Last week my gym had a "pop-up" spin class (not part of the ongoing schedule) for their senior program. The classes designed for seniors are called ARORA classes. I have no idea whether ARORA stands for anything.
At one point the teacher was walking around checking the read-outs on everyone's bikes - I guess to see if they were following his instructions? As he approached mine, I crooked my finger for him to come closer and said in his ear, "I'm gonna do my own workout today - I had heart surgery a couple of months ago and I'm still in recovery mode, keeping my heart rate low". Now, I said it in his ear because I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but he loudly said "that's fine, I don't want to have to give you CPR" and since he was wearing a microphone headset it was broadcast to the whole class. 🙄
But it was a fun class, and I know it would be good for me to do spin classes once I'm back to full activity. Here's the thing - the bike seats, oy!! They are extremely narrow. Bike seats aren't one size fits all. With a good fitting bike seat, your "sit bones" are resting on the back end of the bike seat. Women's hips are wider, ergo, men's and women's bike seats are shaped differently.
Granted some women's seats are narrower than the second one shown. But my hip bones must be widely spaced, because that's the saddle that's comfortable for me. The saddles on the spin bikes are more like the top one and the end result is that my hip bones are off the edges and my full weight is on my crotch. It's NOT comfortable.
So coming in to the gym this morning, I came out of the stairwell door and there was the spin instructor chatting with someone. He said, "Oh I was hoping to see you in class this morning!" Because of the good turnout last week, they decided to keep on offering the class once a week.
I said, "Well...here's the thing. That saddle is not comfortable for me. I could maybe ride a spin bike for 20 minutes, but 45 minutes is too long".
He said, "See, that's why I was recommending padded bike shorts."
I said, "I was wearing padded bike shorts".
Him: "Oh."
Me: "Would you like some feedback to give to management? It would be nice if some of the bikes had women's bike saddles." I proceeded to explain that my sit bones are hanging off the sides of the saddle and all of my weight is on my lady parts. I succeeded in making him feel very awkward! 😂
Him: "Well. That is one excuse I don't have a comeback for. No one has ever mentioned that before."
Me: "SERIOUSLY?"
Him: "Well, sometimes people are thinking something and just not saying anything."
So, my reading is that for years the women spin class participants have figured that uncomfortable bike seats is just something we have to put up with, because it's too embarrassing to talk about our vulva being squashed. I'm just as much at fault - I used to do spin classes years ago when I was a more avid cyclist, and I never complained because I figured "well that's the way the manufacturers make them and it's not going to change".
But these days I'm salty. Oh god, it's another post about woman problems!!
I hope you've been paying attention to italicized words. Today's is dot.
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I could tell you are/were a legit cyclist right away simply because you used the word ‘saddle’ instead of ‘seat’. 😂.
Anyone reading this who is considering a bike or even a good stationary (peloton, etc)…. Proper fit is everything. The best bike in the world with the wrong adjustments will leave you miserable. If you go into a bike shop and they aren’t asking you about intended use and taking body measurements to fit you properly, leave and go somewhere else.
See, that's one thing I do appreciate about spin bikes, they're so adjustable. Not just the seat going up and down, but it goes forward and back, and same thing with the handlebars.
I had that fitting process way back when. My results were that I have long femurs, lol. So my prescription was to move my saddle all the way back to achieve the proper knee angle, and then have a very short handlebar stem so that I wouldn't have an uncomfortable reach.
Have been members of gyms. Never have taken classes. Always more of move at own pace sort. Always walked when younger ran for cardio. Have never used gym cycles so haven't noticed. Great points.
When I was younger I was into step aerobics and so forth. For quite a while I’ve been more of the “independent workout” type like you. But the last couple of years I’ve been doing yoga classes and enjoying it.
The spin instructor was disrespectful in attitude and actions.
Here, ARORA classes = aqua, cardio, strength, and total-body classes that are specifically designed for those ages 55 and older. It includes a collection of physical, social, and educational activities to improve strength, mobility, and nutrition, as well as opportunities for social interaction.
