Students in Addison can get the exercise they need not only by riding their bikes to school, but during the school day as well.

Indian Trail Junior High School in Addison is taking fitness to a new level by using stationary bikes often found in health clubs and mixing them into the physical education curriculum.

Addison School District 4 purchased 40 spin bikes last month, and is now in the process of using them in all physical education classes at the school, said district spokeswoman Diane Junokas.

“Each P.E. class participates in a weekly spin session, where students are excited about using the state-of-the-art equipment,” she said.

Jeff Ryburn, P.E. chairman and teacher at the school, said each class has been doing about 20 minutes once a week on the bikes as a way to enhance their fitness program in the gym classes.

“The kids are getting a real workout, and they seem to be really enjoying it,” Ryburn said.

The bikes are designed to mimic an outdoor bicycle ride, and the intensity of a workout can be adjusted by manipulating the resistance knob on each bike.

The device can give the participant up to 40 pounds of resistance, he said.

Ryburn said the spin bike workout is used in regular gym classes as a way to introduce students to cardio-vascular training, and is not necessarily a substitute to regular aerobic exercise that students receive. The bikes are used along with regular gym sports-related activities, such as soccer, flag football, floor hockey and stretching exercises.

“It’s important that students learn, at this age, that there are many different forms of fitness,” Ryburn said. “Getting the kids up and running around is good, and the cardio training just adds to their physical activity.”

During the workout, instructors use a variety of techniques and music selections to motivate the class. The  students are often led through a simulated bike ride, where they encounter steep hills and rolling pastures, flat roads and even downhill sprints.

While the plan is right now to use them for P.E. classes only, Ryburn said it is also possible that the bikes could be used in the future as part of after school fitness and athletic programs.

Junokas said staff members are also being encouraged to use the equipment for their own fitness routines before and after school as well.