Spinning is Accessible Low-Vision Workout

Special Indoor Bikes, Music Make for a Healthy, Heart-Pounding Ride

Sep 28, 2009

In spinning, you pedal to the pulse of music and adjust resistance on a low-tech, stationary bike, which makes it an ideal activity for the blind and visually impaired.

Spinning is a type of indoor cycling often taught in health clubs that uses special stationary bikes with wide bases (so the rider can stand and lean forward while pedaling) and a front flywheel the resistance of which riders adjust throughout the workout.

A spinning class normally runs about 45 minutes. An instructor guides students through warm-up and stretching exercises followed by the main cycling workout, which combines intervals of sprinting, hill climbing, and recovery simulated by raising and lowering flywheel resistance. Music is often blasted both to motivate and to segment class sessions.

Spinning has become a health club staple and can be an ideal way for riders to increase endurance, lose weight, build muscle (especially the legs), and improve circulation and cardiovascular health.

Benefits of Spinning for Blind and Visually Impaired

What makes spinning an accessible exercise for blind and visually impaired persons is that the activity is largely non-visual: bikes have just one manual control, instructor cues are mostly verbal, and many classes are taught with the lights dimmed or turned off.

Another benefit for those with low-vision is that spinning, despite the instructor’s commands, is self-paced.

“Spinning is a low-impact, high-intensity workout that is safe for the joints, and that you can control,” says Liz Forkel, a personal trainer and owner of LizFit in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. “The classes enable you to increase your cardiovascular strength in a way that makes you feel comfortable. Students control the environment and get fit at their own pace.”

Preparing for a Spinning Class

Liz Forkel, whose spinning certifications (through Les Mills International) include Reebok and RPM, recommends that first-time students arrive at class 10-15 minutes early so they can be properly fitted to their bike. “That’s a really important time where I can connect with students and learn their exercise history so I can help make them comfortable in their first class,” Forkel says. Students need to bring:

In addition to showing students how to ride the spinning bike, Forkel also takes time to describe the type of workout the class is about to do, including what to expect, and how their legs might feel at the beginning, middle, and end of class and even the day after. “A key goal for new students is to workout for yourself and not the person next to you,” Forkel says.

Like tandem cycling, spinning is a physical activity that blind and visually impaired persons can participate in the same manner as the fully sighted and provides a social component that can make working out easier and more fun.

The copyright of the article Spinning is Accessible Low-Vision Workout in Accessible Recreation is owned by Andrew Leibs. Permission to republish Spinning is Accessible Low-Vision Workout in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.