Spinning Class

If you've never been to a spinning class you should go. Memories might take you back to days of that old, creaky stationary bike collecting dust in your grandmother's basement, but this is not the spin bike of the present. It is a whole different animal.

I had always been intrigued by the class' popularity—people were burning calories in these classes at an amazing rate. I wanted to, too! (Although, I wasn't certain I really wanted to work that hard.)

About a year ago Linzi and I dragged ourselves to a 6 a.m. spin class with Martha. It was awesome. We were sweaty and breathing hard and awake. We had also completed our workout for the day before we even had gone to work. You can't beat that.

Fast forward to last Thursday. Determined to get my training off to a good start I set my alarm, got up, and got ready for spinning with Martha. You know that saying, "If you snooze, you lose?" It really applies when trying to getting a bike in spinning class. You might think you're the only crazy person up that early in the morning. You're not. You've got to hustle in early to get a good seat.

I was lucky to get a bike in the back (my preferred location) between a couple of serious looking male riders, both of which were wearing cycling shoes, one of which was wearing cycling gloves. The lights dimmed, the fans cranked on, and the music began pumping. The great thing about the morning class is you can just zone out and wake up at your own pace. It's dark minus the Christmas lights on the wall. And with the exception of the occasion "Whoop. Whoooop!!" from the overzealous guy in the back who shouts every time Martha does, it's a pretty singular group experience, if that makes sense.

I wore my heart rate monitor just to see how much of a workout I was getting my first day back. Let's just say, my heart was pumping. I uploaded the data to get a clear snapshot of just how good it was. My maximum heart rate is 187. (This is determined by subtracting my age from 220.) My target heart rate zone is anywhere from 131 to 159. From this image I was living within targeted zone during class. Thanks, Martha!



I survived spinning.

And I loved every minute of it.

It made the rest of my day rock. I had energy and I had accomplished something worthwhile before 7 a.m. Next week I will be there again with my cycling shoes and bandanna, ready to sweat it out. Maybe I will see you there?

Whoop. Whoooop!!

If you're interested in learning more about your heart rate visit americanheart.org or the heart rate calculator at mayoclinic.com for more information.