That Doesn’t Look Like A Water Bottle…
I guess I must have been a good girl this year, Santa left this for me on my spin bike last night!
Jerry!
Thank you Santa.
Spin Class Celebration
We celebrate birthdays and holidays and last night at spin class we celebrated the marriage of Stu and Cheryl with a very formal black and white gala!
the Tuesday night spin crew
Wishing you a lifetime of love, happiness and laughter together.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Over the past 9 years, the spin area at the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre has gone through many changes.
We started in the middle of the weight room and pretty much annoyed everyone who wasn’t taking part in the spin classes. While participants in the class enjoyed a view of the pool the instructor bike was in direct line of fire for anyone falling off the treadmills. Back in those days people still used portable CD players so when there was a tumble, the CD player would also fly, I often thought I should be wearing my bike helmet to class.
All that changed when a partition was constructed, the spin bikes were turned in the opposite direction and moved to what is now the stretch area. Most gym users were now used to our schedule and us and if they didn’t like the noise they now either brought their own noise or worked out when we weren’t using the bikes.
A couple of years ago, the spin area moved to the back of the weight room into what was the old stretch area. From the instructor’s perspective this was fantastic. We were contained in our own area, the music as well as our voices was directed away from the weight room and noise complaints were reduced. Instead of a view of a wall, participants had a view of the weight room and its goings on. One problem, weight room users felt like they were being stared at and spin class users felt like the same. Can’t we all just get along?
The Leisure Centre re-opened from its annual shutdown this week and unveiled some new changes to the weight room. The weight room supervisor’s desk has now been moved back to it’s old location making it more visible and opening up the weight room allowing the machines to be spread further apart. The stretch table (which I have never seen anyone actually stretch on, it is mostly used as a bench to sit and chat or pose on) has been moved into the stretch area thus opening up the spin area. The trees have been removed, and the bikes have been turned so they now face the mirror, hello posture check! The corner fan has been replaced and another floor fan has been added. And thanks to Laura, the spin bikes gleam!
May there be peace in the weight room.
the new spin area
Spin bike set-up
I cannot promise that your first spin class will be pain free, but having proper bike set-up is the key to having a more enjoyable ride. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
- Standing next to the bike, the saddle should be hip height.
- Handlebars should be higher than the seat. If there is an option to adjust the handles forward and back, keep in mind that you do not want to feel like you are reaching for them, at the same time you shouldn’t feel like you are hunched over them.
- When choosing how far forward or back to position the seat, sit on the saddle and at the 3 o’clock position in your pedal stroke, your knee should be in line with your ankle.
- To quickly check that your seat is at the correct height, at the 6 o’clock position of your pedal stroke, there should be a slight bend in your knee, your knee should never feel like it is hyper-extending at the bottom of the pedal stroke.
Tip: When sitting on the saddle, try not to sit on it like you would a chair, sit towards the back of the saddle, you should feel like you are spilling off the back of the saddle.
Crazy cardio Tuesday, a day late
When double cardio Tuesday came to a grinding halt last night, my intentions were to write, instead I ate and went to bed. I would like to tell you that I slept like a baby and felt refreshed and rejuvenated when I woke this morning, but I would be lying. I don’t know about you, but on days when I have done too much activity, it’s like my legs won’t stop moving, I dream about running or spinning (I have actually woke up doing the Pilates side leg series)…following each of the half marathons that I have ran, I have this exact sleep pattern. I can tell you though, tonight I will sleep like log and feel like a million bucks in the morning.
Yesterday was a busy day; Conny and I hit the trails for a rainy morning run. The first rainy run after a solid couple of weeks of sunny runs always sucks in theory. Really it only sucks until the first few raindrops have hit you, then you are already wet. We had only seen each other briefly since the weekend so we had so much to catch up on, a lot happens in two days. Have you ever zoned out in mid conversation with someone? Of course you have, for whatever reason (usually boring conversation) you completely tune out what the other person is saying, their lips are moving, but you are thinking “hmm, the black shoes would look fabulous with that outfit” or “what shall I have for lunch”, and then you get busted…you are asked what you thought of that comment or what would you do or if you even heard a word of what was being said. When I have been put in that situation I always try to cover my tracks as best as I can without making the other person feel like Charlie Brown’s teacher. Conny told me a story yesterday where the person who zoned out actually said “sorry, I drifted off”…I thought that it was really funny, as much as you may like to say that sometimes, can you imagine if you did and can you imagine how furious the other person would be when you said that? We finished run with our usual debate as to whether the end of Canoe Landing as three hills or two. For the record I still say it is three, when a hill goes down and then goes back up again, it is the start of a new hill.
I finished off my sessions with the Thomas Haney Recreational PE class yesterday. We covered Pilates, ball and finished off with a 45-minute spin class. I worked much harder than I meant to, I am sure that they will remember me as the sweaty instructor! I love working with the young things, although they don’t really like to sweat they are willing to try anything and always give a good effort. Last session I was given a property of Thomas Haney t-shirt, and I have been wearing it with pride!
The Speed Clinic also met at the track for a final-final 1.5-mile test. The results were fantastic; everyone met my ambitious goal of a 5% improvement! So proud of the group, they have been working very hard; give yourselves a big hug and a pat on the back!
I finished the day hill training with the 7:30pm group at the Leisure Centre…no wonder I was tired!
Double cardio Tuesday
Today is double cardio Tuesday!
Double cardio Tuesday originated late in 2008 as the result of a triathlon-training schedule. Back in those days, double cardio Tuesday would consist of a lengthy swim and a spin class, not necessarily in that order, there may have also been a short run in there somewhere, but not always (that’s why it’s not called triple cardio Tuesday).
For whatever reasons (and there were a few, non being event completion) the triathlon-training schedule came to an abrupt halt, but double cardio Tuesday lived on. Tuesday evening spin class is the consistent cardio (only 3 Tuesdays a year that this does not occur, those are the last week of August and first week of September when the Leisure Centre is closed for shutdown, and the Tuesday between Christmas and New Year when evening classes are cancelled at the Leisure Centre), it is a 45 minute, yes, 45 minute not 60 minute (we go hard) spin class that alternates each week between hills/drills/speed and hill/heart rate training. The energy is crazy, the music is loud and the workout is tough (unless you are putting on your academy award winning face and riding tension free, you have me completely fooled)! I consider it to be the consistent in DCT because it happens at the same time every week, and because I have been teaching in that time slot for the past 8 years (time flies, eh Erin?).
For me (and Conny, don’t let her tell you that I make her either, she loves it) a tough run takes a regular Tuesday to DCT. Depending on the time of year, it is either a fast road run just before spin or like this morning, 60 minutes in the trails (my preference, I think Conny’s too, but the road did serve it’s purpose when we were ½ marathon training).
DCT has caught on; I like to think that it is spreading like wildfire. Some of the participants in my spin class arrive early and do a session by themselves before my class, some run, some swim, Daniela plays floor hockey after (she is a triple cardio Tuesday’er, very hardcore)!
DCT is not for everyone, here comes the disclaimer…a strong cardio base is required and you need to be adequately fueled and hydrated before and throughout the workouts.