I have never taken a spin class, I am intrigued by it as I do love to ride my bike. I was told that I could do it at my own pace, beginner advanced no dif. And I am determined to try most of everything that LifeTime has to offer as these classes are included with my membership. I started off fairly slow this morning as it IS Saturday, however, I do want to be at the gym mid morning. The spin class starts at 11 so that's perfect. I have an egg over easy fried in coconut oil which does not add any flavour to the egg. On top of a piece of bavarian whole grain with a few paper thin slices of cheddar it is a good way to start the day. I think. After a few small chores I head over.
As I am going up the stairs I see that some people are coming out of the class with gel seats, cycling shoes and shorts. This looks hardcore. Of course I have not brought my seat or my shorts. Now I'm worried.
I enter the studio and pick a bike near the back and at the end of the row. I try to figure out how this bike works. How to turn it on, how to adjust the seat etc. It has cages on the pedals, which I have never used on a real bike. The instructor is helping a couple customize their bikes so I eavesdrop and do what he is showing them. He comes over and introduces himself to me and welcomes me as a newbie. Joseph then goes over the fitting of the bike and how he will be leading the class and advises me to please do it at my own pace and that what he says is just a guideline. If I need to sit back on the bike and slow down then he says do so. I always listen to this kind of guidance. I am not a hot shot or competitive but I want to give it the best try I can. Another lady comes in and Joseph introduces me to her and says I'm lucky as she is a pro at this class and she will guide me.
I start warming up getting the feel of the bike and damn it I already wish I had my shorts or gel seat. Definitely won't forget that next time. Joseph jumps on the instructor bike at the front and starts the warmup. This is not bad until he says OK let's run. That means stand and pedal hard. Everytime he says that we have to put up the resistance and then put it down again when we sit back on the saddle. He amps up the RPM's and the resistance. The timing is one minute in saddle, 20 - 30 seconds running. It doesn't sound difficult but by the 15 minute mark I am not feeling well. I drink some water and slow down a bit but my body is not liking this at all. After about another 10 minute I have to leave and I have to leave now. I struggle getting my feet out of the cages and get off the bike. I am feeling so bad I don't see the step down and almost fall. Quickly I leave the room and get to the bathroom. I sit in the cubby and try to pull myself together. I am so angry with myself but there is nothing I can do about it. After 5 minutes or so I go back to the room and climb back on the bike. The lady next to me asks if I'm ok and tells me to drink more water. I start the bike back up and it is still not going well. Deep breath deep breath slow down, I keep that mantra going in my mind. She tells me that its another 15 mins to go but I do not think I can do it so after another 5 minutes - and seeing a few other people leave early - I grab my water and towel and exit the room. There is a nice little lounge area just outside and I decided to wait there so I can go back in after the class is over and clean my bike and apologize to Joseph for leaving so abruptly.
Class ends and Maria comes out! I didn't even see her there. She comes over and asks me if I am ok and why I was doing that class as it is extremely difficult. I can see that as she - who is in such awesome shape - is soaking wet and flushed. I tell her I am ok, I was embarrassed that I was not well and just wanted to try it. Maria tells me a few stories of other people - some younger than me - who did not do well in the class, actually passing out! Thank god I didn't pass out. She then tells me that the fact that I did 25 minutes was unbelievable and that I came back in feeling sick and rejoined the class was also amazing. Here I was thinking how I had more or less failed at this class and here she is telling me that I did a great job. I actually teared up.
I go in and grab some wipes and wipe down the bike. I tell the lady next to me that I will come back and try it again next week. Better prepared. She smiles and says she will save me the bike next to her. Joseph comes over to me and I apologize and he tells me not to worry that I was doing amazing and he was also surprised and glad that I came back in and tried again. I tell him I will be back next week!
Overall, the class was way more intense than I had anticipated and I wish I had been better prepared. I guess I am not ready for some things yet. I was disappointed in myself and my body at first but after speaking to Maria and Joseph I felt a lot better.
Since I feel that there was something I did wrong in what I ate or the timing I head down to Sara's office to ask her opinion. This is not something I have had happen to me yet in this gym experience so I need her to give me some guidance. She totally tells me that I what I ate was alright but perhaps the timing was not right and that I should eat a whole banana before I do that intense a class again - about 15 minutes before. She has not told me to eat a whole banana before as they are a high carb fruit. However, she says that since it is so intense my body needs something to feed off of during that kind of workout. I take her advice to heart and I will make sure I don't do that again. We chatted for a few minutes and she told me that my blog post with my stats was great and funny especially about the thigh measurement. I laugh along with her and then she says something that makes me catch my breath and cry. She has been showing her GM my blog and tells me that I am her success story. How can that be??? It has only be 21 days and I have not lost a huge amount of weight or inches. But because of my attitude and my perseverance and this blog she feels that she has made a difference in my life and you know what? She has. This whole place has. I love it here.
I give her a hug and we laugh as I say I will see you tomorrow...I don't really think I will as she must have a day off sometime. I leave her office standing just a little taller than when I went in.
I bump into someone I know on one of the machines. She is a mom from one of the studios I sew for which is in this area. Apparently she has just recently come back to the gym even though her and her husband have been members since it opened. I tell her what a life change I am going through here and we talk about what this place has to offer. Next thing I know I am giving her advice on classes and coming every day. Where did that come from? Why would I think I could do that? But she asks me and says that she can see the difference in me. She promises that she is going to come and will see me Tuesday. This is great, she is a nice lady and I would like to have someone I know here. She also says that she is trying to get her mom to come as she lives quite close by and could use the exercise and cardio. I point out some other ladies that are older and tell her I see some of them every day. I also told her to show her mom my blog and she laughs at the name. It is kinda funny I guess - a bit punny actually.
For lunch I grab a Very Berry Smoothie from the LifeCafe. They substitute the juice with almond milk and it's very good. I also grabbed a Mahi Mahi on greens for dinner tonight.
Tomorrow - Not sure but I think I'll be at the Gym
Debbie
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