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Getting the Indoor Cycle Ready to Ride (Adjustments)

Before you can start your spin class, you must make a few indoor cycle adjustments to your stationary bike so you can have a comfortable side. From adjusting your bike seat to your handlebar height, there are several steps you need to consider before you start spinning.

Adjusting Your Bike Seat

The proper adjustment is achieved when you are sitting on the saddle, strapped in and can observe: 

• Slight bend in your knee, when your legs are in an extended position (do not lock your knees straight) Figure 1; and 
• The front of your knee (kneecap) is directly over the ball of your foot Figure 2.  

To make indoor cycle adjustments:

1. Adjust the saddle height, Figure 3. Stand next to your spin bike. Lift the adjustment lever (located at the base of the seat post)up, slide the saddle up or down with the other hand. As an approximation, the position of the top of the saddle should be parallel to the top of your hip bone. Push the lever down to lock the saddle into place.
2. Adjust the saddle position, Figure 4. Pull the adjustment level (located right behind the saddle) away from the saddle. As an approximation slide the saddle where the little triangle arrow is at the number 6 on the rail. Push the level back up towards the bike seat to lock it.  

Let’s Take a Look! 

While sitting on the saddle, pedal slowly, then stop in the positions shown above in Figures 1 and 2.  

1. Look to see if your knee is slightly bent as in Figure 1. If not hop off the bike and adjust the height, refer to step 1 above. 
2. Let’s now look at your knee and foot, check to see if your knee is over the ball of your foot as shown in Figure 2. If not hop off the bike and make adjustments, refer to step 2 above.  

Setting Up The Handlebars

Handlebar height is optional.  Some folks like the handlebars higher or lower this is up to you!  The handlebars should be placed so you don’t bump your knees, and to maintain a slight bend in the elbow when you are sitting on the bike. To adjust the height, Figure 5, lift the lever (located in front of the bike), and raise or lower the handlebars as needed.  To move them closer or further from you, use the adjustment level on top of the bar, Figure 6, to unlock the handlebars and slide the handlebars closer or further from you.

Enjoy—You Are Ready To Ride.

If you are ready to start your indoor cycling journey, Chuze Fitness is here to help. With just a few simple adjustments to your indoor bike, you’ll be good to go to start spinning! If you are still having trouble, talk to your indoor cycling instructor for further assistance.  

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6 Benefits of Supersets

When it comes to strength training, supersets are effective interval exercises to build your fitness routine around. A superset combines two or more strength exercises together with minimal breaks or downtime between them. Without much rest between exercises, you’re essentially making the most out of your gym time. 

Today we’re diving into six incredible benefits of supersets.

Superset Workout Benefits 

1. Supersets Maximize Your Time At The Gym

While it may not feel like it at the moment, the time you spend between workout sets adds up. Whether you’re taking a sip of water, refilling your bottle, chatting with friends, checking your phone, or changing your music, every moment spent doing something besides working out lessens the productivity of your gym session. 

During a superset, you’re skipping the break time between exercises. Essentially, you’re saving time (which we could all use a little more of)! Whether you want to cut down on the time you spend at the gym or pack more into your workout routine—supersets are a time-effective way to keep you on track with your goals.

2. Supersets Can Help Burn Fat

Because there is less downtime between exercises, your heart cannot return to a resting state during a superset. Keeping your heart rate up encourages cardiovascular exercise, and cardiovascular exercise burns more calories—cue the fat burning. 

Let’s say that your first set in your superset routine is a bench press and your second set is a squat. Even though your upper body gets to rest during the second part of the superset, your heart cannot slow down because high energy and oxygen levels are required for the glute and quad muscles; therefore, your heart must continue to pump blood at a fast rate throughout your body.   

3. Superset Training Can Build Strong Muscles

Like any strength exercise routine, supersets support muscle growth and strength. Unlike other strength training exercises, however, supersets allow you to support many different muscle groups in one workout session. 

Do a full-body superset workout by pairing various muscle groups together. For example, first, do calf raises, then do squats, then do bench presses, and then pull-ups. Supersets require both physical and mental stamina and allow you to quickly get a full-body workout in. 

