You want to get in better shape? You have an indoor stationary trainer for your bicycle or an exercise bike? Well, if you're ready for an intense intervals workout, you can pop in the first DVD of the Spinervals Competition series. But be warned... as the title says, there are No Slackers Allowed!

Competition 1.0: No Slackers Allowed is an indoor cycling workout, running approximately 44 minutes, intended for competitive cyclists or recreational riders who are serious about getting into shape. It's rated 9.0 for difficulty on a 10-point scale, so you can see that it's considerably tougher than the Spinervals Fitness 1.0 and 2.0 programs.

The program runs as follows:

Are you thinking something like "5 minutes of effort isn't that much"? Trust me, once you get into this workout, you'll feel every second of it, and it's a good thing that you have Coach Troy Jacobson right there telling you to get going, push harder, keep it up! As you can see, the workout is varied, providing several different types of interval exercises that will improve your fitness and your performance on the bike.

The one fault I'd find in the No Slackers Allowed program is that Coach Troy's initial description of some of the more complicated sets (like the tempo set that mixes seated/standing effort) is not as clear as I'd like. He does a fine job of giving the specific instructions once the set gets started (telling you when to stand, when to sit, when to push hard and when to rest) but it's always better when the objective is clear from the beginning. No Slackers Allowed also has a slight touch of cheesiness that's absent from the other programs, in that in some of the rest breaks we get little testimonials from various participants about the merits of the Spinervals program. Fortunately, it's not overdone.

The great strength of the Spinervals workouts, and of Coach Troy's coaching, is that it really motivates you to push yourself harder and longer than you would on your own. No Slackers Allowed is a very concentrated workout that packs a lot of quality exercising into 44 minutes. It can be tough to get excited about riding indoors, but No Slackers Allowed makes the experience interesting (if exhausting!). I particularly liked the "race simulation" near the end of the program. This isn't just any old race simulation: Coach Troy asks you to imagine it as the 5K prologue time trial of the Tour de France, with the first 2K being uphill, and he calls out the "distance" remaining, all the way to a sprint for the finish line. It's a creative and effective way to squeeze out the last ounce of effort from all the participants.

The DVD

Video

No Slackers Allowed was filmed outdoors (and was the first of the Spinervals titles), which probably accounts for the image quality not being quite as good as in the later titles. The image, which is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio, is somewhat grainy and has a muted, slightly washed-out look to it. However, it's certainly watchable (this is an exercise program, not a film, after all). The graphics for perceived effort, the countdown to the end of the workout, and the suggested gear are all nicely readable.

Audio

The sound quality is satisfactory here, though like the video quality it's not quite as good as we see in later programs. Coach Troy's voice sounds a bit muffled and flat here, which isn't surprising since the program is being filmed outdoors and he's not wearing a microphone as he does in later programs. Even so, he's always perfectly understandable.

Extras

There are no special features on this disc. The DVD design is not as good as in the later Spinervals DVDs, as there are only two chapters (warm up and main program) and there's no detailed listing of the workout as there are in the others.

Final thoughts

Spinervals Competition 1.0: No Slackers Allowed is a great, challenging indoor cycling workout, offering a mix of different types of exercise (sprints, super spins, race simulations, and tempo efforts) all at a high intensity. The overall presentation isn't quite as polished as in the later Spinervals programs like Time Trial Special, but I suspect that you'll be sweating and suffering too much to notice. No Slackers Allowed gets a strong recommendation for all athletes who are looking for a motivational, high-quality workout on the bike.