Spin Class (My Very First!)

Spin class - something I never thought I would try, like ever. I'm not a fan of going to any form of group fitness classes by myself (I know I know, I need to get over that) and we cancelled our gym membership ages ago, so I honestly thought I would never have the opportunity to try a spin class out. However, while out of town visiting family this past weekend, the offer was given and I accepted. After saying yes, I kind of doubted my sanity...but I stuck with it anyway and decided to give spin a try!

We arrived at class a little early to claim our bikes. Of course, we selected bikes in the back of the room. My sister-in-law and I were newbies and didn't want to get called out by being on bikes in the front of the class!

After getting our things together, my cousin took us on a tour of the facility. I loved this place!! The Sports Club at the Four Seasons in Dallas, Texas had anything and everything your little fitness heart could imagine!

Indoor tennis courts, a running track, fitness classes, yoga, state of the art equipment, lap pool, sauna, spa.....the list of opportunities in the 7,000 sq ft facility were endless!

This was my view from the back of the class. The instructor sat on the elevated bike up front. What was on the big screen? Our bike info, of course.... (How fast we were going, how much effort we were giving, etc.) Yes, for everyone to see. Oh dear...

At first, I wished I'd brought a pair of capri tights but once class got into the full swing of things, I was glad I wore shorts.

Within 10 minutes of the start of class, I just knew I wasn't going to make the remaining 50 minutes. The "warm up" had my legs dying and my body covered in sweat. How and why do people do this to themselves on a regular basis, I wondered?

Throughout the class, we changed intensity, speed, patterns, and sets. The music is seriously what kept me going. After a while, I felt as if I had the hang of it, although I couldn't always keep up with the higher intensity used by the instructor. I did give it an honest effort, though. At one point, our instructor mentioned that "20" was the highest intensity we would go all class, so I turned it up to 20 along with her.

As I mentioned earlier, everyone's RPM's were displayed on the big screen TV's at the front of the class. Normally, the circles stayed yellow in color unless you were giving max effort, then the circles turned orange. I was able to get my circle to turn orange twice which I was super proud of!

Midway through the class, someone came around with chilled towels that smelled of eucalyptus (more like Heaven in the form of a towel)! That cold towel was just the pick-me-up I needed to finish up the hour long class. Yes, I did make it to the very end!

At the beginning of class, our instructor found out that my sister-in-law and I were newbies, then she promised us that she hadn't killed anyone yet. By the end of class, she commended us and told us we were rock stars for sticking through the entire class. She also said that most newbies leave her class within 10 minutes of being on the bike.

I'll admit, I kind of did feel a bit more hard core after that!

As soon as I stepped off the bike, my legs felt like jello and I was drenched from head to toe. Walking down the stairs felt a lot like walking down stairs after finishing a marathon. As a matter of fact, we "rode" about 20 miles during class!

This seriously was one of the most intense workouts I've ever had in my life. I found out later that our instructor was one of the toughest there and this class was intended for the "advanced cyclist". Oy.

This text was sent to my BRF about 20 minutes into class, then again at the end of class. I should have learned my lesson long ago about never saying never! After every marathon, I've said I would never run another and now I'm on number 5, so yeah...there's that.

After our workout, we all enjoyed a nice chilled hazelnut iced coffee which definitely hit the spot!

Would I take a spin class again? Now that I've had a chance to reflect on it, I would say yes. However, I think I would start with a class meant for the intermediate athlete instead of the advanced cyclist. This seriously was an intense workout (one of the hardest and most intense I'd ever done) and it left me feeling great the remainder of the day! I'm definitely sticking to my first love (running) but I think that mixing it up on the occasion is fun, too!

Have you ever tried spin? What are your thoughts?