| Product: |
Spinning |
| Date: |
24.04.01 (811 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Great workout
Disadvantages: None
Well what can I say? I have finally found a form of exercise that I may well become addicted to. First I will give you a factual rundown of exactly what spinning is and then I will tell you about my personal experience of spinning. How's that?
FACTS
This exercise is conducted on a specially adapted stationery bicycle, which has adjustable handlebars (up and down, backwards and forwards) and seats. It also has a resistance grip, where the resistance is adjusted up or down depending on fitness level and specific exercise type. The class has about 10 members in it with an instructor who is also on a bike. The instructor has a microphone where he/she shouts instructions from. This is needed because there will be music playing, sometimes softly, but sometimes very loudly indeed. The majority of the muscle groups are worked in a session - the entire leg, buttocks, stomach, biceps and triceps. And of course, the all important heart and lungs.
The classes generally begin with the instructor checking that everyone is strapped into their footgear adequately and is sitting at the correct height and angle. He/she also checks to see who is new and who may need special attention. Then they start a warm-up session lasting about 5 or so minutes, consisting of arm exercises (press-ups on the bike) and gentle cycling. At the end of the warm-up you should have started sweating lightly.
During the bulk of the class you do a variety of different cycling styles, sometimes sitting down, sometimes standing up on the bike, sometimes peddling very fast (this is where the word 'spinning' comes from) with only a light resistance, and sometimes peddling slowly but with a lot more resistance (hill work) and all the way in between these extremes. There is an exercise called 'jumps' where you stand up on the bike and move backwards and forwards and cycle all at the same time, another called 'The Stills' where you stand up
and cycle but do not bounce as you would normally. The aim is to keep the top half of your body as still as possible and only move your legs. This is an absolute killer! And then there are the aerobic routines, where you build up a routine (as you would in aerobics) based on cycling and arm exercises. Usually in spinning you do not have to be particularly co-ordinated, but I find the aerobic routines as taxing as an aerobic class.
Then there is about a 5 minute cooldown and finally a minute or 2 of floor stretches. I would suggest taking water with you, as you will sweat buckets. Also wear cycling shorts with special padding - unless you want sore nether regions, although any discomfort you may feel in this area will diminish after a few sessions.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Before I tell you about my personal experience, let me give you a bit of history about myself so that you can understand where I am coming from.
From the earliest of time, since I was a wee girl, I have literally hated ANY form of exercise (or as I call it - EXCORCISM). At school, I used to forge excuse notes from my parents to get me out of PT (Physical Training, or as I call it Physical TORTURE). At home, when dragged around a golf course with my Dad, I used to moan to such a degree that he never took me again. Needless to say, this hatred of exercise contributed to me being rather larger (bigger boned, well developed for her age? the list goes on) than I should have been. And of course, this led to exerise becoming more and more difficult. A vicious circle really. And every time I did engage in physical activity I became embarrassingly red in the face, huffed and puffed and generally made a fool of myself. Then in my late teens, I developed an interest in walking mainly as a result of having to catch buses and walking large distances to and from the bus stops and within my university campus. I really thought that walking was it, as it is gentle on
the bones and flabby bits and it cleansing to the soul too.
Then spinning entered the picture?
As always, I was on the lookout for quick and easy ways to loose weight. You can see I haven't learnt my lesson yet? While I was on holiday in South Africa, a friend of mine had lost a HUGE amount of weight by doing spinning every night and she looked glowingly healthy. But I had heard horror stories about spinning. In fact my mother did it once and felt so ill afterwards that she went to her doctor. He said that someone who has such a high blood pressure as hers should abstain. Horror of horrors! Sounds really dangerous doesn't it. But when my friend explained to me that there were beginners classes that weren't too bad and where people didn't look at you funny, I thought I'd give it a go.
So once I was back from holiday and the New Year's resolutions were calling, I went down to my local gym to check out the scene. They offer a variety of classes ranging from Beginner's to Advanced. As the Beginner's class is only 30 minutes long I thought I could just about manage that and off I went.
The first class was a liberating experience! I discovered that the beginner's class is meant for those individuals exactly - beginners. Whew! Then I felt a lot better. And when I saw that there were a lot of other ladies (and gents) who were as unfit (and large) as I was, I felt a lot better. The beginner's class is meant to be a gentle introduction to the world of spinning, where they instruct you on how the bike operates and the most common exercises that will happen in a more advanced course. The class was great because with all the explanations going on, there wasn't much spinning going on! I went back to that class for about 3 times, but guess what happened. Before long, I was getting bored and irritated with the explanations and thought 'I am wasting my time here'. The class was
getting easier. Then I realised that maybe, just maybe, I was ready for the Intermediate class. Whoa boy.
The intermediate class is also only 30 minutes long, but there are no long explanations, so you get 30 minutes of actual spinning (well very nearly). The first time I attended this class, I did feel slightly out of my depth as the other class members are a lot fitter (and trimmer) than I am, but nobody looked at me funny and the instructors were very sweet and encouraging. I think they could see from my purple straining face, just how hard I was working! I will keep on with this class until I feel as if it is a breeze (like I did with the beginner's class) and then move on to the advanced class. This class lasts for 45 minutes and I would imagine that the intensity is a lot greater.
Considering my past history with exercise I would say that it is a fair miracle that I am even enjoying such an intense exercise. I read something somewhere the other day that might explain it. The more intense, extreme forms of exercise release endorphins (feel good hormones) that you cannot get from a one hour walk in the park. I think that it is these endorphins which are keeping me going back. When I walk out of the class I feel on top of the world, like I have just climbed Mt Everest! I sleep better than normal that evening, the next morning I have a smile on my face and things that would ordinarily annoy me, are like water off a ducks back. Amazing. It is the best form of stress release that I have ever come across. I must add though, that in the actual class I still feel like it is a long hard slog, that I am hot, tired and that there is no way I can go on.
I have not lost weight as my friend has. But I have developed really nice muscles in my legs that I never knew I had. I think if I stopped eating rubbish and went spinning everyday like her, I might have more success with the weight aspect? But we don't want to get obsess
ive now do we!
IN SUMMARY?
This is a wonderful sport, inspiring in every aspect! And to anyone looking for a buzz in their physical life, give your local gym a call to find out about their classes and get your lazy butt to the Beginner's class! Keep your head down and enjoy it. Good Luck!
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