4. Performing Supersets Can Strengthen Your Muscle’s Full Range Of Motion 

The fun thing about supersets is that you can use them to whatever benefit you’d like. If your goal is to focus on building one muscle group’s full range of motion and capabilities, string together exercises that all work the same muscle group. 

For instance, if you’d like to work every muscle activation in your shoulder, build a superset like the one illustrated here. Strength exercises are challenging, and there is a reason why people often take breaks and grab water between sets. It is always recommended to listen to your body and give it the sufficient rest and water it needs. A long superset such as this one is recommended for advanced trainees only and should be broken up into smaller bites for most people. 

5. Supersets Can Be Targeted

One thing we love about supersets is that they allow you to target specific muscle groups

For example, pairing overhead presses and barbell shrugs will push your shoulders to the limit and result in hypertrophy (the enlargement of the muscle tissue). Similarly, pairing bicep curls and tricep dips work the arms in oppositional movements—pull (curl) and push (dip)—are sure to improve musculature. 

6. Supersets can improve athletic performance

If you’re interested in functional strength training, there is a way to incorporate supersets into your fitness routine. 

This point is all about using supersets that utilize big oppositional parts of the body respectively—for example, sumo squats into an overhead press. As you move between the two exercises, your heart rate is going to spike, and the longer you perform the two, the harder you’re pushing your endurance. This line of thinking follows the logic of full-body high-intensity training routines like Tabata and HIIT to improve overall athletic performance.

The Best Place For Supersets

While supersets can be done from many locations, it’s best to be in an environment that is safe for weight lifting. Using padding to support you if you fall, and using high-quality lifting machines and weights will yield the best and safest results. Additionally, having a spotter with you to provide feedback, help you maintain proper form, and support your safety is vital and prevents injury. 

If you’re not sure where to begin, stop at the Chuze Fitness nearest you! We have state-of-the-art machines and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals, and foster a community of motivated individuals who support one another at every step of the way.

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When I Spin, You Spin, We Spin: A Look Into Indoor Cycling

“What are they doing in that dark room with the loud music?” Many members who’ve never stepped foot in an indoor cycle room feel intimidated to enter. As a cycling instructor for 20 years, I’ve heard it all—from “I’m not fit enough” to “my legs are weak.” Let me personally invite you to join my fellow Chuze instructors and me in one of the most fun, adrenaline-rush, addictive formats. Each cycling class you get an intense, fun workout, helping you reach your fitness goals during each training session. This class is all about the feel. Many instructors turn the lights down, or even off, so members focus on themselves without comparing. All you have left is you—your feelings and your challenges. Come give indoor cycling a try!

What Is Indoor Cycling?

Indoor cycle or “spin class” has ranked as one of the top trends in cardiovascular exercise for decades. It’s also a great group fitness format to start a fitness journey by allowing members to increase their heart rates without heavily impacting the knees.

Before every indoor cycling class, instructors practice safety-first by demonstrating the spin bike setup to ensuring proper body alignment and mechanics. Adjustments to the seats and handlebars are unique to each rider to encourage a safe and comfortable ride. Let’s ride!

Instructors create the cycle journey by seamlessly combining music that guides the pace with the bike tension to find the ideal intensity for the indoor cycling class. Slow beats are used for hills, faster tempos accompany the sprints and steady, medium tempos challenge the member’s endurance by setting the pace. By shifting the levers on the bike with a turn of the knob, riders can adjust the tension for any fitness level.

At Chuze, members can feel the accomplishment of conquering hills and sprints in a safe environment. If you’re ready to be challenged and reach your fitness goals, our spin workout classes are an excellent place to start. The bikes are routinely maintained, and cleaned before and after each class. Sign up for a class today and we’ll see you at a gym near you!

Article buKanani, Chuze Fitness Instructor

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What To Know Before You Take A Ride Indoors

You take a deep breath and see the road in front of you, you look at that hill and set yourself up for conquering that ride, you take a sip of water and place your water bottle on your bike rack, you clip your cleats on the pedals and all of a sudden hear, “Welcome to Indoor Cycle!”

Yes! You are ready to conquer those hills, sprints and fun interval drills in a fun closed environment in our indoor cycling workout class. 

What Is Indoor Cycling?

