Spin Cycle
As I wallow in the self-pity that invariably accompanies the enforced absence of running due to injury I have decided to diversify. If it "works" in the world of investing (and I certainly hope YOUR portfolio is diversified because the markets are going down the crapper faster than Tiger Wood's sponsorship contracts) I figure it should also work in the world of recreational exercise keeping fit staying healthy land.
So, Sunday morning I drove (shudder!) to the gym for my first Spinning class. I did not know what to expect and I was a bit nervous about how my groin injury would react. However, given that I bike to and from work every day I was fairly certain that the actual motion of pedalling would be OK.
The room was dark, the stationary bicycles looked expensive, and I was a bit out of my league with running shoes on unlike some others who had come prepared with cleats. Nevertheless, I identified myself as a newbie when the instructor asked, nodded politely when she said, "if you find this tough just back off and spin easy through the difficult sections. This is going to be a very challenging session."
She didn't exactly know who she was talking to as I take that kind of trash talk as a personal affront. Back off?! I don't know the meaning of the term.
We started off into a nice warm up with some crappy music and I was into the beat right away spinning quickly. Good times.
Then we went into a series of five different sets that included fast "racing", hill "climbing", virtual competitor "catching", and general sweating to some more crappy music.
Did I have fun? YES! Was it a tough workout? Well, I made sure that it was since I think in these types of sessions you make it as tough as you want it to be. In any case, whenever I did a quick check of my heart rate in the recovery periods it was around 150bpm so I think I got more than just a good aerobic workout. Next time I will endeavor to bring my heart rate monitor to see what actually happens throughout the entire session.
But no matter what I will definitely do this again. It was, at the very least, a nice alternative to indoor rowing...
So, Sunday morning I drove (shudder!) to the gym for my first Spinning class. I did not know what to expect and I was a bit nervous about how my groin injury would react. However, given that I bike to and from work every day I was fairly certain that the actual motion of pedalling would be OK.
The room was dark, the stationary bicycles looked expensive, and I was a bit out of my league with running shoes on unlike some others who had come prepared with cleats. Nevertheless, I identified myself as a newbie when the instructor asked, nodded politely when she said, "if you find this tough just back off and spin easy through the difficult sections. This is going to be a very challenging session."
She didn't exactly know who she was talking to as I take that kind of trash talk as a personal affront. Back off?! I don't know the meaning of the term.
We started off into a nice warm up with some crappy music and I was into the beat right away spinning quickly. Good times.
Then we went into a series of five different sets that included fast "racing", hill "climbing", virtual competitor "catching", and general sweating to some more crappy music.
Did I have fun? YES! Was it a tough workout? Well, I made sure that it was since I think in these types of sessions you make it as tough as you want it to be. In any case, whenever I did a quick check of my heart rate in the recovery periods it was around 150bpm so I think I got more than just a good aerobic workout. Next time I will endeavor to bring my heart rate monitor to see what actually happens throughout the entire session.
But no matter what I will definitely do this again. It was, at the very least, a nice alternative to indoor rowing...
Labels: spinning
posted by Vava at
9:44 AM
2 Comments
