Friday (yesterday) marked the beginning of week 6 for me and the 20/20 Program at the Pro Sports Club. I'm now down to 172 pounds and have been losing weight at the rate of 2 to 3 pounds per week. I did lose about 10 pounds before actually beginning the program.
Yesterday, was a breakthrough day. I participated in a Spinning Class with my trainer. Spinning is something I have always wanted to try and had hoped to do by the end of the program. I used to race BMX as a teen and want biking to be a part of my life again. Imagine my surprise when my trainer said I was ready to do the class now. To prepare we gradually increased my cardio workout until I could "comfortably" get 45 minutes in. We started using the exercise bike more than the ellypticals or the treadmill. This was to simulate what the class would be like so I could have an idea.
So on to Friday the big day. My trainer and I met at our regular time and did some upper body lifting. We then went to the class about 10 minutes early so we could get my bike setup. I met the instructer (Drill Seargant?) who's name was Buzz. Buzz helped me set the bike up. You can see by the picture to the right that is a very industrial looking thing. The key part is the flywheel which means that when pedaling you have the sensation of riding a real bike. One important thing is once you get rolling fast you need to use the break to stop. Just stopping pedaling does nothing and could be painful.
We finished getting my bike adjusted and my trainer wrote down the settings on my punch card. This way I would know how to setup my bike for the next spinning class I attend. I thought to myself, "Next class? Wow that's wishful thinking lets just see if I can make it through half of this this hour long class!"
The class began to fill, folks of all shapes and sizes arrived and got their bikes configured. My trainer and I began to warm up a bet, just doing some light pedaling. I really liked the feel of the bike. Pedaling felt "real" compared to the artificial tension of the traditional exercise bikes.
The instructor (Buzz) mounted his bike that was on a riser at the front of the room. He donned at headset microphone, dimmed the lights and welcomed folks to the class. Cranking up the music he began to talk us through some light stretching exercises.
We began to spin to N-Trance's Remix of Staying Alive. I thought to myself how cool is this! We warmed up. Buzz's voice reminded me of embarking on a roller coaster ride as a teenager and listening to the ride operator saying, "Keep your hands inside the car at all time". Instead this was Buzz and his voice was saying things like..
"If your feet pull out of the pedals make sure you pull the break"
"If you run out of water raise your hand and I'll refill your water bottel"
"Push yourself hard, crank your tension up, if its to hard you can always turn it down".
Buzz went on to explain the levels he'd ask us to do. For example if he asked for a level 6 that means we should be able to keep the pace up for 20 minutes. A level 7 would mean 15 minutes and so on. He then asked for a level 7 on a flat road. I adjusted my tension more and figured ok, we're on our way! We continued on the imaginary flat road I was enjoying the bass reverberating and hardly believing that I was actually doing this.
The class was amazing. By turning up the tension on the bike we simulated hill climbing, we did jumps by rising on and off the seat and flat roads where we cooled down. I was soaken wet with sweat, my heart rate range was from 150-165 but most importantly I was having a blast!
The music in our class reminded me a lot of C895.5 FM. Remixes and dance, all great music. I watched the clock, wondering to myself could I make the whole hour?
I pushed and pushed. I worked harder than I ever had since starting 20/20. Working out in a group session is motivating. People really got into the class. When the music was pumping and we were pushing hard folks would yell out a congralatory yah! when we'd complete the rise to the top of another incline.
Before I knew it we were winding down to an instrumental version of Send in the clowns. We did some light stretching and before I knew it, it was over. I was tired, soaken wet with sweat, but I did it! I made it through the class, my legs were tired, but not mush.
Buzz came over and high fived me as did my trainer. They both asked, "When will you be back?" My reply? "Next Friday!"
