ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605240037
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTOPHER L. BOYD STAFF WRITER
IT'S LIKE AEROBICS, but you're sitting down; it's like biking, but you're jumping around.
It's the new phenomenon among the aerobic-minded, sweat-soaked exercise enthusiasts looking for a workout with a few ups and downs. It's a bicycle ride with some new twists, turns, hills and valleys, all while sitting, standing, jumping and climbing in one stationary position.
The Training Edge, a Roanoke County personal fitness training facility, is the first in the Roanoke Valley - and according to owner Denise Tolusso, the only one in Virginia - to offer Spinning, a form of aerobic exercise using stationary bicycles.
Tolusso said she read about Spinning last year in a fitness magazine. She decided to investigate, called an 800 phone number and signed up for a class. The nearest was in Washington, D.C.
"The minute I took the class, I knew it was the real deal and I wanted to bring it here," she said.
Next she went to Los Angeles, where she met endurance cyclist and Spinning's creator, Johnny G., a partner in Madd Dog Athletics of Santa Monica, Calif. She was trained on how to teach the class. When she returned to Roanoke, her 11 Johnny G. Spinners made by Schwinn had arrived, and she was ready to Spinn. The machines cost $700 each.
The Training Edge, located on Starkey Road., began offering Spinning classes in mid-April. They have drawn about 70 customers, ranging from triathletes to the obese and including people of all ages.
For $130, customers get 20 workouts of 45 minutes each, or 10 for $80. The program consists of moderate-to high-intensity, nonimpact cardiovascular exercises. Pedaling while strapped to a Johnny G. Spinner, the class uses road cycling techniques and philosophies developed by Johnny G. Participants have a sweat towel and a water bottle at hand as they Spinn to the rhythm of their favorite tunes.
Tolusso, a graduate of Oswego College in New York and master's candidate in exercise physiology at Virginia Tech, has operated the Training Edge for 21/2 years, offering traditional fitness programs such as weight training, aerobics, abdominal exercises, diet counseling and monitoring of medical conditions.
Cindy Conners, who Spinns four times a week at Training Edge, said she believes Spinning will overtake aerobics in popularity. "My personal feeling is that you get a better workout from Spinning than aerobics. You are in control of your movements and you can go at your own pace, vs. aerobic exercises when you go at the instructor's pace."
Connors said her doctor recommended the Training Edge when she developed high blood pressure. After she began working with a personal trainer, her blood pressure returned to normal and she began to feel good about herself again. Conners picked up Spinning as she continued working with her trainer.
Dan Stallard, a personal trainer at Custom Fit, a Roanoke athletic facility, said he has read about Spinning in several athletic publications. "I hear that it is the new thing in exercise. We're looking to get something along those same lines going here."
Tolusso believes interest in the exercise is growing and is looking to expand the business.
"The cool thing about Spinning is that you are totally in control of what you do," she said. "It brings together the whole mind-body thing."
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PAUL L. NEWBY II/Staff. 1. Denise Tolusso, owner of Theby CNBTraining Edge, a Roanoke County gym, leads a class working out on
Spinner bikes. color. 2. Denise Tolusso exhorts her class through a
rigorous 45-minute session on the Spinner, a combination of aerobics
and riding a stationary bike, invented - where else? - in
California.