As I walked into the gym last Monday, I was hit by the steamy atmosphere and reminded that we were well into what I call New Year’s resolution time.
It’s the one time of the year when it’s nearly impossible to find an empty weight bench, treadmill or locker because the gym is filled with the “I am going to get in shape” or “I am going to lose weight” resolution makers.
This happens every January, and it only lasts a few weeks. Most of these people will give up on their resolution by the end of the month, but there will be one or two who stick it out and become part of the gym regulars. I’m a Monday, Wednesday, Friday after work regular.
Hey, I’m not bashing those who don’t stick it out. I immediately caved on my resolution to go to spinning class every Saturday of the New Year. I stayed up late that first Friday night – reading.
But I made my goal more fail proof for the second Saturday.
I’m the type of person who is more likely to do something I don’t want to do when I’m obligated to do it. When I ran cross country in high school I hated practice, but I did it because I was part of a team and therefore had an obligation to do my best.
So during my Wednesday work out last week I replaced a few minutes on the treadmill with a warm up on the spinning bike. Two of my favorite regular gym ladies were in the room as well. One is a die-hard spinner and gym class taker. The other is a personal trainer and class instructor.
Both said they would be at the Saturday morning spin class. So I told them I would be, too, thus obligating myself to the task.
I have never taken a class at my gym, mainly because I like to work out by myself – that is when I’m not taking breaks to talk to everyone I know. But I’ve heard some really great things about spinning.
A rigorous weekend morning class is something of an anomaly for me, the girl who cherishes her sleep. I figure if I can actually force myself to wake up early and work out, I’ll have the rest of my day and tons of energy to get things done around the house. My weekend won’t go by so fast if I don’t spend the majority of it asleep.
Saturday morning rolled around and I rolled out of bed, threw on my gym gear and headed to my own personal hell.
My trusty regular spin buddy saved me a bike, which was one of 16 set up in a circle facing each other. Everyone in the room spun aimlessly before the class started and then it was time for the lights to go out.
The perk of spin class is it’s done in the dark, with music playing.
The class started and so did the mix of ’80s hits, and upbeat hip-hop and rap music. Our warm up was to a really slow country song, but the beats soon started pumping faster and so did we.
When “Billie Jean” came on, I knew spinning was something I could live with.
The spin class is a mix of fast, slow and uphill riding. The tension button allows the spinner to make the workout harder or to simulate riding up a hill.
One of the more fun portions of the class was when half the class sprinted (peddled as fast as they could) for 20 seconds while the other half recovered, and vice versa.
I kept my tension lower than I could have because I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t want to wear myself out. After about 45 minutes, we were ready to recover and do a few stretches.
Next time I plan on going much, much harder because I wasn’t in any pain from my first class. With exercise, muscle pain is good.
The best part of going to the class is that I knew I had just completed a great workout and I was energized for the rest of my day.
For someone who doesn’t like mornings and almost hates exercise, I’m a little shocked I enjoyed the class as much as I did. This is one New Year’s resolution I just might stick to.
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As I walked into the gym last Monday, I was hit by the steamy atmosphere and reminded that we were well into what I call New Year’s resolution time.
It’s the one time of the year when it’s nearly impossible to find an empty weight bench, treadmill or locker because the gym is filled with the “I am going to get in shape” or “I am going to lose weight” resolution makers.
This happens every January, and it only lasts a few weeks. Most of these people will give up on their resolution by the end of the month, but there will be one or two who stick it out and become part of the gym regulars. I’m a Monday, Wednesday, Friday after work regular.
Hey, I’m not bashing those who don’t stick it out. I immediately caved on my resolution to go to spinning class every Saturday of the New Year. I stayed up late that first Friday night – reading.
But I made my goal more fail proof for the second Saturday.
I’m the type of person who is more likely to do something I don’t want to do when I’m obligated to do it. When I ran cross country in high school I hated practice, but I did it because I was part of a team and therefore had an obligation to do my best.
So during my Wednesday work out last week I replaced a few minutes on the treadmill with a warm up on the spinning bike. Two of my favorite regular gym ladies were in the room as well. One is a die-hard spinner and gym class taker. The other is a personal trainer and class instructor.
Both said they would be at the Saturday morning spin class. So I told them I would be, too, thus obligating myself to the task.
I have never taken a class at my gym, mainly because I like to work out by myself – that is when I’m not taking breaks to talk to everyone I know. But I’ve heard some really great things about spinning.
A rigorous weekend morning class is something of an anomaly for me, the girl who cherishes her sleep. I figure if I can actually force myself to wake up early and work out, I’ll have the rest of my day and tons of energy to get things done around the house. My weekend won’t go by so fast if I don’t spend the majority of it asleep.
Saturday morning rolled around and I rolled out of bed, threw on my gym gear and headed to my own personal hell.
My trusty regular spin buddy saved me a bike, which was one of 16 set up in a circle facing each other. Everyone in the room spun aimlessly before the class started and then it was time for the lights to go out.
The perk of spin class is it’s done in the dark, with music playing.
The class started and so did the mix of ’80s hits, and upbeat hip-hop and rap music. Our warm up was to a really slow country song, but the beats soon started pumping faster and so did we.
When “Billie Jean” came on, I knew spinning was something I could live with.
The spin class is a mix of fast, slow and uphill riding. The tension button allows the spinner to make the workout harder or to simulate riding up a hill.
One of the more fun portions of the class was when half the class sprinted (peddled as fast as they could) for 20 seconds while the other half recovered, and vice versa.
I kept my tension lower than I could have because I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t want to wear myself out. After about 45 minutes, we were ready to recover and do a few stretches.
Next time I plan on going much, much harder because I wasn’t in any pain from my first class. With exercise, muscle pain is good.
The best part of going to the class is that I knew I had just completed a great workout and I was energized for the rest of my day.
For someone who doesn’t like mornings and almost hates exercise, I’m a little shocked I enjoyed the class as much as I did. This is one New Year’s resolution I just might stick to.
