Cycling/Spinning - Beginner’s Impressions
I started doing some spinning (indoor cycling) today. Actually, there wasn’t anything planned about it. I arrived at the gym with DH and as we went over to the lockers we heard loud music from one of the rooms. As it turned out, a spinning class was underway. We went over to have a look and were invited to join them… Well, we did!
I had never before taken part in a spinning class, so this was a new experience for me. I used to be fairly intimidated by the concept of cycling among a group of strangers, trying to match my own pace to that of more experienced cyclers. I didn’t think I would be fit enough to hold on for a whole session (which lasts for one hour in our club). So, for the benefit of those of you who are considering this option but not sure what it would be like, here are my impressions of spinning - from a total newbie to this. I will be carrying more research about it all in the future and will share more tips and advice as I find it.
It was an intensive workout session, even though the instructor wouldn’t let us rise ourselves above the seat at this point. There was music and shouting and generally a fun atmosphere. It does make it a whole lot easier to keep on cycling when you have an instructor/trainer that keeps shouting at you and encouraging you to push it just a little bit more…
Each participant rides a stationary bike, specifically designed for this particular form of workout. The instructor helped me adjust my seat, or rather adjusted it for me. It felt quite high, but he assured me that this was the correct position. My feet were firmly strapped to the pedals as well. Each bike has a resistance dial, easily reached while cycling. Every few minutes the instructor, with a Madonna style mouthpiece, would instruct us on how to change the level of resistance. That way we had some fairly intensive routines where the resistance and thus difficulty level were increased every few minutes.
The worse thing about this workout for me was the uncomfortable seat. I actually asked the instructor if I could bring a pillow next time. He smiled and said that I’ll get used to the seat, same as everyone else (and no, no pillows allowed).
The best thing about this workout was the sheer fun element. The combination of a cheerful instructor, upbeat music and adrenalin (sweat!) turned this into an overall positive experience for me.
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