Hello,

Ive been lurking around this site for some time now and find it very helpful. I was just wondering if I am doing enough exercise. I usually get in an hour of spinning at least 4 days a week, sometimes 5.

Is this enough? Or should I be incorporating other exercises?

Also, im eating around 1400 calories a day.

Heres what I've had so far today:

B: 2 Whole Wheat Toast w/ ICBINB and a glass of milk. (380)
L: 1 Chicken breast and 1 1/2 cups of yellow rice (600)
D: ????



Thank you!

Spinning is a wonderful workout. Usually, people come out of spin class at my gym and they look like someone dumped a bucket of water on their heads! If you feel your heart rate going up and you feel like it's a challenging workout, then it sounds like you're getting a very good calorie burn. I, however, would recommend that you add weight lifting (or resistance training) for about 3 days per week. That way, your body will burn more calories while at rest, increasing your metabolism. I've heard from some experts that lifting weights is more important than cardio for weight loss, but I believe you need both. I think 1400 calories isn't that much and you could probably have 1500 or 1600, but if you feel fine and are losing weight, then don't listen to my ramble!

I think spinning is a great workout (more power to you, cause it kicks my ... ahem! ).

Honestly it sounds like you're doing just fine with calories and exercise and I'm of the opinion that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

At some point you might want to consider maybe adding in some weight lifting or body resistance work to build muscle, but I wouldn't stress too much about it. I personally think it's a good thing to alternate something that builds strength with something that builds cardio, but I don't think it's totally necessary if your only goal is weight loss.

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I was doing spinning too because I heard that it burned an insane amount of calories. I didn't see any changes on the scale so I googled "spinning for weightloss" and apparently it isn't the optimal way to work out to lose fat. According to the many many articles I read interval training is best when trying to lose weight. I guess letting the heart rate vary is key and spinning keeps it steady for the whole time. You may want to try googling it too.

I think spinning is a GREAT cardio exercise. But, I also agree with others above that it helps to mix it up a bit.
Try adding some dumbbells, or stretchie band workouts (even during commercial breaks while watching television). I also love incorporating yoga and pilates into my routines for core strength and flexibility.

Hm. Every spinning class I've ever taken (granted a whole whopping 1/2 dozen of them) has been nothing but intervals. I thought that was the way spinning worked - you rev up and slow down, sometimes you increase the tension, sometimes the speed, and then slow down again. Like I said, every spin class I've ever taken has been just like that and that's EXACTLY what HIIT is.

I would think if you're seeing a slow down it weight loss, it's probably because spinning is the ONLY thing you're doing. Your body will adjust and compensate for the things you do all the time, so it's best to mix it up and keep your body guessing.

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From one of the articles I found:

"First of all, spinning classes are not efficient. I know that you can get more work done in less time if you do intervals on your own. And so, because it is not efficient, it could also be a lot more effective.

Second, the high RPM "spinning" is pointless. That's not doing anything for fat loss. And I've talked to more than one woman that complained about her hips being sore after spinning at 150 RPM in a class.

Why is the high RPM spinning ineffective? Because the amount of mechanical work performed is lower than when you have higher tension and pedal at a slower rate (i.e. 80 RPM). So cut the high RPM spinning out, and just do the high tension intervals. You'll save time and get the same or better results.

The high-tension, low/moderate RPM intervals are the only part of the spinning class worth doing.

More tension = more turbulence = more fat loss results.

It's a very simple equation.

But again, you can do those high-tension intervals on your own in less than half the time of a regular spinning class.

Regular spinning class = about 45 minutes

Advanced structured intervals workout = About 20 minutes

Time saved = 25 minutes - Which is more than enough time to get some strength training supersets in to build muscle and really crank up your metabolism. Now that's a better, more well rounded workout that will help you make bigger improvements to your body.

A combination of strength and interval training is the clear winner- accomplishing more (muscle building and fat loss) than any type of spinning class, aerobics class, or circuit training workout.

Now if some people need the whole class environment as a motivation to workout, fine. Or if that's one of your fun workouts per week, then go for it. You can keep going to spinning if you like it.

But if you think that spinning classes are the most efficient answer to your fat loss goals, forget about it.

When you need to get fat loss results in less time, the combination strength and intervals are more efficeint and effective."