Skip to main content

My First Spin Class: Here’s How it Went

 

A New Experience

This weekend I tried a spin class for the first time. Now, I’ve never been a “class” kind of person. That’s right, I have no class (thanks Rodney). I generally workout on my own but my wife has been “spinning” for a couple of months and loving it. She finally talked me into giving it a try and signed me up for a Sunday class.

I arrived early, ditched my coat and gym bag and made my way to the “spinning” room. A few people were already in the room staking claim to bikes.

I walked into the room, looking as bit out of place, and a woman approached me. “Steve?” I said “yes” and shook her hand. She introduced herself as the instructor told me she knew who I was because “you’re new and you’re the only guy signed up for this class”. “Awesome” I thought “I’ll be a thorn amongst a dozen roses.”

Taking it For A Spin

I selected a bike up front and Karen helped me get it set up. She measured the seat against my hip and the distance to the handle bars based on my forearm. I got on and started pedaling to get a feel for the bike. It felt pretty comfortable and more like a road bike than I thought it would.  I continued pedaling while the class filled up.

The Session

Once everyone had arrived we got started. The lights went out, fans strategically placed around the room were switched on, the music was turned up and we were off.

We started out on “flat ground”, pedaling at an easy pace. “Not too bad” I thought to myself.  Then Karen instructed us to increase the tension and sprint. Now I was starting to feel it but I was still holding my own. We increased the resistance a bit more and got out of the saddle to climb imaginary hills. Now my heart rate began climbing too. This was a lot harder than I first thought it was going to be.

In no time, I found myself out of breath and looking forward to the next 30 second rest period. Why is it that the rest period is the exact same amount of time but always feels shorter? We alternated between hard sprints and climbs with rest periods sprinkled in. All of this lasted about 45 minutes and then it was over. At the end, Karen lead us through a few post workout stretches on the bikes while caught our breath and cooled down.

Summary

I enjoyed the class and it really pushed me. I felt like I got a really good workout. Karen sent a picture later showing we burned 613 calories! I never thought I’d do a spin class but it was something new and it’s good to keep your body guessing.

If you’ve ever thought of giving a class like this a try I’d encourage you to do it. It’s a lot of fun, easy to pick up and is a really tough workout. The best thing is you decide how hard you want to go.

Have you tried spinning? What did you think? Leave a comment and share your experience below.

Facebooktwitterlinkedinrssyoutube
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Most Surprising Way Your Bones Support You

  Why Standing Helps with Healthy Weight It’s well documented that people who do a lot of sitting have increased risk of obesity. On the surface it makes sense because when you’re sitting, you’re not moving (much).  Sitting doesn’t allow you to burn many calories. But how does standing more reduce the risk of obesity? The answer may be found in your bones. A  new study  conducted on mice set out to determine whether fat mass helps regulate body mass. Without getting deep into the details,  the most interesting result seemed to suggest your bones play an important role in regulating your diet. Osteocytes  are bone cells that detect when weight is bearing on your skeletal system. According to the study, healthy bones detect changes in body mass and adjust your diet accordingly. (Lower body mass = eat more | Higher body mass = eat less) When you’re sitting your bones aren’t sensing your full body mass so that may in fact cause you to eat more. On the othe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Health Benefits & Risks of Alcohol

Who Shouldn’t Consume Alcohol? You shouldn’t consume alcohol if you… are under the age of 21 years old; are pregnant or attempting to get pregnant; are a recovering alcoholic; are taking prescription or over the counter medications (check with your doctor and heed warning labels); have a health condition that could worsen as a result of consuming alcohol; plan to operate heavy machinery   Moderation is the key According to the mayo clinic Moderate alcohol consumption for healthy adults: Up to one drink a day for women of all ages (over 21) Up to two drinks a day for all men aged 21 – 65 Up to one drink a day for men over 65 A “drink” is defined as: Beer 12 fluid ounces Wine 5 fluid ounces Distilled Spirits (80 proof) 1.5 fluid ounces Benefits Lower Risk of Heart Failure Reduced Chance of Developing Type 2 Diabetes Decreased Chance of Developing Dementia Risks Heavy consumption of alcohol can negatively impact your health with prolonged abuse. Also serious consequences have been ass...
Post a Comment
Read more

5 Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight

You’re Determined You made your resolution but despite your best efforts you’re not losing weight! Why not? You might be surprised how many products and strategies touted to help you are actually working against you!   EXERCISE If you’re relying entirely on exercise and not changing your diet to lose weight it’s probably working against you. Exercise is great for your overall health and well being but when it comes to weight loss it’s only part of the equation. To lose weight you may need to adjust your diet along with exercise. EATING LOW FAT OR FAT FREE FOODS Many low-fat and no fat foods contain more sugar than regular versions of the same food. Eating even small amounts of added sugar can lead to weight gain. CONSUMING TOO MANY CALORIES Calories are tricky little ninjas and they can hideout in the most benign places. Try tracking your food consumption for a week. You may be surprised at what you find. GET RID OF TOXINS Toxins are everywhere, in the foods we eat, the air we brea...
Post a Comment
Read more