Wednesday, June 24, 2015

What Taking (and, um, sticking with) a Spin Class Taught Me

This post is from Melissa, a guest blogger on The Z Beat!

As everyone knows, losing weight is a journey – there are many self-discoveries along the way. That has definitely been the case for me and I wanted to share one that happened to me in the past couple of weeks, when I started taking regular spin classes.

A friend of mine, Aimee, introduced me to spinning when she invited me to join her for a class. I was hesitant at first because my only experience with spin had been about five years ago and, well, it wasn’t exactly pleasant. I felt so uncomfortable and I didn’t even make it halfway through before walking out. I tried once more but never really felt like it was for me so I chalked it up to experience and moved on.

Not wanting to let Aimee down since she was so kind to ask me to join her, I went. I was nursing a calf strain so I was only able to get halfway through the hour-long class before stepping off the bike once again. But instead of simply being left alone to walk out while Aimee finished the class, the gym owners Sherry and Julio came and talked to me. They spent 30 minutes with me, walking and getting to know each other. That walk sparked a friendship that changed me.

That night, I went home and – I am not going to lie – my backside was killing me. Sitting in a chair hurt and when I woke up the next morning, it wasn’t any better. Add to that my calf issue and I thought I would never take another class.

But as luck would have it, another friend was affiliated with the spin gym and encouraged me to go back. For my second class, I was able to stay on the bike the whole time and while I couldn’t get out of the saddle for more than a few seconds at a time, I was able to pedal for 60 minutes at increasing speed and resistance. And while my backside hurt a bit when I got home, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I remembered the first time. Could I be getting better at an activity that I had written off for years?

By my fifth class, I felt like I had been riding forever and I wondered why I was ever afraid of the bike. I was now able to get out of the saddle and keep up with the instructor and the feeling was amazing. I found myself encouraging other people who were only taking their second class and telling them to stick with it. How ironic!

Just a couple of weeks ago, I signed up for a 60-day membership for unlimited classes and it struck me that spinning and my fitness journey was no different than when we, as kids, learned how to ride a real bike. At first, we needed training wheels but when it was time, those training wheels were removed and with a little help we learned how to ride without them. We were wobbly in the beginning and sometimes even fell but we got back up and did it again until we knew what we were doing.

Conquering spinning reminded me that I am going to fall down on this journey but as long as I get back up and keep pedaling, I will eventually ride with no hands. Here’s to keeping at it!

8 comments:

  1. Great job! Like you, I didn't really have the greatest experience with spin in the past, but we're getting our very first studio here in Anchorage in like a month and I'm thinking about joining! It really is a killer workout!

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  2. Thank you for nice write-up! Being able to write creatively is something not all of us are capable of. Count yourself blessed because you have a talent in sticking with spin.

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  3. Hi there! Now you totally trust the quality of this sticking with spin bike making so nice. thank for your share.

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  4. I wondered why I was ever afraid of the bike. I was now able to get out of the saddle and keep up with the instructor and the feeling was amazing.

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  5. I just was basically nowadays in the position to step out of typically the saddle not to mention maintain typically the helper and then the being was basically fantastic.

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  6. We asked yourself the reason why We had been actually scared from the bicycle. We had been right now in a position to get free from the actual seat as well as maintain the actual teacher and also the sensation had been incredible.

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  7. At the beginning, most people wanted exercising train's wheels nonetheless if that it was time frame, all those exercising train's wheels ended up being eradicated research a little bit enable most people acquired ways to cruise without the need of these folks.

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  8. That was brave of you to try even if you've had a bad experience. Sometime you just had to try several things to know what regimen fits you. For me, I'm really into functional workouts and water sports to get me a better shape. If spin classes works for you, then best to stick to it, enjoyment is key.

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