent Magnet Drive
If you like exercising in the morning when everyone is asleep, then the Nordictrack S22i is the perfect bike for you. It makes no noise, so feel free to push yourself to the limit since you’ll have peace of mind knowing you won’t wake anyone who’s sleeping.
Cons Of The Nordictrack
Like any other piece of machinery, the Nordictrack isn’t perfect. There are a few key areas where they can improve. First, putting clipless pedals on it is almost impossible. The only two options are the flat pedal and cage pedal.
Second, the Nordictrack is powered by an electric motor, so when you change the resistance or incline, it makes some noise. Even though the ride is silent, this can be a con if you exercise when everyone is asleep.
Final Word On Best Spin Bike For Home Gym
Using a spin bike at home is one of the most effective ways to burn calories and fat. Spin classes are quick yet grueling and effective. But if you don’t want to leave your house to join a spin class, opt for a home gym spin bike. The Nordictrack S22i is affordable, easy to assemble, and gives you the best workout of your life.
