Jan, 68 – Spin at Home for a Full-Body Workout! – Senior Planet from AARP

Welcome back to this special series featuring the stories of the Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes as they pursue their fitness goals in 2024. You can find all of our Sponsored Athletes’ stories here.

Jan, age 68, fell in love with fitness in the 1980s. Over the next several decades, she became a certified instructor and an elite athlete. But a serious medical setback, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, forced Jan to find a new outlet for exercise. Indoor cycling proved to be the key to rebooting Jan’s routine. Now, she’s on a new mission to teach classes focused on the injured or aging athlete and show that there’s always another chance.

I’m an old hand at fitness. I spent over 40 years making it a serious lifestyle choice. I ran marathons, taught cardio and strength classes, kick-boxed, and trained instructors to do the same. But over four decades, my high-impact, go-all-the-time lifestyle took its toll. I like to believe — as Indiana Jones once said — “It’s not the years, honey. It’s the mileage.”

I developed a permanent and painful issue with my lumbar spine, with pretty serious degradation in the disks. My orthopedist told me that running and teaching high-impact classes were out. But rather than advising surgery, he suggested I embrace a low-impact activity like indoor cycling.

Spin it to win it

Curious and hopeful, I began a regular Spin® workout — and it’s been amazing, both for my lower back and my overall fitness outlook! I average six to seven Spin classes a week at a Spin studio, and before year-end, I will hit my 1,200th Spin class over a 3½-year period.

But you don’t need to join a studio! You can get a strong, safe senior workout on a Spin bike right in your own home. You choose a pace appropriate to you, modify as needed, stay healthy, and have fun. I can show you how to get a great workout, tailored to your pace and body type, in 20-30 minutes a day. It’s an excellent partner to a walking program, especially on bad-weather days or when you have limited time to work out.

The basics

The secret is:

• A gentle warm-up
• An effective mix of cardio with simple, fun moves that engage your shoulders, back, chest, biceps, triceps, quads, calves, shins, and core
• A good basic cooldown or stretch

The benefits

Consider the many possible benefits of Spin:

• It’s suited to most people: You can find a tempo and cycling rate right for you, regardless of body type.
• It’s versatile: You can practice a range of full-body exercises, right on the bike. No need to get down on the floor!
• It’s spine- and joint-friendly: Spinning is a low-impact exercise that’s easy on the joints and can help keep you active well into retirement. The circular motion of pedaling helps with flexibility and mobility.  And proper cycling posture relaxes the spine, aligns the vertebrae properly, and relieves pressure on the sciatic nerve.
• It’s heart-healthy: This cardiovascular workout can help improve heart health, lower blood pressure, and reduce cholesterol.

Spinning helps build your strength and endurance, for better balance, improved posture, and greater mobility. And it boosts your immune system, to help keep you well.

• It’s a calorie burn: Using a Spin bike can help you lose weight by burning calories.
• It makes you stronger: Spinning helps build your strength and endurance, for better balance, improved posture, and greater mobility. And it boosts your immune system, to help keep you well.
• It reduces stress: Indoor cycling is simple and stress-free. It triggers the brain to produce endorphins that relax the body. Focused on your breathing and pedaling, you finish your workout feeling calm and productive.
• It’s a brain booster: Spinning engages the body and it can also improve focus and concentration and stimulate the brain for learning.

Let’s ride!

Have a Spin bike gathering dust in a corner? Or, are you curious to see if a Spin bike could be the workout you’re looking for? Click here to join me online this coming Wednesday, November 13 at 1:30pm EST. We’ll look at how indoor cycling can be a safe, fun, full-body workout for active seniors!

As a Senior Planet Sponsored Athlete, I want seniors to know: You have options — you’re in control of what aging and retirement can look like for you! Rock on, Senior Planet!

Missed my first presentation? Watch it here:

In need of a little motivation to get moving? Join our daily health and wellness programs, stay tuned to the latest news and articles from SeniorPlanet.org by signing up for The Orbit weekly newsletter, and follow us on social media (Facebook | Instagram | X) to get to know these awe-inspiring athletes. Plus, check out past Senior Planet Sponsored Athlete programs on our YouTube channel. You might just find a new love for fitness along the way!

Please consult your physician or other health care professional before starting a fitness program to determine if it is right for your needs. The advice and information presented in this article are in no way intended as a substitute for medical consultation.