The answer is simple – without spin shoes you are absolutely getting an A M A Z I N G werkout. However, there are some benefits of clipping into the bike that you are missing out on when you don’t invest in spin shoes. In short, you might not be getting the full advantages of your session by only wearing your tennis shoes rather than investing! 
Here are a few of the key advantages of wearing TIEM Spin shoes:
The Power Factor
Typical sneakers or tennis shoes are designed to be flexible and comfortable. This is typically the ideal design for everyday wear, of course, because you want to be comfortable and be able to move with ease. When you are on the bike, however, it is ideal to have a shoe that has a stiff sole. The pedal of the spin bike is absorbed by the cushion of the more flexible sole and therefore, all that power you are working so hard to create, is wrapping around the pedal rather than amplifying your output. A spin shoe allows all the power created by your leg muscles to go straight to the pedal which in turn allows you to amp up the resistance even more.
Form check!
You’ve heard it a million times, “check your form, toes, ankles, knees and hips should all be tracking forward…” What if I told you that by wearing spin shoes you take away the need to be conscious of how your lower extremities are aligned? By clipping your feet to the pedals, your toes, ankles, knees, and hips are positioned correctly, and you don’t slip around like you would with your feet in the cages. By staying aligned consistently, you reduce the risk of injury to these areas.
Comfort
The optimal feet position for spinning is to have the ball of your foot over the center of the pedal for the entire duration of your session. In theory this sounds easy right? Well, it would be if everyone had the same size feet. If you have smaller feet, you may notice that your foot pushes forward in the cage and you are pushing more with the heel rather than the ball of your foot. Or the opposite if you have a large size shoe – you may feel that you are pedaling with your toes more often than the ball of your foot. Not only does this not feel great, but it also goes back to the factors mentioned above. You must be more conscious of your form and you are not maximizing your power output.
Building Muscle
By fixing your feet stationary on the pedals, it removes a lot of stress off the parts of your body that are not necessary for spinning. (i.e., hip flexors and shoulders). By removing stress off of these muscle groups, you can focus your effort your glutes, quads, and core. HELLO BOOTY GAINS!
Now that we have discussed some of the benefits let’s talk through common objections to taking the plunge and getting yourself a pair of spin shoes.
“I only come once or twice a week; I don’t think it’s worth it”
I see where you are coming from with this. Any time we make a purchase we want to make sure we are going to get value from it. My argument to those who think the frequency of their werkouts determine the value of the shoes is simple. You have a toaster, right? You probably don’t make toast everyday but when you want to accomplish a snack of crunchy carbs, you’re super glad you have the tools to do it correctly. Similarly, if you were going to go for a run, you wouldn’t do it in flip flops, would you? During a SPENGA session you are doing 20 minutes of a high intensity cardio workout – you owe it to yourself to have the right tools to get the maximum results possible!
“I don’t want to carry multiple pairs of shoes to the studio”
Ah – this one’s easy! TIEM brand spin shoes have the clip, or the “cleat” designed to fit snug and flush inside the sole of the shoe. You can easily clip into the spin bike for the first 20 minutes of the session. Ride it like you stole it, and then unclip and transition to strength without skipping a beat.
Still not convinced? That’s totally okay. You will still get the BEST. WERKOUT. EVER without spin shoes. Here are a few tips for riding without clipping to the bike:
- Concentrate on pulling your knees directly upwards towards your chest – this will help keep all your joints aligned
- Focus on dropping your heels back, this will cause you to push the most from the balls of your feet.
- Lastly, for safety purposes, make sure you tuck in your shoelaces in, so they don’t get caught in the wheel
If you have any additional questions about spin shoes or the proper form, feel free to reach out to the studio, and we will be happy to get you some answers!
