Spin Right

Jason Parsons, a fitness manager at the Columbia Tech Center 24 Hour Fitness in Vancouver, Washington, holds two world records for indoor cycling, having once spun 50 hours straight for a virtual distance of 1,236 butt-numbing miles. Take a page from Parson’s School of Spin (without inflicting the same degree of punishment on your own rear, of course), and streamline your sweat.

“The right bike setup prevents unnecessary wear and tear on joints and maximizes the muscular benefits of spinning,” says Parsons.

Seat height
If your seat is too high, each pedal stroke is less productive and you risk straining your hamstrings. Too low, and you’re asking for knee pain. To find the happy medium, bring your leg to the bottom of the pedal stroke and adjust the seat so that with your heel on the pedal, your leg is perfectly straight. When your foot is in the pedaling position, you’ll have the appropriate bend in your knee.

Saddle
The fore/aft (front/back) location of your saddle should provide a comfortable handlebar position (with arms slightly bent), but it should also be fine-tuned so that when the pedals are parallel to the floor, your front kneecap is directly over the center of the pedal. This position ensures that the downward force of pedaling is channeled through your leg muscles, not your knee joint. Ask a friend to check you out from the side.

Cleats
Those perfect-fitting spin shoes aren’t perfect until your cleats have been installed the right way, with the center of the cleat lining up with the bump at the base of your big toe (ask a local bike shop to adjust it). If you’re wearing sneakers for spin class, position the balls of your feet over the center of the pedal for the same joint-saving effect.

Pace
“Heart-rate monitors aren’t infallible,” says Parsons. “Sleep, diet, stress—these things can fluctuate your heart rate from day to day. The most consistent way to monitor intensity is to rate your effort on a scale of one to 10.” Keep in mind that not all spin bikes are created equal: One turn on the dial might make the resistance more difficult on your bike than on the one right next to you. Try sticking to the same bike every class. And ask your instructor to relay instruction in terms of the one-to-10 effort range.

Technique

Sitting
A circular pedal stroke translates to more consistent use of gluteal (butt) muscles in addition to quads and calves, says Parsons. “At the bottom of the pedal stroke, imagine that you’re scraping gum off the bottom of your shoe; this helps you keep pressure on the pedals all the way around their rotation.” Tension in the shoulders represents energy you’re not using to burn calories. Relax from the top down by letting your chin hang slack and loosening your neck muscles.”

Standing
Focus on keeping a flat back and a slight bend in your elbows. “Drive the pedals down through your heels, and minimize the amount of torso bouncing that occurs,” says Parsons. “Not bouncing forces you to use muscle, not gravity, to turn the pedals.”