Spinning with Diana at the Brooks YMCA is one of the most incredible classes/things ever. I can’t describe it, and if you haven’t gone to one of her classes, there’s no way to even begin to relate. It’s quite powerful, in a sense that you’re in a room with 30 other people who have been looking forward to this one hour of their day, too. And I swear, I’m smiling the entire time, no matter how difficult it is to do.
It’s an almost entirely choreographed hour, and everyone just KNOWS what to do.. from warming up in the beginning, to some of the most intense isolations, we know what each song brings, what Around the World means, for how many counts, when to cheer, when to take a quick drink of water, and when a sprinting song comes on, we all hunker down, lean forward and just go for it. At the end of the hour, again, everyone knows the cool down, the motions, the breaths, the stretches. It’s amazing, and I get all jacked up for a good 2-3 hours after it’s over, too! (Even right now, I’m playing some of the tracks and smiling ear to ear because I KNOW how hard I worked today while each of those songs was playing.)
Every time she asks if there are any new people, and a couple here or there raise their hands, I want to run over and explain to them that while it’ll be the hardest spin class they’ve ever done, it’ll also be the most rewarding, and that they should stick with it for a couple weeks and see how they feel!
Today was my first day back to her class since last summer. Spinning in regular tennis shoes was one of the biggest mistakes I made with that class. I royally messed up my arches, especially my right one, and my 2nd biggest mistake was I kept going, regardless of the pain. Figured, it wasn’t going to get better so I might as well keep going and busting my ass. Well, sometime in November, I decided to go to someone else’s easy peasy class (RPM, I think) which consisted of mostly sitting and very little standing on the pedals, so my feet could handle it. Well, that instructor had clip in SANDALS. Best idea ever when it comes to cycling footwear!! Most cycling shoes are narrow as shit and they pinched the hell out of my feet. I immediately went home and began my research.. I knew I needed more rigid shoes to protect my arches and heels, and I was certain that was my answer. I went on Nashbar and found these precious gems, Nashbar Ragster II Cycling Sandals for a very affordable $50. I ordered them and anxiously awaited their arrival. Since they arrived shortly before Christmas, I tested them out for 4 or 5 different spin classes, determined that my adjustments on my cleats were good, and decided I was ready for Diana’s class once again.
Well, I had every intention of going LAST Tuesday, but I swear, it was meant to be that I ended up going to Crossfit instead. π I told Dave tonight that I think just doing Crossfit for only 3 sessions so far has made me a better and stronger Spinner. I felt like I gave it absolutely everything, and I didn’t regret any single second of it. (I hope I can put the same sort of intensity and enthusiasm in with Crossfit!! Ultimately, I want to be able to be awesome at both..)
Anyway, I’m working on my Spinning playlist, but I’m doing it from memory here. I’ve got a few of the songs so far that make spinning AWESOME. If you can’t work out to the following songs, then I dunno, you need to work on your rhythm or something. π
This one is spectacular for climbing and gradually increasing your intensity on the bike, with spurts of faster jogs out of the seat.
This is a great song to get started to..
Black Eyed Peas just, are awesome for this stuff.
I’ll post more in the coming weeks. π Looking forward to Crossfit tomorrow!!
you ALMOST (almost) make me want to do a spinning class!
DUDE.. it's so awesome! But the instructor, and their awesome music, make the class.. I've been to so many sub-par ones, that, had I not known about Diana, I probably wouldn't have stuck with it. There are more bad ones out there than good ones, at least from what I've found! So many times there have been instructors that have played shit like, Elvis, and Incubus and like, Foo Fighters, and I'm just not into that stuff, especially for working out! You should try one, or five. π
I did a spinning class once… my junk hurt for a week. Never again.
And I can't stand that Black Eyed Peas song! =(
I'm excited to follow your journey on Crossfit. There's a Crossfit box real close to me, but it's $200 for the first month and $150/mo after that. Seems a little outrageous. I've watched tons of youtube vids about Crossfit and I know I would love it, but I really can't afford that right now.
Adam, that's nuts! (no pun intended, aahahahaa..) My butt bones are sore for a couple days after class, but that's really only because there's so much up and down, that it takes a beating. I really don't know how else to word that without sounding terrible.., I'm sorry.
As for Crossfit, that's more than they're charging here..! Sucks that there aren't any other places nearby that are more affordable. If you can do it though, it's worth it. I LOVE how I feel after I finish a workout! Off to check out your blog. π
Good luck with that… I let my domain expire since I hadnβt used it in forever. My blog might still exist somewhere, but I havenβt updated it in forever, lol.
In case you didnβt know, this is Wintermoon from R6L.
ahaha yeah I went and looked afterwards, and it didn't go anywhere.. π I realized who you were when I clicked on your user profile. π