Spinervals Competition 7.0 - The Uphill Grind

I've been on a Spinervals mission lately, I've bought a multi-pack so it has given me the opportunity to use a fair number of different Spinervals workouts. And I had to rush right over and do a review on this one after my first experience with the workout.

Uphill Grind was very VERY enjoyable, and tough. It starts with a standard Spinervals warmup, some sprinting drills, and then you get into the hill climb session. Basically, Coach Troy has you simulating climbing a hill for 4 minutes by shifting into higher gears, standing, etc - and the last minute you switch into your lowest gear and simulate going down the hill quickly. There are 4 repeats of this drill, then some more drills and then a cooldown.

It's the hill climb that really makes this video. 20 minutes of hill climbing did not sound appealing to me, but it was a REALLY nice change of pace from the normal short sprinting/high cadence drills that Spinervals is known for. I was amazed how fast those 5 minute blocks went by, and my legs were SORE afterwards - much more so than after other Spinervals workouts.

So as for now, Uphill Grind is definitely at the top of my Spinervals favorites list. Good workout, tough workout and a different feel than the other Spinervals I've tried.

Length: 44 minutes

Difficulty Rating: 9.5

This is one of my very favorite Spinervals. It flies by very quickly, and is very intense.

The format:

~ Easy warm-up spin 4 minutes

~ Warm-up (standard 3-30 warm-up)

~ 2 minutes alternating easy and hard efforts every 10 seconds in S15 gear

~ 30 sec easy spin

~ Repeat 2 minute set easy/hard

~ 1 minute easy spin

~ Hills: 4 x 5 minute drills with 1 minute rest. Each hill is different, but uses mostly B15 through B12 gears with some standing at random times. Every hill ends with 1 minute downhill at a high cadence.

~ 1 minutes easy spin

~ 3 minutes alternating easy and hard efforts every 10 seconds in B15 gear

~ Cool down

I really love this workout because it feels very effective in a short period of time. I enjoy the all woman cast for a change. Also, since most of it is pushing in hard gears, this one usually results in a high Average mph. I try not to obsess on that number when I'm on my trainer, but I like seeing the higher numbers I get with this workout.

I put off buying this one for a long time because I thought I hated standing on my spin bike. When I finally bought it, I loved it!

There is a little sprint work (seated) at the beginning and end of the workout. The main workout is 4 hills. There is both standing and seated riding, but because you are going "uphill" it just feels different than spinning in the lighter gears and standing that seems to be popular in regular spinning vids and classes. But, that's only my very limited experience.

This is a great workout and only 45 minutes too!

This workout is 45 minutes in length, and in my opinion, one of the tougher Spinerval workouts. Yes, they are ALL tough, but there is something about this workout that makes me wimper. :)

This workout is a cast of all female athletes - something that I really liked. I love the cyclist on the far right, in the back row. Her expressions are exactly what I am feeling!! The background is a plain white/light blue set.

For the core of the workout, Coach Troy simulates climbing a hill. It's a 20 minute set that is KILLER. You alternate between seating and standing, changing the gears along the way. Each hill is five minutes, with the last minute being a fast downhill. I think what makes this workout so hard is that you only get a minute rest between those 5 minute sets. Yowsa.

Here's a breakdown:

Warm-up: 30 second on, 30 seconds off

1 minute rest

Fast spin: 2 minutes - 10 seconds on, 10 off. Repeat.

1 minute rest

Hill Climbs: Four 5-minute hills, with one minute off between each hill

Fast Spin: 3 minutes, 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off - bigger gear this time

Cooldown

I think this one is tougher than Suffer-O-Rama. One of my favorites!!

This video focuses on climbing work. The workout mainly consists of simulating climbing a mountain. For 4 minutes you peddle with a very tough tension (sometimes standing, sometimes sitting) then for the last minute you put an easy tension on the bike and simulate going down the mountain. You peddle at 100% with a very high cadence when going down the "hill". Then you get a 1 minute recovery. This is done a total of 4 times. There are also some other drills but most of the workout is hill climbing. This workout is really tough on the quads. Towards the end of the workout, I was really fatigued and had a hard time peddaling.

Troy is great. He really motivates the all-female cast to push themselves. I enjoy all of his workout videos and always look forward to doing them.