"That hurt worse than childbirth!" :) These were my first words to my husband at 7:00 am in the morning as I walked through the door from my first 5:30 am spin class. I was walking this funny John Wyane like waddle! lol!!! "The music was tooo loud and not my style. Yes, I feel old talking about music being to loud lol! When the teacher got her mic to close to the PA system and the thing let out this piercing noise that was louder than a firetruck blowing a siren in my ear and more annoying than fingers scrapping a chalk board, it took allllll I had to stay on that oh so painful seat!!!"
By the grace of God I suffered and survived; walked through my front door and fell to my knees in prayer! I praised God for getting me though that class and begged Him to help me be more comfortable in the next Spin class if He was really callling me to train for a half ironman triathlon.
In the weeks that followed I bought a jell pad for my seat. Aaawwww that's a bit better. Praise God! I don't feel the need for an epidural now. It's not pain free mind u but tolerable.
Next God helped me bring my own music. phewwwwwwwww now that is a welcome relief. I don't have to hear curse words that would curl my mother's toes or hear that song about someone liking a big butt :) I mean I'm on the bike to loose this big buttom, a song celebrating a big gluteus Maximus seems counter productive to me lol! Oh the JOY and PEACE that fill my SOUL while listening to Praise Music now.
Wearing my headset ear buds saves my ears from permanent damage from the squeaking PA :).
And... Now I stay injury FREE because when the teacher yells..."Turn it - one more baby!" (baby yea baby right?!) "Turn to the right".... what she is saying is, make it harder by increasing the tension - as if it were not hard enough already. :) anyway now I can pretend I don't hear her and I don't submit to the group peer pressure to do more than my body is able to do :). That alone helped me stop dreading the class.
I take two bottles of water and at least one Gu now and that made a world of difference too!!!!
God also taught me how to take a small towel (cup towel size) the gym provides them :) and I get it wet with the ice cold water from the water fountain, squeeze it out and put it on the back of my neck. Ohhhh that feels soooo good on my neck. I wipe the sweat off my face and back and arms w this cold towel toooo. and on VERY HOT outside rides when I remember to roll ICE into the towel and slowly let it melt on my neck that is a REAL BLESSING from God toooo. I PRAISE God EVERY time He lets me roll ice into a towel to keep me cool!
I really do not enjoy being hot or sweating. Can't imagine why God would call me to do an ironman, half ironman, marathon or anything that is not in the controlled temperature environment with an a/c lol!
Ok, oh, back to the subject. Oh, yes, God helped me with comfort, nutrition and hydration and peace with Praise music :). Then about a year into taking the class I finally forked up the money for some bike shorts and spin shoes. Wow! Was I ever dumb for waiting so long. I mean would a fisherman go fishing without a rod or bait. No. What was I thinking. I wasn't thinking, I was sabotaging myself.
It is fun to ride w a coach and and a room full of other amazing folks who wake up around 4:30 a.m. I have tried spinning in an empty Spin classroom and it is VERY hard to push myself or to keep going for an hour and I never push myself as much as I do with a coach and a class full of riders! So, thank you God for the lead Gooose and the flock of geese that pull me along! Have you ever watched Geese flying? They are a TEAM and they help each other and that is the way God has helped me see a group of people exercising together.
Oh, on the subject of waking up at 4:30 a.m... that could be a blog on it's own :) - it took me MONTHS of trying to make these 4:30 a.m. wake ups... I had goooood intentions each night only to give into sleep each am. This STILL happens but when I get in the habit of getting up early :) It is a REAL BLESSING :) to me personally, the family God has blessed me to be a part of and honestly to anyone I am around... I AM a MUCH happier person when I GET UP EARLY and get Bible Study/Exercise in EARLY!!! It is always TOTALLY BY THE GRACE OF GOD WHEN IT HAPPENS! Praise and Glory to God on High!!!
