My world keeps spinning.

A lot of people have been asking me what a Spinning is. Well first off let me tell you what it isn’t. We aren’t Whirling Dervishes or anything like that although I do think that is kind of cool in a freaky kind of way. I get dizzy just watching them spin around. We actually just ride stationary bicycles but it isn’t just that simple. The leader puts on some music and we all grove to the beat while she leads us on our ride.

We start out by warming up for a bit before getting down to business. After the warmup, our fearless leader tells us what to do. She will tell us to adjust the tension to simulate a climb or a hill and to sprint or go easy. She may also tell us to get out of the saddle which means get your butt up off the seat. Sometimes we do jogs, sometimes running and sometimes we do jumps up and down. All the while there is music playing. The room is usually dimly lit and at times the lights are turned off. That is usually when the ride is getting really intense.

The room where we spin is pretty bland so our instructor put some little butterfly stickers on the wall. It was really cool how she arranged them because it looked like the butterflies were coming out of the lamp in the front of the room. Someone obviously didn’t share our love for butterflies because they had them removed. “Party pooper” Anywhoo, with or without the butterflies it is still a lot of fun and a great workout. It doesn’t just work your legs either. I can feel it in other parts of my body as well and the best part is if you give it your all, your heart gets a great workout as well. By the time the 45 minute session is over, I am totally soaked with sweat and there is a puddle of sweat beneath my bike. Don’t worry I clean it up. We end up by doing some cooldown exercises and stretches.

The classes are mostly comprised of women but a few brave men like myself do enjoy it. My son accuses me of going because of the class makeup but I went to a few classes that were half and half men and women and I enjoyed them equally as well. The important thing is to find an instructor that you like and ours is great. Mary (one of my followers) is always positive (even when she isn’t feeling well) and she always conveys a positive message to us during the ride. Even though it is an intense workout you can go at your own level which I really like. On days that I am a bit tired, I just lay off the intensity a bit and still get a super workout. I always leave feeling great about myself.

One thing I really like is meeting people and spinning is a great way to do that. The people who go to the classes are very dedicated and most seem very friendly and positive. This past Wednesday we had a new class member. She was a girl from India. Mary asked what her name was and she said Balin----Dah.(she pronounced it like Ball+lynn then a pause and Dah) Mary asked her to repeat it and she said Balin-----Dah. When the class was over some of us were talking and Mary again asked the girl from India what her name was and she again said Balin-----Dah . We all just stood there trying to figure out how you would spell that and them Mary said; Belinda? And Belinda smiled and said yes. What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Have a great weekend,
Greg