#2196 WW Wednesday

Last Saturday in the WW workshop, we talked about doing a different activity. (Activity is what we call exercise because apparently there are lots of people who hate the word exercise. *rolls eyes*) Lana asked the group what they wanted to do but were scared to try. Skydiving came up a couple of times. One lady said she really wanted to try yoga but was afraid all the people in the class would be looking at her.

I hear that comment so much, that people don't want to go to the gym because they think that other people will be looking at them. Here's the rock-hard, straight-up, solid truth: the people who are at the gym to work out, to exercise, to get in some physical activity, are too wrapped up in their own business to bother looking at you. A person might glance your way if you get on the machine next to the one they are on. They might appear to be looking at you when they are taking a break between sets, but they are probably not really registering you as a person and almost certainly not making a judgement about you.

When I am in a class, I notice that there are other people in the room, but I'm pretty wrapped up in my own insecurities to make any kind of judgement about anyone else. I might think something like, "Wow, that lady is really energetic," or "She is really working hard today! She's feeling it!" but I don't think I have ever thought about the way a person looked, except if they were wearing a cute outfit or had on cool shoes. I believe most people are like me in that they are at the gym to work out and move on with their day.

So I told the want-to-be yoga lady to not worry about others and just go try it. Several other people said the same thing. I hope she goes to a yoga class. I probably won't find out, though, because she's in the 8 AM group and I don't intend to go back to that group unless I really need to.

I thought about what I wanted to do but hadn't done. I came up with a couple of things. One would be water aerobics. I picked up the water classes schedule a few weeks ago, but I haven't found a time that works for me yet. I want to do it though. The second thing I want to do is go to a real spinning studio to take a real spin class.

I take cycling classes at my local fitness center and it's fun and energetic, but I've seen videos of spin classes at studios and it just looks extra. Back in January I looked online for cycling studios in SLC, and I found one that looked promising. I told myself that when I got back from vacation in Thailand that I would go. March went by and I didn't go. April was coming to an end and I hadn't gone.

Last Saturday after WW, I drove to the studio so I would know where it is and to find out a little more about the place. It is called Ride-ologie and it is in Sugarhouse. I met the owner, Alli, and we chatted about what I could expect. She told me about some of the instructors and advised me not to start with Taylor's class.

MT went out of town on Monday night, but I had something I'd already planned to do that night, so I decided to try a class on Tuesday since MT would still be gone. Wouldn't you know that the only time that I could go, at 6:30, was a class taught by Taylor? I almost talked myself out of it, but it was the end of April and I really wanted to complete this goal of mine, so I signed up for the class. By the way, the first class is free!

I showed up a bit early, as instructed, to sign the waiver and set up my bike. I met Taylor, a super-cute and extremely fit young woman who, like Alli and all the other people I'd met there, was extremely energetic and positive and peppy. She walked me through some basic spin things, which I was pretty familiar with from cycling class. People started to fill in the studio and Taylor turned on the music and we started to warm up.

Let me tell you about this studio. It is more like a cave. It's a pretty good-sized room filled with these high-tech spinning machines. They look like a bicycle, but just have a fly-wheel on the front. You adjust the tension on the fly-wheel to make it harder or easier to pedal. The seat and the handlebars are adjustable too, just not when you're riding. You want to make sure you're bike is set up to suit you before the class starts. Alli showed me how to set up the bike, but I felt like my seat was a little low. I like to be up higher since my knees don't bend like other people's knees. Not as much bend, you know.

Now picture this big room filled with 30 bikes that have maybe a foot between them on any side. It's tight. There are no windows. There are fans mounted on the walls. The front wall is a mirror. There's a platform front and center for the instructor and her/his bike. There's a stand next to the bike for an iPad that the instructor uses to control the lights, music and sound level.

I'm a little bit claustrophobic and when the door was shut and the lights went out, my breathing quickened up a little bit. I was kind of glad I was in the front row. I don't think I would like to be in the middle surrounded by people. When the music started, though, and Taylor turned into a spin class drill sargent, I kind of forgot about everything other than trying to follow her instructions and to just keep pedaling. I figured that even if I couldn't keep up (I couldn't) that if I kept pedaling I was still way ahead of where I usually am.

The class was a solid 45 minutes but with the time I spent warming up, about 10 minutes, and another five or so minutes that were spent doing extra squats (WHY?!?!), I clocked about 60 minutes on my fitness device. The calorie burn was pretty phenomenal, too. During the class I could really feel the burn in my legs, but today I am more sore in my arms and core. We did mini pushups on the bike and a bunch of side crunches, plus some light weight work. Do all that shit when you're trying to pedal at a good speed. Your core gets involved very quickly to stabilize. It's kind of awesome.

In the end, I was proud of myself for going to the class and for making it through without stopping, passing out or throwing up, both of which were slight concerns. Not passing out so much, I guess, although I was a little worried about the claustrophobia. I'm gonna go ahead and say I was the largest person in there, but that's okay, because I was doing it! I felt happy and full of endorphins when I was done. That is totally a thing, you know? I was extremely hyper when I was done with the class and full of love and joy for all things.

Will I go back? Yes I will. I'm looking at my schedule next week and I think I'll try to get into Amy's class on Monday evening at 5:45. (Alli mentioned that I should start with Amy.)

Yesterday I wrote that my work is doing a fitness challenge this month and my goal is to get my 10 (or 15) points every day in May. Today I walked two miles around the track at work, and I got in my 10,000 steps - good for 10 points! YAY! So far so good.

I'm thankful that Lana put out that little challenge last Saturday. It was the nudge I needed to try something that I've been wanting to do. It was hard, and I'm glad I pushed myself a little and did it!