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Spinning For Charity
By Christina | September 13, 2009
I have been a spinning instructor for years. Even though the music always changes and the ride changes depending if I emphasize more of an interval, strength, or endurance ride, the spinning experience remains constant. One way to change it up is to participate in a special spin that is different than the spin classes you do week in and week out.
I just taught a 2 hour sunset spin to raise money for the American Heart Association. Just by changing it up, spinning felt brand new again. Instead of the darkened spin rooms that we are all familiar with, taking a spin class outside added a whole new element. The temperature was a welcome change from fans and air conditioning. Being by the pool with palm trees blowing helped foster the mind/body connection. Finally, just by my changing the time of day that I spin and the group of people that usually spin with me changed the dynamic of the entire ride. I always spin in the morning, the earlier the better. Exercising at night, which is out of my comfort zone, shocked my body and made me ride harder. The TGIF energy of my fellow riders motivated me to bring my “A” game, which in turn made them bring theirs.
Normally, one hour of cardio is more than anyone needs to do on a daily basis as part of a balanced exercise program. Sometimes, though, it is good for the body to go above and beyond what it usually does or requires. For example, if you have been spinning forever like I have, your body is so conditioned to riding hard for an hour that it almost feels like you could ride the spin bike for hours. At the end of any cardio session, not just spin, you should feel completely spent and unable to do one more minute of cardio. If after working out for an hour, you feel like you could keep going at that intensity then you are either not working out at your maximum potential or your body is completely used to the exercise you are doing. When that happens, you need to shake things up in your cardio routine or your body will fail to change.
By pushing yourself into an additional hour of spinning, on occasion, you are keeping your workout unpredictable and keeping your body confused in the process. Muscle fatigue and muscle confusion both yield changes in your body, both in muscle tone and definition. Anyone can do one hour of spin. Not everyone can do two. The second hour of a spin ride is like doing a triathalon. In a triathalon, the separate components of running, biking, and swimming are not in and of themselves necessarily physically taxing. It is combining all of the activities without stopping that makes a triathalon so challenging. In a two hour spin ride, your body has had enough after an hour. It is in the second hour, when you are pushing yourself through the fatigue that changes will occur in your body. Everyone benefits by getting out of their fitness comfort zone now and then.
The last element of the two hour spin ride that moved me was that we were all using exercise collectively as a vehicle for raising money for a worthy cause. Simply by exercising, which is something that my fellow riders all enjoy doing, we were able to raise $2000 for charity. When there is meaning behind the exercise, it gives you a purpose for being there and working out hard.
The ride ended with a delicious spread of food, a few libations, and good company. There are worse ways to spend a Friday evening.
Topics: Spinning |
