Saturday, March 17, 2012

To Spin or Not To Spin

I was thinking about joining a spin class at the Y. I think I need more socialization. Heh... I sound like a toddler. On Thursday, after a nightmare workout in the pool (it isn't that good a story) and a short 2 mile run, I started talking to a guy who was on one of the spin bikes. I noticed that he was wearing cycling shoes. I had thought previously that the pedals only had baskets, which if you are a cyclist, you know completely suck. At first I was a bit excited, but then it dawned on me that the pedals were most likely SPD compatible. My shoes have Keo LOOK cleats. I decided to ask the guy anyway, but he just confirmed my suspicions. Although I do have SPD cleats at home, I would still need to buy new shoes, and even cheap ones...well, is it really worth the expense?

Me on my first road bike, a Specialized Ruby Elite.
Normally I rest on Fridays, but I rested this week on Wednesday. The boys had to take a little class at the Y so that they would be allowed to use the fitness equiptment, so I scheduled that for 5:30, so we could go right when I got home from work. There were not particularly excited about this. SC especially, really drug his feet. I had anticipated this, and issues some good "mom threats" to help motivate him.

After the class, we all got on treadmills next to each other for 30 minutes. I ran, MB ran/walked, and SC... *sigh* I am not even sure that we are related sometimes! (Just kidding.) First, he only wanted to walk at 1 mph... ONE?? I reached over and made him turn it up. He finally turned it up to 2.5 mph. After 15 minutes, he was thirsty. I gave him water, but then insisted he go at 3 mph for the rest of the time. That lasted roughly 5 minutes, and then he moved to the recumbent stationary bike.It was a start I guess. :)

4 comments:

  1. Let me remind you of this:

    "Let us have a moment of silence for all those stuck in traffic on their way to the gym to ride stationary bicycles"

    I hope I never hear you talk seriously about riding stationary bicycles again ;)

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  2. Spin classes are quite a hard workout and do serve you quite well as cyclist. The high cadence will improve cadence efficiency and mean you cycle better. However, Jesse makes a better point and you can do the exercises out on a real bike.
    Keep your cadence high 90+ when you ride will do you wonders and will really help come your ironman

    Jez

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