Indoor Cycling Classes Draw a Caution Flag

Indoor cycling classes can be too intense for beginners, according to a new study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise.

“We wanted to validate what we were observing [in classes],” says Richard Cotton of ACE, a San Diego-based organization devoted to exercise instructor certification and public education. “We were seeing a lot of people exercising at higher heart rates than is comfortable.”

So, ACE asked researchers from Cal State Northridge to evaluate 10 women and men, ages 23 to 35, of varying fitness levels during a 30-minute indoor cycling class.

(In a typical class, participants warm up, pedal vigorously and cool down. In cycling classes developed by ultra-endurance cyclist Johnny G, students are led by an instructor through a “virtual” outdoor road race with hills, valleys and finish lines. Other classes emphasize choreography and incorporate upper-body exercise.)

In the CSUN study, subjects’ heart rates peaked at 75% to 96% of their age-predicted maximum heart rates, Cotton says, and for much of the workout stayed at the higher end.

Regular, everyday exercisers should not exceed 85% of their maximum heart rate, Cotton says, and less-fit exercisers should not exceed 65% to 75% to remain within an ideal aerobic training zone. (To compute your approximate maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.)

ACE also dispatched 10 of its certified fitness professionals and 10 consumers to indoor cycling classes across the country. Their findings: All instructors offered adequate pre-class instruction, but 12 of the participants said instructors fell short on telling students how to monitor and modify the workout.

ACE’s bottom line: Start slowly and pace your workout to your fitness level, not the rest of the pack’s.

For more information on the study, call ACE at (800) 825-3636.