IN A SPIN FOR LEAN PINS
MANY PEOPLE SEEM TO THINK THAT SPINNING CLASSES ARE THE ANSWER TO SHEDDING FAT IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE LEAN LEGS, BUT IT DOESN’T ACTUALLY WORK. YOU’D BE FAR BETTER ADVISED TO USE HIGH-RESISTANCE INTERVAL TRAINING TO TONE THOSE PINS
The celebrities that adorn the glossy pages of fashion magazines are adored not only for the fictional characters they play but also for their extensive wardrobes.
From the clothes horses on Desperate Housewives to Carrie Bradshaw on Sex And The City, women everywhere try desperately to mimic their style icons. No expense is spared for the next ‘must have’ fashion accessory. So when Victoria Beckham (right) emerged in her super-skinny jeans showing off her size zero frame it created a major stumbling block for Irish women: “How am I going to fit into those jeans without splitting the sides?”
TRAINING
As someone who specialises in transforming physiques, it meant that my phone was constantly hopping from women wanting to shrink their leg size. During consultations with them about their present training programmes, I was told about regular spinning classes.
I advised them to give up spinning immediately, and that they would see results in a matter of days. “But it makes my legs feel tight,” they claimed. If this was indeed the case, why was my phone constantly ringing looking for the solution to lean legs? I explained that insanity is defined as doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.
CELEBRITY
Invented in 1989 by celebrity trainer and martial artist Johnny G, spinning emerged as the aerobics era was coming to a close — it provided the perfect replacement as a group exercise class. It also filled the void of those injured in Jane Fonda’s high-impact aerobics and it enabled people who struggled with co-ordination in aerobic classes to mingle in group exercise classes.
In a spinning class you’ll find spinners engaged in a 40-90 minute workout, cycling in high velocity. However I have yet to see a body shape change as a result of these classes. You could take a photo of a class and a year later you will see the same-shaped, if not worse, derrieres on the bikes.
People may enjoy the camaraderie built within the class atmosphere, but if you want lean legs you may have to choose a different method.
Spinning is unproductive as it doesn’t burn fat — it is a high-velocity, low-resistance activity. I have seen women as fat in the lower body now as they were when they attended their first class years ago.
The high velocities achieved in the class fatigue a particular point in the neuro-muscular junction. What this means is that you perceive a great fatigue even though little work has actually been done. You could have produced the same fatigue in the back of your arms if you attempted to swat 100 flies in 30 seconds. Your arm would definitely get sore but it would not change in shape.
RESISTANCE
The shape of your arm does not change as the resistance is not high enough. When we perform repeated bouts of the same type of exercises, the body learns to adapt and become fuel efficient. In spinning classes, the body adapts by storing both intramuscular fat and subcutaneous fat, ie, fat under the skin in the thigh and hip areas, to provide a more readily available source of fuel for the recovery periods.
The body figures out that if it stores fat in the legs it will take less time to get to the muscles to provide energy when it needs it.
They say seeing is believing and when my clients change from spinning to high-resistance interval training, their body shapes change.
If your aim is fat loss there is no need to spin your wheels. Using high-resistance interval training, you can produce more lactate and more growth hormone levels, which help lower body fat.
The decision to leave behind saddle soreness and the karaoke hour is yours, and your ability to wear skinny jeans will be greatly affected by its outcome.