I sure remember thinking no one will be awake at that early time in the am.. and I was, still am, really SURPRISED to see people driving around at this time... mind you it is often the newspaper and delivery cars. :)
Can you believe this - the FIRST time I went to class I could not even get a bike the room was full. I remember walking away in frustration and sadness - thinking ANYONE ANYONE who get's up at 4:30 am and goes out in the cold DESERVES a bike at least... BUT to my surprise I found out LOTS of folks get up and train EVERYDAY at 4:30am. and they get to class EARLY to get the bike they want and if I was 5 min late I get a bike that needs repaired or even NO BIKE ALL! OUCH!!! Maybe the early bird does get the worm or at least a spin bike lol!
back to the subject of the class - I love to watch the big screen movies of the bike rides. Well everything except the bike crashes. Oh, no, here it comes again.... I have to turn my head when they crash! I DO NOT need those mental images in my mind.
Oh and just incase you are reading this and planning to take your first spin class - go early or even the day before and try out the bike - it honestly felt a bit strange getting on that spin bike to me... it was not like riding a bike as a child and not like the bikes in the exercise stores or even other bikes in the gym. I had never seen a bike that had resistance built in - maybe you have but I hadn't and... well the clip in shoes, they are an experiance all there own... also the teacher will fit you (Tell you how to move the seat up or down, front or back and handel bars up or down... ) anyway all that DOES make a difference and will help you not get injured... I hurt my knee by not doing this my first week of spin class. (my first week was ONE class that week :)) some weeks I make TWO now :) on really good weeks I make THREE. but with Swim class, Weight Class, Running group and Water Aerobic choices well the others often win out over spin. Just telling the truth so you don't get this idea that I'm on a bike everyday in the gym at 5:30 am :)
On the flip side, riding on the road w a group is awesome!!!! With a good group leader I feel safe even with the drinking/driving, texting/driving and people who seem to just want to hit us for the extra points lol! sharing the road with us... hum I don't have to worry about these folks at all in the spin class :)
In spin class I also don't have to think about if I'm shifting right. When we stop at traffic lights I often forget to shift into a lower gear on the open road, that can't happen in spin class. I don't have to load and unload the bike for spin class. I also don't have to worry about popping a tired in a pot hole or on glass. or even wear and tear on my personal bike. It's much easier to drink water/sports drinks and eat clif bars or gu on the stationary bike too. I burn more calories on the Spin Bike. I've never got a sunburn on a spin bike. :). and I may complain about it being cold from my front door to my car and from my car to the gym but that is nothing compaired to the cold riding an hour or more on the bike OUTSIDE :)
soooo with all that I bet u think the Spin Bike wins right. You know .... TO Spin or NOT to Spin??? Well, Nope, not even close..... The open road wins out everytime..... really you say - how can that be?
Well, I can't feel the breeze on my face on the Spin bike, :) I never have that weeeee I feel like I'm flying feeling on my spin bike - going down, down, down a hill on a real bike, outside, well, it's just easier FOR SURE than anything on a spin bike and more FUN, FUN, FUN and to watch the sunrises, sunsets and see God's beautiful flowers, trees, birds, animals, smell fresh air, hear the water falling as you pass a river, hear the laughter of children playing and did I mention feeling the wind in your face :) ....or the drizzle of rain or the feeling of leaves falling from a tree on you - it just doesn't get better than that....
Back to reality...I've never had to change a flat on my Spin Bike or had to walk the Spin Bike up a very very steep hill and. I've yet to fall off the Spin bike lol!
well yes the Spin bike hurt worse that childbirth and the feeling of riding on the open road is well, honestly, to me like holding that new born baby in my arms... both serve a purpose... childbirth brings new life and exercise brings new life into our bodies and the JOY and BLISS of holding that new born is well what makes childbirth worth the WORK...
so SPIN SPIN SPIN --- yep to spin or not to spin.... SPIN.... BUT if you can .... well ride on the open road and PRAISE God for the BLISS and BREEZE in your face and the SIGHTS of His world and the smells of His world and the sounds of His world.
Romans 1:20 "Since earliest of times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of His existence and great eternal power so we will have no excuse when we stand before God on Judgment Day."
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