Yesterday I tried something new at the gym. I always talk about changing things up in your workout routine so I took my own advice and when I was asked if I wanted to take a spinning class I said sure!
Like most people, I tend to get uncomfortable when I don't know the proper protocal for things and this was my first spinning class, actually my first class EVER so I was a little out of my element. I didn't know how the bikes worked, I didn't know how the class was structured, I didn't know what the commands the instructor was calling out meant etc. It is really good for me to get out of my comfort zone though and I picked things up as I went along. It reminds me of how people must feel when they try to hit the weight room for the first time. There is a lot of machinery there that you have to figure out if you don't know how it works so it isn't easy!
I knew that this was going to be a difficult class. Anytime I walk by and it is going on I look in and everyone looks like they are working pretty hard and sweating profously which is a good sign. The class was also an hour long so I was a little afraid I wouldn't be able to finish without dying. I know I am in good shape but I also know that I will do whatever it takes to keep up with everyone, even if I pass out in the process. This would be my first time when they were old pros so trying to keep up probably was not a good idea but I knew that I would be trying my hardest to do just that.
So I climbed on the uncomfortable looking bike, attempted to get squared away with some much needed assistance and people started trickling in. The music started pumping, the instructor yelled something and everyone started peddaling. My philosophy was just do whatever everyone else was doing because I couldn't hear a word the instructor was saying over the music. The music was helpful to get my rhythm when we were standing up though and I started to feel like I might look like I knew what I was doing, until my foot came flying out of the pedal. Oops.
The class flew by though and I don't remember the last time I sweated that much. I was dripping profuse sweat. In other words, it was awesome. I definitely found it difficult as well. I did not breeze through it by any means. I tried very hard to keep up with the instructor but I couldn't quite hang the entire time, my legs were definitely burning. I loved the continual change of pace and challenges she threw at us though and found it to be a great workout. What's also great is you can go at your own pace. Sure she yells at you to work harder, go faster etc. but if you don't listen what is she going to do? Just by looking around everyone looked like they were going their own pace anyway.
I am a little sore today and one thing that I always have problems with is my hand, specifically my pinky finger on my right hand, going numb when I ride bikes. No matter how I position my hands, it always seems to happen. Not sure what that is about. I will definitely be incorporating this into my weekly workouts though.
7 comments:
Spinning is one of the ONLY workouts that I've ever been able to work my butt off and then push harder. It took a while to get there, but I can do it in spinning. And I am really, really bad at pushing myself. Really Bad. I always stop when it hurts. I wish I could change that about me.
I love that you can go at your own speed if you are just starting out or not as fit as the other spinners (which is always the case for me when I stop going for long periods of time, and you usually have a mixed bag of people in there anyway, and it's not like you're on the open road where it would be obvious who was the slowest.
I definitely recommend going to different instructors to see whose style you like best. Some of them make it feel like you are an actual cyclist on the road and give you courses to follow, some are more zen and make it more of a mental challenge, some are just nazis and want to make you suffer for an hour. Anyway, exciting! It almost makes me want to go back ;-)
I know there is at least one other instructor, maybe 2 but I am interested to see what the difference is in instructors. I honestly couldn't hear her all that well but she did do some yelling, which I like. I do best with the more drill sergant approach, I would have done well in the army. Well at least physically;)
Well, not to imply that it isn't all hard - it is just interesting to see the different teaching techniques and to get such varied workouts - all while doing the same thing. Some instructors think that if you are standing the whole time, it's the hardest, but my ass was never kicked harder than when we were forced to sit through the entire workout (and we worked up to it over a few weeks), but she taught us how to deal with the pain of not being able to release that lactic acid by concentrating on different muscle groups for periods of time to get through it. Intense!!
Two of my fingers are still a little numb from big ride I did over a month ago. A couple things you can do are to make sure you aren't pushing all of your weight down onto the handlebars, make sure you keep your elbows bent, and change your hand position every so often.
I've also been told that padded gloves make a huge difference, but I haven't tried them yet.
Justin-Oh good, I am glad I am not the only one with numbness and I still have some numbness as well. I have lifting gloves so maybe I will try those.
Carrie-I prefer standing up because sitting down makes my ass sore too!
You'll get used to it! But I must say, after the full-length sitting down class, my lady parts were very unhappy with me.
Interesting I have always wanted to try the spinning class but I guess I've been waiting for an invitation. Oh and btw my hand always goes numb when I cycle it's annoying as hell.
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