Indoor cycling is a formatted workout that would take your outdoor cycling experience inside as you ride along with motivating music for a great workout experience. An indoor cycling class is based on a stationary bike designed to create different levels of resistance as it mimics an outside bicycle ride. Cycling class is a form of exercise that will focus on cardiovascular, endurance and strength development based on both aerobic and anaerobic interval training at both low and high intensity as well as recovery. 

Indoor Cycle is tailored to challenge all cycle enthusiasts at their fitness level, from beginners to advanced and competitive riders. If you’re ready to strap on those cycling shoes and turn up the intensity, training on a stationary bike can help you get started.

How To Set Up Your Indoor Bike 

• Stand next to your stationary bike and adjust the saddle to hip height by releasing the lock on the stem beneath the saddle
• Lock in place
• Sit on the bike and pedal to ensure comfort while riding
• Adjust the saddle closer to the handlebars or further away as needed by releasing the lock behind the saddle. Aim to keep a slight bend in your elbows and relaxed shoulders.
• Lock in place
• As you pedal slowly stop when one leg is extended (12 & 6 o’clock). There should be a slight bend in your extended leg and your “12 o’clock” knee should be over the middle of your foot.
• Adjust handlebar settings for comfort. Some riders like them higher and others lower, this one is up to you. But when in doubt, start with handlebars about the same height as your seat.

Now that you know the indoor cycling format, it’s time to start training! Cycle training is a fun and challenging workout that offers intensity in each and every cycle class. If you’re looking to improve muscular endurance, stamina, and strength, sign up for an indoor cycling class at Chuze today!

Article by By Jessica Carranza, Chuze Fitness Instructor

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What is a Superset? 

When it comes to strength training for different muscle groups, people often are unsure of where to begin. However, structuring your gym sessions around strength training can help you stay on task and accomplish your goals as efficiently and safely as possible. Supersets are an effective and easy way to structure your workout routine.

Superset exercise can be beneficial for potentially speeding up workouts, which is something to consider if you don’t have a lot of time to exercise. Without any rest between workout sets, a proper superset eliminates the time between one exercise and the next. 

Are you ready to press your foot to the pedal and gas up your exercise to the next level? Keep on reading to learn more about what a superset is and superset workout examples to get you started. 

Superset Meaning

A typical strength-training workout consists of performing one exercise after another with short breaks for rest and recovery in between. The difference between this type of exercise, also known as a straight-set, and a superset exercise is the elimination of the in-between time that spaces out various exercise reps. 

Performing a superset means doing one exercise and then immediately moving into the next exercise on your agenda without any downtime in between.

Because you’re restricting your body from taking downtime between reps, supersets require more stamina and endurance. This is why supersets are a popular component in the fitness world.

Why Should I Incorporate Supersets Into My Routine? 

There are many benefits to performing supersets. Doing one exercise after another without any rest between sets requires your body to push harder for a longer period of time. If you’re looking to increase your muscular endurance and train your mind and body to test new limits, superset workouts are a great option! 

Supersets can optimize your productivity because when you swiftly transition from one exercise to the next, you spend less time thinking about what’s ahead. This is why it is important to come prepared by creating a workout plan ahead of time. In the end, you will have put more thought into your strategy to ensure you’re hitting the muscle groups you want to focus on in a given gym session. 

Superset workouts are also great for increasing your heart rate and burning fat while also building muscle and muscular strength. Taking breaks between reps can allow your body to cool down and your heart rate to return to a normal level, while removing breaks between sets and jumping into the next exercise, preventing your heart rate from slowing down again and returning to a resting state. 

Superset Examples

Superset workouts can accomplish many different fitness goals depending on how you design them; there are many different types of supersets to support your needs. Here are examples of three types of supersets—one muscle group, upper vs lower body, and opposing muscle groups. 

Full-body superset:

• Dumbbell lunges
• Barbell squats
• Bench press
• Pull-Up 

Opposing muscle supersets: 

• Biceps curls
• Triceps dips 
• Bulgarian split squats (quadriceps)
• Glute bridge (hamstrings)
• Barbell row (latissimus dorsi)
• Barbell press (pectoralis major)

Supersets are hard work and push your mind and body to the limit. It’s important to know your body, listen to your needs, work with a spotter that you trust, and choose safe environments to do supersets. All of our Chuze locations are equipped with top-tier workout machinery and equipment to help you safely accomplish your fitness goals, stop in today!

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