Day 24: Never have I ever... taken a spinning class

The dark, sweaty cave of spin

I am trying to get myself in better shape. In the six months leading up to my blog (which many of you know were some of my, ahem, toughest ever), I never exercised, gave into daily carb cravings, and next thing I know, I'm winded by climbing two flights of stairs. I've done pretty well by my health in 2011, but I want to keep exploring new activities that will keep me engaged and committed to exercising. 

I thought spinning would be a perfect fit. I love bikes! And I like the format of group exercise classes, mainly because you're peer-pressured into not quitting. So today, with water bottle and towel in tow, I hit the New York Sports Club 6:30 p.m. spinning class. Here's how it went: 

6:30  Instructor arrives. The room lights are turned off, save for some red & green mood lighting. Thumping club music is pumped through the speakers. Instructor mounts his bike.  
6:33 Warm up pedaling; It's warming. 
6:35  Instructor shouts garbled commands. Pedal faster? Sweating. Like, beads of sweat. 
6:38  No one seems fazed that instructor shouts inaudible commands.
6:40 A loud shout makes everyone stand up and pedal. 
6:41  Return to seat. Heart pounding. Guzzle some water.
6:43  Dear Lord, I'm sweating. 
6:45  Standing again. Turn resistance up. Pedaling to music's rhythm. Get in groove. 
6:55  Why are we still standing and pedaling and when is he going to let us sit down??!?! 
6:56  Sit; Guzzle more water. Room now has a stifling sweaty stink. Woman next to me is wearing a strong deodorant or perfume. Need fresh air. Should have put on antiperspirant. Tell self to ignore smells, including self-smell. 
7:00  There is no way I'm going to make it 25 more minutes. 
7:02  Water is gone. 23 minutes left. Can you die of dehydration in 23 minutes? 
7:05  He wants us to stand again. Ugggghhhhh. Ok, upsy daisy. 
7:12  Long set of standing is slightly easier. Keep groove consistent. Ignore instructor's possible commands to pedal faster. 
7:15  Sit down. Oh thank God. 
7:16  Cool down. Instructor slowly brings pace down. Class is panting and dripping. 
7:20  Instructor shouts something. Everyone stops pedaling. We're done?! But there's five minutes of this sweatfest left? I'm relieved, but also disappointed because I was prepared to pedal to the bitter end. 
7:21  Instructor leads 5 minute cool down session, and my muscles cry for help. 
7:25  Face is bright red (see below). I'm sweating through my shirt. I feel great. 

My beet-red face post-class

Status: Though I love biking, spinning isn't a "fun" workout. But it's a darn good one. Along with everyone else, I spent most of the class watching the clock obsessively. These are some long minutes, 55 of them. I would definitely do it again, as it torched calories and gets me in much better shape for bike season which is just around the bend. But the difference between biking and spinning, is that you bike to get from point A to point B, so there's a sense of adventure, of travel. Plus, my point B is usually involves pizza or ice cream or tacos or beer, and the promise of any of those makes an equivalent ride go much more quickly. Guilt propels the ride home. 


Results: Success! (ok... fine. I sat down about a minute early on one of the long-standing sets. dock me.)