Spinning for seniors/deconditioned market who can’t stand the bike seat?
I’d like to hear ways you have made spinning/group cycling more appealing for seniors and out-of-shape and overweight folks who may find the bike seat painful. We all know a spin bike’s seat is not very comfortable (!) and for many older or larger folks, its a deal-breaker. I will acknowledge here that a thinner/harder seat has its athletic advantages, that most people do get used to the seats, and that there are certainly some seniors and plus-size clients out there who don’t have a problem with the bike seats at all. But for those that do…. Beyond bike shorts and gel seats, do you know of any equipment or modifications that have made the bike seat work for less-than-athletic folks? e.g. have you every hauled a “regular” recumbent bike from the cardio floor into the spin room for someone who just couldn’t get comfortable on the regular spin bike? every jerry-rigged a wider bike saddle from a touring bike onto a regular spin bike? Are there any bike manufacturers out there that make a spin bike that is recumbent or has a wider or more comfortable seat? Other ideas?
Hi Megan,
I am answering in my capacity as a senior at the age of 59 :-), even though not de-conditioned. I have taken two spin classes in my life, the first was bad, the second worse. The spin bicycles were set up properly but I was walking around like Festus for the next few days.
People have been making all kinds of suggestions to me to get into spinning. There are the padded bike shorts which look to me like diapers, and I could also buy the extra bike seat. The reason why I did not pursue either one of those options is that there are many other options for cardiovascular exercise where I do not make any such upfront investments and still run the risk of not liking it all that much.
My point is that you do not always have make accommodations for everybody. There are many other options. You could even get an instructor in front of the recumbent bicycles similar to the way classes for treadmills are run in gyms.
Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com
