I’ve been taking a spin class every Wednesday evening at the Falconbridge O2 Fitness club. The instructor’s name is Jason, and he is simply fantastic. He makes each class feel like I’m racing in the Tour de France. And when I am tired and want to slack off, he’ll say just the right things to motivate me to get back into the groove. Here are some of the things he’ll yell out to the class:
Stay with me
How bad do you want it?
I know it hurts
You can do this.
Once after class, I told Jason how I liked it that he made the class feel like a race. He said he used to race on UNC’s cycling team. How cool is that? It sure explains his racing slant toward leading the class. I love it.
We do a lot of climbing sets in the spin class. This past weekend, I was riding my bike outdoors, and it felt really awkward to climb on the bike. In spin class, I am on a rigid bike when doing the standing climbs, and my muscles have adapted to that. But on a real bike, I do alot of rocking back and forth during a climb. I asked Jason about this. He told me that spin classes made him a much better climber. He said that the rocking motion increases the surface area of the tire against the road, and wastes energy. If you can keep your bike more straight and stable during a climb, you will climb faster! I can’t wait to play with that theory.
I call Jason’s spin class “The Pain Cave”. Sometimes I think of this video – one of my favorites as you may know – while I am spinning.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjWqNk5HYoA]This is what he says:
In time trial, it’s just you and your bike and the road. You must forget about the love for yourself. You must be a masochist. I want more pain, more pain. Go, Go, Go, Go. When you like suffering – when you like the pain in your legs and all your body – it means you are good.
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Hey there! I just found your blog and love it. My Wednesday night spin class needs a pusher/cheerleader like you have! Jealous!
I have a (relatively) new tri training blog myself.
http://trigeeksingingjo.blogspot.com
Any tips on how to get my blog out there and get more followers?
Thanks, keep up the awesome work!
Jo
I do spin at north chatham. Never had Jason before, but I definetly prefer an instructor that is more road oriented. I've heard about but never tried Real Ryder at HEAT in Raleigh. Those spin bikes actually to rock.
Are you still doing P90X? How is that going? I'm still thinking about purchasing but curious how you like it?
Love that last quote, sums it up perfectly!
Careful with the "straight and stable" climbing. You don't want to fight the natural rocking motion. It's simply a product of the increased torque and power when out of the saddle (whether sprinting or climbing). As long as your upper body is stable and you're not forcing it you'll be at your most efficient.
I had an instructor like that for spin and she just left...finding a good spin instructor when you are used to biking outside is difficult. I stopped taking for a while but think you may have got me back in, I want to try this climbing thing...:)
This sounds like what I've heard you say before!
"You must forget about the love for yourself. You must be a masochist. I want more pain, more pain. Go, Go, Go, Go. When you like suffering – when you like the pain in your legs and all your body – it means you are good."
NO WONDER you like his class - like animals!