METTLE TO THE PEDAL : FITNESS GURU OFFERS NEW TWIST ON STATIONARY-BIKE WORKOUTS.

Byline: Jenifer Hanrahan Daily News Staff Writer

Under tinted lights and ceiling fans, fitness guru Johnny G. shouted rather peculiar instructions in his Culver City gymnasium: ``The ride is not over until we reach the ocean.''

With a whir, two dozen cyclists embarked on a muscle-straining, heart-thumping head trip called Spinning, the trademark name for instructor-led classes on stationary bicycles.

For one hour, riders pedaled while standing and simulated hills by increasing the resistance on specially designed bikes. To cruise flat land, they decreased resistance and pedaled furiously.

All the while, cyclists listened with headphones to world-beat music and Johnny G. (short for Goldberg) as he encouraged, cajoled and waxed philosophic on climbing to the top of the great hill of life.

``Say to yourself, `I want to be in this room. I want to be on this bike. I want to feel my heart. I want to burn a little so I can wake up in shape,' '' he said in a raspy whisper into a microphone. ``Life doesn't give you second opportunities!''

Move over, step aerobics. Spinning enthusiasts say cycling in place is more than a fitness flavor-of-the-month. They predict it's destined to become at least as big as aerobics - maybe bigger, since Spinning also appeals to men who want a high-intensity cardiovascular workout without the aerobics-type dance steps.

``I find all of the machines to be boring and tedious,'' said David Halbreich, 37, a lawyer from Benedict Canyon who cycles at the Spinning Centre in Sherman Oaks twice a week. ``With Spinning, you have music, you have an instructor, you have people to do it with, and the workout is as hard as you want to make it.''

But why would anyone want to cycle indoors, especially in beautiful, sunny Southern California?

``The reason for doing this indoors is because you don't have buses, you don't have potholes, you don't have dogs chasing you, and you don't have stoplights,'' said Merle Thompson, owner of the 2-month-old Spinning Centre.

In the first three weeks alone, more than 300 people attended classes there, said Thompson, a financial officer for a dental supply company who teaches Spinning in the evenings.

``I've never sweated so much in my life as I have in these classes,'' said Sharon Skitch, 44, of Chatsworth, who rides in place twice a week to train for the AIDS Ride California from San Francisco to Los Angeles next month. ``You have somebody leading you through it, so you feel like you're in a partnership with them, plus you have companions on the bikes.''

Johnny G. - a former bodybuilder and world-class ultra endurance cyclist - developed Spinning eight years ago after he dropped out of a cross-country race just 400 miles from the finish.

``It wasn't that physically I couldn't handle it. Mentally, I was destroyed,'' Johnny G. said. ``I became, like, a little crazy and obsessive. For me to compete and not come in in the top five, it was something that my ego could not handle. I decided to go back to the drawing board and find out why.''

He welded a stationary bicycle in his garage that he rode from evening until dawn to prepare for the monotony and sleep deprivation of a cross-country race.

The following year, he re-entered the race and finished in under 10 days.

Reasoning that stationary bikes were an underutilized fitness tool, he opened the Spinning Centre in Santa Monica in 1989. Lack of business and poor equipment forced him to relocate twice before he finally set up private classes for devotees in his Century City home.

Within a few months, he struck a deal with Schwinn Cycling and Fitness Co. to manufacture sturdier versions of the bikes he had been making by hand.

A trend was born. More than 2,000 Johnny G. Spinners have been sold to 500 or so different clubs in the United States and Europe since last year, said Angela Miller, marketing manager for Schwinn.

Stationary cycling can be a terrific cardiovascular workout, said Dr. Allan Abbott, professor of family medicine at University of Southern California. Because cycling isn't a weight-bearing activity, it's easier on the joints.

``The No. 1 disadvantage is that exercise machines are boring, and people don't do it more than a few times,'' he said. ``Whatever type of exercise one does needs to be done consistently over long periods of time, preferably a lifetime.''

Although Johnny G.'s company has the rights to Spinning, it hasn't stopped others from developing spinoffs. Personal trainer Karen Voight, best known for her workout videos, devised a program she calls Pace 'n' Shape that incorporates abdominal work and hand weights for body sculpting with stationary cycling. She teaches at World Gym in West Hollywood.

And Reebok International Ltd. has announced plans to introduce its own version of the stationary cycle and a training program called Cycle Reebok, due in July. A video for home use also is in the works.

Local fitness clubs are even putting their own spin on the sport. Studio City's Angel City Yoga and Fitness has offered Spinning for about a year and has plans to expand its offerings by decorating the gym like a raceway. It plans to project footage of an actual bike ride on a 100-inch screen.

Johnny G. couldn't be prouder that he masterminded this newest fitness craze-in-the-making - emphasizing, however, that his program is superior.

His headquarters in Culver City looks nothing like your usual fitness club. There's a coffee bar and comfy couches, scented candles and skylights, a mural of Johnny G. riding and 40 stationary bikes bolted to the floor.

``Those others are just aerobics on a bicycle. Spinning is not just to exercise your body and sweat and burn calories,'' he says. ``Spinning is a philosophy.''

Getting ready to ride?

If you decide to try Spinning, bring a bottle of water and a towel - you'll need them. Keep in mind that cycle seats can be painful, especially for women. Padded bike shorts or a gel seat cover can help to lessen the discomfort. Spinning centers sell them.

Spinning classes average $10 to $12 a session. Most gyms and Spinning studios also offer package deals.

Johnny G.'s Headquarters is at 8729 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City; [phone]. The Spinning Centre is at 15050 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; [phone]. Angel City Yoga and Fitness is at 12408 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; [phone].

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) Spin DOCTOR

Johnny G.

(2)Johnny G. (short for Goldberg) leads a Spinning class at his Culver City headquarters. He first offered the instructor-led stationary cycling concept in 1989.

(3) ``Spinning is not just to exercise your body and sweat and burn calories. Spinning is a philosophy,'' says Johnny G.

Phil McCarten/Daily News

(4) Lisa Reilly of Sun Valley pedals along at the Spinning Centre in Sherman Oaks. Instructors cue class members to vary pedaling position and change bike resistance to simulate road conditions.

(5) Merle Thompson owns the 2-month-old Spinning Centre in Sherman Oaks.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News

Box: Getting ready to ride? (See Text)