butt cushion for spinning

I have been meeting with a PT at my gym and he told me he wanted me to start cycling/spinning once a week. So today was my first real class, it was a 45 minute class, and I only made it for 36 minutes beause my butt hurt really bad. Any suggestions on what I can do to prevent my toosh from hurting so bad? Im sure if I got on the bike 70 pounds ago it wouldn't hurt as bad because I had more cushion. Please help.  Thanks in advance, Moni

I was lucky that I didn't have a problem when I started, because I know that a lot of people do.  But, it usually passes after the first 3-4 classes.  So, if you can tough it out, your body will adapt.  Some people use a padded bike seat cover, or padded bike shorts.  Personally, I wouldn't invest in either for what's really a short-term problem. In the meantime, make sure that you lower yourself gently after riding out of the seat.  If you plop down, you might actually bruise your bottom, which is exactly what happened to my 16-year old during her one and only spin class.   You might also want to visit the spinning website, at http://www.spinning.com/ for more information. Stick with it, and it'll get better! (And congrats on the weight loss!) Tami

I might be chiming in a little late - but wanted to mention that you might want to look at a pair of padded bike shorts, despite the earlier advice to wait. It literally made the difference for me in being able to ride the full 16 mile commute from home to work on my bike.  And I still have a fairly decent amount of "padding," on my natural rear, though it melts away as time passes. I'm a person who's dropping sizes about every 2-3 months, but the bike shorts I'm still able to wear because they have a spandex liner. I literally did not "feel" that usual butt soreness until I was 2 hours into my 2 1/2 hour ride, and then all I had to do was "stand" on the pedals for a few seconds to relieve the pressure. If you're really enjoying spinning, if it's something you know you're going to continue with - look at padding now.  I look at it as an investment in my health - the shorts don't have to be expensive to work - the cost of a meal out a restaurant.  And they'll give you much more in return if it means the difference between ending the ride early and continuing to the end in relative comfort.

Oh boy, I know that aching feeling.  It isn't nice at all.  Time will help ease the pain- but next time you may find it hurts worse as you are still sore. 

One thing I found was that the height and angle of the seat made a huge difference to the pain after. Once I found the right seat angle the pain went.

Em