January New (to me) Cross Training Challenge!




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A new (to me) workout for 2012!  SPIN.

 

Ok - confession time here - I've always wanted to take a spin class...and for some ridiculous reason I've always been nervous to do it.  Seriously, the last time I belonged to a gym I would always look at the class schedule then come up with excuses why I couldn't make it or convince myself that another workout would be better.  Isn't that dumb?  I mean it's just a workout class. But, an emotinal meeting with the podiatrist and committing to the New To You Cross Training Challenge, has inspired me to finally get this booty on the bike.

 

I went to the gym with my friend Robin, and we showed up promptly 5 minutes after we were supposed to be there.  Note to self: traffic is worse at 7:45am than it is at 4:30am...who knew?  Luckily, Robin knew another girl in the class who helped us with getting our bikes setup and gave me a quick rundown of what was what.  And we were off!  Here's my initial impression of spinning... 

• The workout was hard - super hard.  I seriously was feeling winded during the warm up! 
• The instructor gave great explanations of proper form and why it was important.
• The music - as a techno-loser without an ipod, it's kind of a novelty for me to have music during a workout.
• The lights were off - I don't know why they were off, but I liked it because it gave the class less of the sterile gym feeling.
• I don't own padded cycling shorts, and I was worried I would get ridiculously sore, but this didn't turn out to be a problem.
• The instructor's cues weren't as specific as I would have liked.  There was a little too much of upping the resistance depending on "how we were feeling".  I like more specific numbers - at least more regular clues of where the RPM's should be would have helped.  I don't even know if that's possible because everyone's fitness is different.  The problem for me is that I have a tendency to let myself off the hook too easily if I'm not pushed - but if I'm told I should be at point X, then I will work to get there.  I realize that this is a personal problem, but to get the absolute most out of spinning I'm going to have to consciously push myself (don't get me wrong, I was still dying in there, but I do think I could have pushed harder).  They have a new instructor starting next Monday though, so we'll see if I like their cueing better.
• The only other thing I didn't like was that there are only two spin classes that will fit into my schedule.  I wish there were more options!

So my first "new to me" cross training workout is completed, and I will definitely be adding spin to my weekly workout schedule.  I'm super thankful that I have this new challenge to force me to try new things!