It means that your joints are not stable enough to support the spinning movements because certain muscles are weak. Weak muscles mean unstable joints. Unstable joints mean poor performance &/or pain and discomfort!

If these imbalances are not corrected, then these weaknesses will not permit your joints to work effectively and efficiently during a spinning class. If you continue to spin without correcting these muscular weaknesses, your performance will not only continue to be sub-standard but you will continue to experience pain and/or discomfort at your joints!

The following spinning-specific muscles are probably weak & should be trained to increase their effectiveness:

SPINNING SPECIFIC EXERCISES

If you have knee pain, tightness, or discomfort in class (note: if you have pain outside of class, MBS recommends that you see a medical practitioner before you return to your spinning classes). These conditions can be caused by weakness and/or tightness in the following muscles:

The Glutes,
The Inner Thigh Muscles
The Outer Thigh Muscles
The Shin/Calf Muscles
The Hip Muscles.

Weak glutes and/or weak/tight outer hip muscles can potentially makes your knees work outside the neutral position. Your knees may be forced to work or track inward and/or outward, for example. To offset this case, this sample exercise may correct and/or offset this condition:

• Lay face down on the hamstring curl machine & place your ankles under the pad. (Use less weight than you would normally use until you learn this exercise)
• Keep your knees straight by tightening your quads and glutes.
• Lift your quads together, with your knees straight, slightly off the pad.
• From this lifted position, curl your legs and bring your heels towards your glutes.
• After you complete the curl, lower your legs but do not release the contraction of your glutes. Do not relax the contraction of your glutes at the bottom of the motion.
• Repeat the exercise again until you have completed 8 to 12 reps.

If you feel this exercise in your lower back, you are probably doing the exercise incorrectly. Please contact an MBS Personal Trainer for assistance.

• Lay with your back on the floor, knees and hips bent, feet on the floor.
• Pull your knees into your chest with your arms and gently rotate your knees to either the right or left hand side. Let your knees go as far as they can go comfortably. The ultimate objective is to try to let you lower knee touch the floor without pain.
• From this position, try to straighten out your top leg slowly. You should feel a stretch down the side of your leg from your lower back, thru your hip and down to your knee. Hold this position for 1-2 minutes. release, Then repeat the movement.
• Perform the same movement on the opposite side. If you have any problem with this movement, please contact Fotis, Tim, Lori or Bob.

• Lay flat on your back with your hip and knees bent with your feet on the floor.
• Place an 8 lb. medicine ball between your knees.
• Pull your belly button towards your spine.
• Place your arms on the floor next to your ears.
• Inhale into your abdomen.
• Perform an oblique twist to the opposite knee without pulling on your neck while squeezing the medicine ball and lifting your glutes slightly off the floor at the same time.
• Alternate the twisting movement right to left until you have completed 8 to 12 reps.

• Perform the same exercise as in #1 but this time lift your feet off the floor so that they are in the air.
• Do not progress to Drill #2 if you have pain/discomfort in your lower back. Please contact Bob if you have pain.

These exercises are the tip of the iceberg.

Do you know how to train these multiple muscle groups simultaneously in order to enhance your spinning performance and/or minimize pain and discomfort?