Yep, that was the definition I found on Lifetime's web site, but I still don't know if ARORA is an acronym or just a made-up word (I suspect the latter 😊 ).
@smartasswoman Seems it’s being positioned as a lifestyle.
I am so thrilled you told the instructor exactly what the problem is for many women. It's about time someone paid attention to us.
Hugs!!
Oh, I don't know if they'll pay attention, haha! I'm just one person.
Maybe I should write a letter to the health club CEO and flatter him that since his chain is so large and powerful (i.e. lots of buying power 💵💵) they could exert their influence on the spin bike manufacturers to come up with a more flexible saddle setup.
Sadly, your post not only rings true, it's a fairly typical approach to women in societies where men see themselves as superior and take the notion of 'mastery' far too seriously. I certainly don't think what you've described is a 'woman problem', rather it's an all too evident male problem!
It might be a "cycling culture" problem, because now that I think of it I remember when I was in a bicycling club, it seemed to be a sign of being a high level rider to have a very skinny, very hard bike saddle.
Another good meme! Not sure if FB has been showing it to you but I keep getting ads for jewelry that says "be kind" and then hidden either on the reverse or inside, is the rest of the phrase "of a bitch"
I have not seen those ads, but now I want one!! Because I am trying to be kinder these days, but there's definitely still an inner bitch. 😄
I’m always Salty, defiant and non compliant!
I’m staggered that a spin class instructor doesn’t appreciate that one size does not fit all when it comes to bike saddles … perhaps he’s not a cyclist just a fitness dude. I suspect there’s plenty of men who are suffering in silence as well thinking it’s all part of the no pain no gain ethos. ‘Numb nuts’ ( and whatever the female equivalent is!) isn’t fun or necessary with the right support
He said he'd been leading spin classes for over twenty years, so it's mystifying. Maybe as you say, he never gets on a bike outside of the gym? I suppose if you're only on the bike 45-50 minutes at a time and you're standing to pedal a lot of the time, you can get away with it.
Or maybe like you say it's the no pain no gain ethos - kind of a hazing of the newcomers to see if they keep coming back even with discomfort.
Doesn't seem like a great business model, though.
@smartasswoman No, not great, but it’s the old supply and demand issue … if the classes are over subscribed … why change anything. As a keen cyclist back in the day I can confirm there’s a big difference between gym culture and road cycling culture. For me if I wasn’t going anywhere I didn’t see the point … it was more about being outside and exploring the countryside with mates than fitness per se, so anything that caused unnecessary discomfort got fixed pretty quickly!
Likely not news to you, but I doubt many men need to be reminded of just how uncomfortable a bike seat can become. 😆
Right. I'm thinking everyone must be uncomfortable on those damn spin bike saddles!
I have to admit in a normal spin class the participants spend a lot of time pedaling standing up out of the saddle - so maybe it isn't as much of an issue. That wasn't happening in the ARORA class because the instructor was trying to accommodate for most of the people being newbies.
That was very jerky of the instructor to be that way to you. He should have covered the mic if you are calling him over to tell him something.
As for the seat, have you tried to look into seeing if any company makes a slip on jell pack that slips over the seat?
That may be a good idea for some company to create if they haven't already. Just my observation.
I do remember when I used to attend spin classes regularly before, there were a couple of women who had those. To me they didn't seem like they would solve my issue - because they didn't make the seat any wider to provide support for my hip bones; they just made it softer. They probably helped for the people who just didn't like having a firm bike saddle.
@smartasswoman I haven't ridden a bike since I was a kid, so I wouldn't know. I would think that your situation would affect others and maybe someone would create something to ease that issue. If not than someone should create it, just saying.
Sit bones ...huh. I always thought the seat was uncomfortable because my butt was so big. I never thought of the fact that my pelvic bones are wider spaced than a man's. Thanks for the info!
Don't get me wrong - my sit bones are widely spaced but I do also have a big butt, haha! And I suspect a wider saddle just provides better support for all of that mass, yanno?