Block Rockin' Beats: Spin Profile #2

New addition last week to my instructor schedule: spin class for Penn Women's Rowing Team. I'll be meeting with the same group of women every Friday from 2-3. I'm trying to make a plan for the for the next couple of months so we're not just doing random workouts every week. First couple of weeks we'll work on general conditioning. Then move into an endurance & strength period, ending with power development. Last week I started off with Spin Profile #1. This Friday I'll be doing the following profile.

NB: In constructing these workouts, I have been carrousing two sites in particular:

http://spinningmixes.wordpress.com/
http://spinningmusic.wordpress.com/

I like the first site because Atwood has great visualizations and descriptions of each track. I also like the idea of having "themed" spin classes. Next week I'm going to look for songs that have the word 'fire' in them. So far I'm thinking Billy Joel's 'We didn't start the fire' and "Walk through the fire" from that Buffy the musical episode (Once more with feeling). Anyone else have suggestions??

Spin Profile #2 (60 min class):
Goal: Hit 'em hard and early with speed and resistance. Work on endurance and strength.
1. Break Myself by Something Corporate
Warm up. One minute flat road, easy cycling. 1 minute stretching. Notch up resistance to a 6 (enough so you can easily stand up). Ride it out to end.

2. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) by the Four Tops (2:46)
Still warming up. 1.5 min of standing run. Turn up resistance to a 7. Take it out into position 3, standing climb.

3. When I Grow Up by the Pussycat Dolls (4:06)
Turn resistance up to an 8 (another full turn). During verse do standing climb. During chorus sink back into saddle and sprint. 100%. Sprinting with resistance. If want to go easier, turn resistance down to 6 or 7 during sprint sections. "Sprint" here means anything faster than cadence pace. It's not meant to be a "flat road" sprint, so the wheels shouldn't be spinning too fast. Verses are not breaks! Turn back up the resistance and jump out to position 3/standing climb.

4. Jump Around by The House of Pain (3:36)
Resistance to a 7. A bit heavier than last week's jump song. And we're going double time. Fast 8 and 4 counts. 8 count jumps during the verse; 4 count jumps during the chorus.

Here is the start of our mountain (no hills for us!). 6 parts.
5. Teenage Wasteland by Puhdys (3:21)
We're going up quick! Start at 7 (starting heavier than last week) and increase resistance every 30 sec. Increase just enough so you can feel the change. Move from a 7-9. By end of the song, resistance should be so high that you are peddling just behind the beat of the song. Remind people to keep upper body stationary and the peddle strokes smooth through the hi resistance.

6. Lose Control by Missy Eliot ft Ciara (3:15)
Rolling Hills. Last song ended at a 10, bring it down to a 6. Each minute of music is a hill. Increase (then decrease) every 10 sec. Increase/decrease at least one full turn, trying to keep the same cadence.

7. Bust A Move by Young MC (4:22)
Modified jumps (alternating between postion 2 and 3/both standing). 30 sec modified jumps. One minute holding back in position 3. Push hips further back--really isolates the glutes. This should make your butt burn! This is a great core workout. Keep reminding people to push their hips back, lift up the hips, keep the abs tight, really focus on using the glutes to push the peddles. Resistance should be high, around an 8. If your butt is not on fire, turn it up, lean it farther back!

8. The Distance by Cake (3:00)
We're going the distance! Halfway done with the mountain! Steady climb. First 1.5 minutes standing climb; second half sit back in the saddle. Time to dig in. Last song was at an 8, turn it up to a 9. Should be hard to keep up with the beat = resistance up enough so you're on the beat (or slightly behind). For an extra challenge, crank it up to a 10 last 30 seconds of song. Form! Smooth peddle strokes!

9. Block Rockin' Beats by The Chemical Brothers (4:54)
Sprints with resistance. Turn down resistance to a 7 (maybe an 8 if not getting a good burn). 15, 30, 45, 60 second sprints with 15-30 sec recovery based on how people are looking. Ideally time it so last minute is sprint to finish (I usually do the 15, 30, 45 intervals and then leave one longer, 60 second sprint at the end). THIS SHOULD FEEL HEAVY! Time under tension = toning. This time you get a real rest in between sprints. But try to gradually get back to cadence and then a sprint (= anything faster than cadence pace) instead of going really slow then all of a sudden jerking back into a sprint. Remind people to preserve their form during the sprints. Don't ever sacrifice form for speed! Stay in control! For an extra challenge, jack up resistance quarter turn last 60 sec. It's the end, race it in!

11. 'Til I Collapse by Eminem (5 min)
Last hard song and last blast up the mountain (downhill after this). Seated Climb. Highest resistance song. Start at 9, make an increase every minute~enough so you can feel a change. Alternatively: middle two minutes pop out into position 3/standing climb then sit it back again into the saddle. This makes it a bit easier.

10. 15 Step by Radiohead (3:57)
Time to go down the mountain. Take resistance down to 6 (position 3/standing climb). Cadence. Get the blood moving through the legs again. Active recovery. Concentrate on form. Not done yet, no sitting back. 2 minutes standing climbs. 2 minutes eated.

11/12. I Envy The Wind by Lucinda Williams; So Long by Guster
Cool Down. Resistance all the way off. On bike streches. Off bike stretches.