My first spin class! Should you try one?

I went to my first spin class this morning, and I loved it.

The room was dark, with mirrors in the front which helped me adjust my form on the bike, but didn’t show a lot of detail.  There was a mo-town theme for the ride and they had two video monitors playing performances from the Ed Sullivan show, with the instructor calling instructions out over the music using a headset with a microphone.  It was everything I enjoy about a night club… getting my heart racing, moving in time with great music, sweating, getting into the zone, and nothing I don’t.  (No one can grab your ass when you’re in a spin class, even if there is a guy behind you.)

It was a 50 minute class, which was great because it gave me time to really get the hang of doing the stand up pedaling, which was hard for me at first.  My quads would immediately start BURNING, and I realized I wasn’t leaning forward quite enough, and I was trying too to avoid brushing the seat behind me, as though I was afraid I was going to land on it.  By watching the instructor’s form and the women in front of me, I managed to get much better at it.

One of my favorite things about spinning vs. running is that with running you can up your intensity by running faster or running hills.  In spin class, you can up your intensity either by speeding up your pedaling (cadence) or upping the resistance of the bike – both IMMEDIATE fixes.  You can’t immediately change the elevation of wherever you’re running, and when you run as slowly as I do, it’s kind of hard to slow down.

The control the resistance knob on the bike gave me meant that I could follow along with the beat of the music and match my cadence to the instructors even though I’m a complete beginner at cycling, just by keeping my resistance level low so I didn’t over do it.  I never had to worry that I wouldn’t finish the whole class, or would have to sit and slow pedal while my heart rate plummeted.  By keeping the resistance light, I enjoyed the entire class, got to spin right with beat of the music, and got a great workout that completely matched my ability level.

With spin class, it’s a time goal of 50 minutes and then you’re done.  This is better than slowing down on a run when you have a mileage goal and then taking longer.  If you push too hard in the beginning, you can slow down, modify the standing position to a sitting one, or reduce the intensity.  It’s really easy to make sure you’re pushing hard, but not TOO hard.

I think I was able to push harder because I didn’t have any fear that I’d get halfway through my run, have pushed too hard, and end up walking home.  I could spin as hard and fast as I wanted (trying not to make my muscles burn while my body gets used to this, of course) and know that I could tone it down whenever I needed to.

Spinning would therefore be a great exercise activity for people of different fitness levels to complete together.  (Not that you could talk, but it’d still be fun to meet a friend there!)

It was great – and my legs feel fantastic.  My shoulders are a little stiff, so I might need to work on relaxing them, or they might just need to get used to biking position.

The funniest part of spinning is the cycling shorts I bought – it’d been recommended that I get a pair to avoid saddle soreness.  I’ll invest $40 in a pair of shorts if it’ll keep me from getting sore and completely unmotivated to return to class – I really want this to work as a viable form of cross training!

What makes cycling shorts cycling shorts?  Padding.  Bicycle seat shaped padding.  In the crotch.  THICK padding.  (They advertise it as thin.  This is in relation to other cycling shorts, or perhaps my son’s cloth diaper when I double stuff it, not in relation to any clothing normal people have worn EVER.)  I felt ridiculous, like I was wearing a diaper… but only while standing.  Once I was in spin class I didn’t even notice it, and I was grateful I’d purchased a pair.  I just don’t know if I’m up for running to spin class in them…. yet.

Who should try a cycling class?  Anyone looking for a low impact, aerobic activity that can be geared to their own fitness level, takes place inside away from the elements, and has music and an instructor for motivation and accountability!  It’s not as peaceful or beautiful as a quiet long run solo, but it’s a really fun change to add into the mix, and I think it could help anyone reduce their risk of overuse injuries by cross-training.  It’s not as inexpensive as running, but if you can buy packages of classes and just go once a week or even a couple times a month to mix it up, it’s not bad!