My first spin class

Well at least one thing can be said… I sure am getting use out of my gym. I tried to go for a work out that was more my speed… a spin class. My dad got me into mountain biking early on, and my childhood memories are full of weekend mornings spent on the trails, biking through the canyons of Orange County. However, my biking experience since childhood has been racing to class on the very flat terrain of Davis and the daily six mile ride through Paolo Valley to get to my Dolphin Quest internship. Nothing outrageous or too intense. Whatever, no excuse NOT to be healthy right? I boldly went to my first spin class last week. And yes, I remembered water this time. 

I showed up to class fifteen minutes early (because yeah, I’m that girl. I’m going to go ahead and blame my mother and Matthew Goldberg for this overwhelming mentality of “early is on time, and on time is LATE” that I still cling to). I played around with my stationary bike, which is nothing like those digitalized bikes you see next to the treadmills at normal gyms. There are about six more nobs and things to adjust. What. The heck. It’s just a bike, right?!

As the bike screeched and screamed while I tried to lower the seat to an acceptable level, the instructor came over, introduced herself, and then began to quiz me on my biking experience and purpose of my attendance. I stuttered out something like “uhh… I hear it’s a great work out??” Way to be assertive Jaquielyn! 

Her piece of advice for the bike? “Oh, it should just feel right”. I don’t really know what “right” is… but ok.

Ten minutes into the class and I could have sworn I was dying. My body released sweat from every pore and I felt like I was in a polyester cheer uniform melting in the Irvine heat. I think my hearing went out, and white spots came in and out of my vision. That’s normal, right? Now, the worst part was that my bike no longer felt “right”. My butt was in this awful position on the seat, and every push of the petal made me cringe in pain. I don’t know if you’ve ever been on a stationary spin bike, but it is NOTHING like a mountain bike. On a mountain bike, you can stand up, stop pedaling, and the gears will keep turning while the pedals stay glued to your feet. On a stationary bike, you stop pedaling? You better say goodbye to your knees because those pedals are going with or without your consent. I’m kind of stupid sometimes, so I tried at least six times to stand up and adjust my seating, only to be shocked with the bike’s nasty reminder “Pedal fatty!!”

Forty five minutes later, my knee felt like it was on fire, my bum was in serious pain, and my lungs seemed to be half their size. And I loved it. Minus the instructor’s terrible music choice (songs from the 70’s like… nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, goodbyeeee. Great for football games, not so much for a workout). The instructor decided to end by announcing to the entire class that this was my first spin class. Everyone applauded, and the whole gym turned around to see who the noob was. I awkwardly waved and made the awkward turtle motion. So awkward. 

End result: SUCCESS! I loved it! I will be back for more, with a different instructor and hopefully a better music selection. I loved the intensity… even if I died a little. 

This would not have been a blimp in my mind if it weren’t for my good friend Jenny Lofaro. Jenny is a beast. A triathlete, fish kitchen speedster, and one of my rocks and sounding board during our six month stint for the Dolphin Quest Internship. When Haru and I would drive home (which involved going over Diamond Head), Jenny opted to BIKE home... and would beat us there. She is unstoppable. I just had to give a shout out, showcase her kick-ass-ness, and thank her for inspiring me to give spin class a try.

 

Have a great Monday guys. Thanks for reading, feel free to leave some comments J