As I posted a couple of days ago, I joined the Atlanta Triathlon Club (ATC). On Wednesday nights the ATC holds spin classes. I've never done a spin class before, but how hard could it be? I can ride a bike for a hour.
I am not sure, but I think the word spinning is a ancient druid word for cough up a lung. The class started out with a easy warm up spin. As we warmed up the spin instructor (ancient Greek phrase for sadistic bastard), told us about the different types of spin classes, the basic rules, and the 5 levels of resistance. The classes are sprinting, technique, power, and endurance. We were going to do a sampling of all of them (we had a lot of first timers in class, including me).
After the instructions were done we started the sprinting portion. With the bike set at level 3 we are to spin as fast as we can. Our cadence needed to be above 110 rpm (80 to 90 rpm is the normal cadence). we did about 5 sets of sprint that lasted 30 second all out, then 30 second recovery (normal spinning). After that we did the same thing, but while standing. During this I was between 85% and 95% of my max Heart Rate (HR).
After the sprints we worked on technique. We did one leg spins. We would do the right leg, then the left leg, then both, and then we would repeat. After that we practiced standing technique. Standing , but not putting weight on your arms.
This was followed by jumps. Jumps are when you jump out of the seat then sit back down. I think we did about 15 of them, but my brain was not working too well due to the lack of oxygen. Next we did leans. While standing, you squat forward so your back is parallel to the floor. I could not even finish these.
Next was the simulated hill climb. As you are spinning you keep increasing the resistance until you can barley turn the pedals, then you stand and keep spinning for 2 more minutes. By the end of this all I was seeing was a white light (I think I saw my dad).
The endurance was something I was use to doing. You take the HR that you can ride at for a hour and increase it by 10 beats per minute, and do this for 10 minutes. I was starting to feel a twinge in my calf by now. I was hoping that after the endurance portion of class we would recover and call it quits, but nooooo. we had some extra time, so we did drills.
The drills consisted of standing and spinning with your body perfectly still. I did about half of these before I had to stop and stretch out my calf. Had I not stopped, I'm sure it would have locked up on me like it has done in the past.
This was one of the hardest workout I've ever done. It was a true hurt fest. I can't wait to do it again.
I am not sure, but I think the word spinning is a ancient druid word for cough up a lung. The class started out with a easy warm up spin. As we warmed up the spin instructor (ancient Greek phrase for sadistic bastard), told us about the different types of spin classes, the basic rules, and the 5 levels of resistance. The classes are sprinting, technique, power, and endurance. We were going to do a sampling of all of them (we had a lot of first timers in class, including me).
After the instructions were done we started the sprinting portion. With the bike set at level 3 we are to spin as fast as we can. Our cadence needed to be above 110 rpm (80 to 90 rpm is the normal cadence). we did about 5 sets of sprint that lasted 30 second all out, then 30 second recovery (normal spinning). After that we did the same thing, but while standing. During this I was between 85% and 95% of my max Heart Rate (HR).
After the sprints we worked on technique. We did one leg spins. We would do the right leg, then the left leg, then both, and then we would repeat. After that we practiced standing technique. Standing , but not putting weight on your arms.
This was followed by jumps. Jumps are when you jump out of the seat then sit back down. I think we did about 15 of them, but my brain was not working too well due to the lack of oxygen. Next we did leans. While standing, you squat forward so your back is parallel to the floor. I could not even finish these.
Next was the simulated hill climb. As you are spinning you keep increasing the resistance until you can barley turn the pedals, then you stand and keep spinning for 2 more minutes. By the end of this all I was seeing was a white light (I think I saw my dad).
The endurance was something I was use to doing. You take the HR that you can ride at for a hour and increase it by 10 beats per minute, and do this for 10 minutes. I was starting to feel a twinge in my calf by now. I was hoping that after the endurance portion of class we would recover and call it quits, but nooooo. we had some extra time, so we did drills.
The drills consisted of standing and spinning with your body perfectly still. I did about half of these before I had to stop and stretch out my calf. Had I not stopped, I'm sure it would have locked up on me like it has done in the past.
This was one of the hardest workout I've ever done. It was a true hurt fest. I can't wait to do it again.
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