Anyone who has ever taken a spinning class understands the pain of having a sore rump. While you may have the stamina and muscle endurance to take the most advanced spinning class, the rear end always separates the seasoned spinners from the beginners.

Even after spending hours on wooden bleachers during basketball, football and cheerleading competitions, my rear end had never felt pain such as the pain associated with my first spinning class. Working through the pain can be a bit tough.

Gel Seats for Spinning

Fortunately, sports gear manufactures came up with gel seats and padded bike shorts. If you’re on a budget, gel seats are inexpensive and easy to install. They cost about $15 or so. You can find a few cheaper and you can bet you can always find more expensive seats, but they all pretty much do the same thing. They add a little cushion between your rear end and the bike seat.

On a side note: It doesn’t matter how much natural cushion God gave you, your butt is going to hurt when you first start spinning.

Spinning with Padded Bike Shorts

An alternative to the gel seat is biking shorts. For approximately twice the cost of the gel seat, you can wear biking shorts that have built-in padding. The good thing about biking shorts, once you put them on, you don’t have to make a mental note to carry your gel seat (there’s nothing like showing up to a spinning class and realize you left your gel seat home).

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If you’ve got a particularly sensitive posterior, you can opt for both. Wear the bike shorts while sitting on the gel seat.

Time Heals All Wounds

Time doesn’t necessarily heal all wounds, but it does much to smooth over the pain your butt has to endure during your first few spinning classes. When you first start out, it is not recommended that you take spinning classes on back to back days (unless you stand through the entire second class).

Curb your enthusiasm for a bit. Give yourself three or four days rest between your first and second spinning class. Your rear end will thank you for it. Don’t get me wrong, your butt will hurt during your second class, but a little less than it would if you take classes on back to back days.

After getting through the second class, give your rear end a few days rest and then try again. Eventually, you’ll be able to string spinning classes closer together.

Freedom from Artificial Cushion

Within a short period of time, you’ll find that you no longer need to rely on gel seats or padded bike shorts (it took me about 3 weeks to reach that milestone). Once you’re free from padded shorts and gel seats, the only items you’ll have to remember to bring to the spinning class are water and a towel. The towel is optional, but the water is a must.