my first spinning class (warning - lengthy post without pictures)

oh geez. I don't even know where to begin.

as you all know (or, at least those of you who have been following for a while), I've been seeing a personal trainer since June. in fact, Saturday is our two month trainiversary, haha. I can't believe it's been that long already. anyway, I LOVE it. I absolutely adore my trainer, and she's so damn encouraging, I can't ever imagine actually working out without her. I train with her twice a week (Mondays and Wednesdays), but that's as far as my workouts go.

I'm really NOT into doing cardio, but I know that it's something I need to push myself to do in order to drop the weight I want to lose. I've tried walking on the treadmill, but I find that I really don't go passed my personal limits, and therefore, I'm not really burning as many calories as I need to. the same thing goes for the elliptical - I just stay at one pace, and eventually, I get bored.

luckily for me, my gym offers free classes for membership holders. I've heard from many people, including my friend Kaley, that spinning classes are AMAZING, and they really do help to shed pounds, and it makes you feel great too. and what do you know? the spin classes at my gym are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-8PM. perfect! now, as excited as I was about the opportunity to get in some cardio on my non-training days, I was TERRIFIED. I haven't ridden a bike since I was a kid, and I had no idea what to expect. I'm super self conscious about working out in a gym full of people to begin with, so working out in a closed room full of people was even more nerve racking for me.

so I decided to go to my first class tonight. I made sure to get there a few minutes early so I could introduce myself to the instructor, and to let her know that it was my very first spin class EVER, and that I was a little nervous. she was wonderful - she helped me set up my bike and showed me where my handles and my seat should be so that I get the best workout. she explained to me how the class works and assured me that it was completely acceptable if I couldn't do the whole workout. she told me that it was perfectly fine if I couldn't move up my resistance or jog with the pace of the class.

as people trailed in, I introduced myself to them as well, and explained that it really wouldn't be a huge surprise if I fell off my bike and died on the floor. everyone was super nice and encouraging, and they all told me how much they LOVE spin classes and how I'll do fine.

I started out great... I was actually getting the hang of it and finding my rhythm while doing the "sit climbing" exercise. and then. she said to turn up the resistance dial and stand up. "okay, no biggie... I can do this," I thought to myself. little did I know, that we were expected to stand and "jog climb" for about the entire length of a Rhianna song. there was no way dude. I tried, I really did, but about halfway through, I had to sit down... my legs felt like they were going to give out from under me. so I sat while I biked, but I made sure to keep "climbing" and turning up the dial at the instructor's prompts.

we did the whole "sit climbing, jog climbing, go back and forth between putting all your weight on one leg and then the other" thing for a while... maybe 15 minutes? I donand then finally we were allowed to sit and turn the resistance dials 't know how long it was, but I know it was a couple songs worth. ALLLLLL the way down. immediately, I was all "thank the baby and standard size jesus," thinking in my head. I got excited way too soon. when we were done with all that BS, we had to race. I mean, really race. like pedal as fast as we possibly could until she told us to stop... which would be, again, at the end of a song. 

holy cannoli, I thought I was going to pass out. or puke. or just die. right there on my bike. in all honestly, I think I kept up the pace pretty well, and I didn't slow down when I wanted to.

the class was an hour long, and every new song provided a new exercise - between sitting, jogging, hunching over the handles, etc. I like how it switches up so you're not just doing the same thing for an hour. we had a rest period in between where we could just bike at our own pace, which was nice.

I think the hardest thing for me was that my ASS hurt so badly from those damn bicycle seats. I could barely sit because my ass/back of my vag hurt, and I couldn't stand because my legs would give out. catch 22. it was an incredibly intense class, but I'm really glad I did it, because I kinda liked it. it was REALLY tough, but I think it's something I can commit to, and that makes me happy. who woulda thought that I would find a cardio class to love? not me, that's for sure. 

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it's now the next day, and I really cannot believe how sore my legs and butt are. I think it would be a good idea to invest in some spinning shorts, or at least a gel cover for the bicycle seat. I'm sure I'll get used to it as I take more classes, but I'm not sure I can do this again without some sort of ass support. my legs are really tight today, and I can't really bend my knees without feeling like my legs are going to give out, but I know it'll get better with time.

all in all, I'm really glad I decided to pick up the class. I think it'll be a great exercise for me to pick up on my non-training days and I'll most likely drop a lot a calories by doing it twice a week. there are many more classes offered at my gym that I want to try out, so I'll be sure to blog about my experiences once I take those classes. and for anyone looking to get a good cardio workout and to really push your limits, I definitely suggest trying a spinning class. I know it's not for everyone, but it can't hurt to try! okay, well maybe it can. 

Happy Friday!