Thursday, March 24, 2016

Spin Class

I've heard a lot of things about spin class - 91% of those things being horror stories where people swear that they will never go back, worst workout ever, etc.

I've been needing to get into a cardio heavy routine lately to ramp-up my weight loss and I remembered I had purchased a 2 week cycling class at a Panhellenic auction almost a year ago. I dug around some old papers and BOOM! There it was. A shiny new "2 weeks of spin classes" certificate that was set to expire in 2.5 weeks. 
So.... Why not start now, right!? 
And that's what I did. 

I was nervous. I didn't know what to do, how to act, or even what to wear. I asked a few people for basic info, but just felt like I was diving head first into this fitnes genre that I knew nothing about. 

I showed up on Wednesday, March 23 after work (5:30pm) to Physiques by Monique - the spin studio in Brookside here in Tulsa. Class started at 5:45.

The room was beautiful, inviting, and not at all scary - but for some reason my stomach was filled with nerves! 


I expressed my "newness" - how I was totally clueless, and that I wanted to sit in the back and do my own thing -- cause come on..,  if I couldn't hack it no one would notice, right!? 

Only 5 people were registered for the class - so that made it better. I picked a bike and then the assistant helped me get my seat and handlebars set up, gave me a towel and a gel seat cushion, and gave me a crash course on hand positions, "in/out of the saddle", and showed me the brake. 😐 

My first class was "hip/hop spin" and it was different than I expected. I guess I don't know what I expected actually - but the music was fun, it was fast-paced, and I could do basically everything the teacher was instructing us to do. 

I did sit "in the saddle" (on the seat) for one song where they were up.. But I blame that due to a squeaky and embarrassing bike. 😉

The spin class itself didn't bother me much. I'm used to high-cardio activities. However, around the 25 minute mark I was feeling anxious for the class to be over. 

45 minutes of good music, cycling legs, and good cardio I was finished. 

I was hot. I was sweaty. I had tomato-face. And I was proud - that I actually did the entire workout, with limited modification! 
You know how it goes... 
You don't want to show up to workout but you do it anyways. 
Then you want to back out and leave but the workout starts.
Then you get in the zone until 1/2 or 3/4 of the way trough you look at the clock (big mistake lol) and then long for it to be over.......
........And then it is. 
And you feel great!! 
45 minutes, 800+ calories, and one big smile later, I had completed my first spin class. 


The cool down was some yoga stretches which I enjoyed. But I noticed when I got off of my bike I was dizzy. Probably just from "new workout" anxiety and then serious cardio. Who knows. 
I centered myself, stretched, and then finished up by wiping my bike off with a Clorox wipe. 

I didn't feel any pain or soreness after. I got home, felt good, had a bit to eat, relaxed, and then went to bed. 

The next morning I woke up feeling good and still proud of my first spin workout. 
I did, however, have a semi-sore bum form the bike seat. They say it goes away though. I hope. Talk about pain 😂😂 the  seat pain was worse than the workout! LOL 

At about 3pm the next day I realized my thighs, which had previously felt nothing, started screaming with soreness. It's a good hurt, but pain nonetheless. But hey - at least my problem area thighs got a good workout! 

I went back for day two - this time hip hop with more "out of the saddle" and more riding to the fast-beat of the songs. 

Again I was nervous but went for it - and it went well! It was hard the second day to adjust to riding with a sore butt, but it was manageable. I also suffered through the thigh soreness (which is way worse now) but still managed to do more work than yesterday. Along with the regular cycling and resistance, we added hand weights to this workout - so my whole body got a good dose of what a spin class should be! I even burned over 100 more calories than I did at spin yesterday!



All in all, I would say spin has been an interesting - but good - experience. I love that it's a new way for my body to workout and  break bad habits that I have. 

If you ever wanna try out the class, just let me know. You get your first class for free! 













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