Power From The Hips

For my Tuesday workout I spent 55 minutes on the elliptical and then 30 minutes on weight lifting. For that session I did chest and back plus lower body (lots of squats and lunges). On Wednesday I tried out a new spin class at a different gym. I changed up my routine a bit and warmed up with weight lifting instead of cardio. I had 30 minutes before class so I focused on abs, shoulders and triceps. Then it was time for Spin!

The spin room was smaller than the other gym and the bikes were configured in a horse-shoe shape. I disliked how close the bikes were to each other but other than that, it was a nice facility.

I loved this class! It was much different than the other ones I’ve tried so far. (Previous Spin Classes: First Class, Fast Climbs , Intervals)

The instructor was great. Her name was Gina and she was enthusiastic and motivating. She also had much better music than any of the other fitness classes I’ve taken. Instead of the traditional classic rock or top 40 hits blend it was trance music with hits remixed into techno mixed in with some almost-Bollywood beats. Loved it! It was so much better–refreshing and different.

This workout was different than the rest, and much much harder. If I had to classify it, I’d say it was an intermediate class; definitely not for a cycling newbie! The workout was “challenging seated climbs.”

Gina shouted inspiring phrases like “get power from your hips!” and “You are stronger than you think!” She motivated everyone to push through it, and then she’d say “Bump up the resistance another notch.”

Seated climbs are difficult. It takes a lot of power in your thighs and hips to push through those challenging climbs. I also liked how she described the climbs: she said to have a “challenge of 7 out of 10” or “8 out of 10 but still comfortable.” Still comfortable! Ooof!

The “challenging seated climbs” were a good workout. There were a few standing hill climbs peppered into the workout to give us a break. I tend to prefer those standing climbs because I can use my body weight to power through it. It feels almost like a break compared to the seated climbs!

She often instructed us to pedal faster. Pedal faster?! It already felt like I was biking through quicksand! My thighs were burning. Every time she said to go faster I thought, “Go faster?! Is she kidding?!” Gina was a smiling dominatrix with a cheerful voice.

But I must be a masochist because I enjoyed the class and would definitely go back to one of her classes in the future. It was a sweat inducing workout that left my thighs sore the next day. Love it!

My workout was done and I was able to head home immediately instead of hitting the weights afterward. I was famished. Like a roaring T-Rex kind of hunger. Thankfully Michael had defrosted some salmon so dinner was quick. I reheated the last of our cornbread stuffing from Thanksgiving.

I had a little cranberry sauce too. Kind of a weird combo but I didn’t care. Feed me!

QUESTION: What is your favorite spin routine?