The Worst Mistakes You Can Make at Your Indoor Cycling Exercise Class

The hardest part of indoor cycling classes isn't the climbs. It's avoiding the many variables (seat height! resistance! posture!) that could mess with your form, efficiency, and overall workout.

Whether you're new to cycling or are a spinning master, it's pretty easy to mess up a few aspects of this killer exercise—and you might not even realize it. To make sure you're working the muscles you're supposed to work and preventing an injury, avoid making the mistakes that spin instructors see all too often.

You're Not Dressing the Part

Your pants are too loose. Leave the baggy sweats at home—form-fitting leggings are your best bet on the bike, says Marion Roaman, general manager of Peloton Cycle. "Though most bikes are designed so fabric cannot get caught in the crank arm, it's annoying to have clothes flailing around while you are riding to the rhythm," she says. "Not to mention cycling is such a sweaty workout—the last thing you want is extra fabric hanging from your body."

Your sports bra is weak. Sure, a spinning exercise class is non-impact, but there's a lot of movement that can make your breasts, well, bounce. Roaman suggests wearing a super-snug sports bra to keep your girls comfortable.

Your shoes aren't clipped in. "Cycling shoes allow you to connect directly to the pedal, providing a more secure stroke so you can forget about your feet and focus on your breath, form, and work," says Jonathan Carlucci, a master instructor at Revolve Fitness. "The rigid sole also gives you more efficiency on the bike, helping you get the most out of your workout." And once you're clipped in, make sure you're pedaling correctly—your feet should remain flat and neutral, rather than pointing the toes down, which can cause tension in your lower back. If you catch yourself doing it, Carlucci suggests pressing down in the heel to level things out.

Your Form Needs Work

You're not following the workout. Your instructor is setting you up for sweaty success, so listen closely to determine how much resistance should be on your wheel during your spinning exercise workout. "A good instructor will describe the terrain you're riding—a flat road or a heavy hill, for example—and how hard you should be working," says Carlucci. This isn't the place to march to the beat of your own drum. Stick to the instructions and you'll likely feel a mental boost too, as many classes are set up to "ride as a pack" to bolster team camaraderie.

That resistance is too low. "All too often I see people riding with too little resistance," says Carlucci "Resistance is where the magic happens. If you're looking to burn calories, you do it by powering through the resistance, by upping your challenge, by increasing your workout output." In other words, the more you crank that knob to the right, the stronger you get. Not to mention that a too-low resistance makes your cadence too fast, putting you at risk for damaged joints. How can you tell there's not enough during your spinning exercise class? "If your hips are bouncing or your pedal stroke is too loose or your shoe pops out of the clip, those are sure signs," he says.

On the flip side, your resistance could be too high. If you can't match your pedal stroke to the beat of the music, or stay within the RPM range that your instructor is coaching, turn that knob to the left until you can. "If your instructor is coaching you to feel breathless and be working hard while staying with the beat, your resistance should be high," says Roaman. "If they're cueing you to take it easy while sticking to the beat, it should be light."

You fling your elbows out during a "tap back." It's one of the most popular moves in spinning exercise classes these days, and it's designed to activate your glutes and core by driving your hips backward, "tapping" it over the saddle without fully sitting. But if you fling your elbows out to your sides, you add tension to your shoulders and take away some of the booty-blasting effect of the exercise, says Roaman. Instead, keep your arms close to your sides, with a slight bend in the elbow, as you tap back.

You party too hardy on the bike. We get it—a rockin' playlist makes you want to groove on that bike like it's 1999. But swaying side to side throws your body off-balance, forcing you to grip the handlebars tightly. Instead, channel that energy into perfectly matching your cadence to the beat—and add a little head-bang for good measure.

You death-grip the handlebars. Those babies are there for stability, not support. Relying on them to support your weight takes away the core and quad work you're after, says Carlucci. Flutter or flex your fingers during the hard parts to check in on form throughout the class.

You don't pull up on the pedals. It's all about finding the perfect balance in your pedal stroke to make your stride as efficient as possible. "If you're just pushing down, you're overtaxing your muscles," says Hickl. "The downstroke will happen naturally, so if you focus on lifting the opposite foot, you're engaging the hamstring and glute muscles, and balancing the work in your legs from front to back." Translation: Don't make your quads do all the work—letting your hammies in on the action gives you more power.

You don't let the music move you. "A good instructor will know how to curate a playlist that is true to himself or herself, while simultaneously appealing to as wide an audience as possible," says Carlucci. "Like a good meal, it should have hints of several flavors. They'll know how to finesse the musical phrasing and dynamics in relation to the physical activity on the bike, appearing to have command over that beat." So if you're not really jibing with the tunes, try a new spinning exercise class until one clicks. You'll leave feeling even more invigorated.

You skip the stretch. It's one of the most important parts of the workout, so opting out nixes your jump start on the recovery process. Plus, it's annoying. "You're opening the door and letting all that light stream into a dark room, disrupting that experience the instructor is working so hard to create," says Carlucci. If you catch yourself doing this on the reg, consider hitting up an earlier class so you're under less of a time crunch. And if you need to leave early for something unexpected, just signal to the instructor that you're OK—otherwise, they'll worry you're injured.