Spinning Class Review and Weigh-in!

I'll start off with a quick re-cap on what the last week has been like and to be fair, it's been grand enough.

I think I've been starting to slip with my tracking. I still write everything down, but sometimes I can wait until right and late in the evening before I write it all down. My points still haven't been going over 18 and if they do they don't pass my ceiling of 20.

Another thing I've got lazy with is the exercise. Although I am making up a slight excuse with it because last Friday, after work I met Anna and we went for our first spinning class together in the local leisure center. Now I have been to a spinning class before, years ago, when I was actually fit. And I liked it. I liked it because it's a simple sport, get on the bike and pedal to the (usually bad) music picked by the instructor, changing the resistance of the pedals and you can push yourself at your own rate, you're not forced to keep up with the others.

Me and Anna were early. The first person we came across was some girl who thinks herself some kind of professional, who took it apon herself to show us the bikes, and how to change them so they suit you before pottering to the front at the bike closest to the instructors bike. Not too long later the class started to fill up. All women, many weirdly dolled up - that was strange, why no fellas? then the instructor came in and it made sense. They were dolled for him. Anna and myself got a very, very basic chat from him. Basically saying that at points we had to stand up, which I already knew, not sure about Anna. What I found absolutely hilarious was that he didn't explain what way the bike is to be positioned, how high should the seat be? What about the handlebars? At that point I was glad that the girl gave a rough chat on it. I think the only useful thing he said was that the brakes can stick. So be careful, and that was it. I wasn't expecting an in depth chat about the ins and outs of the spinning bikes (which are different from your basic excercise bike) but I was expecting some guidance. Instuctor guy swaggered to the front of the class, mounted his bike, plugged his ipod into the stereo, and my ears began to be violated by the exceptionally poor taste in music he had on that playlist.

Now I am no fitness genius, but I do run, and I do understand the basics about getting songs that have suitable bpm. This did not have it, it was just generic dance music, all different tempos, and none suited the routine he had worked out.  It was very, very odd.

Once the routine started I did try to keep up, but he seemed to be shouting in some code, I gathered ther counting bit was about how long we had left doing each thing. Though again, a bit of direction at the beginning that he shouts random numbers out to let us know would have been great. He also kept shouting out something to do with bodyweight(?) I think. I'm not quite sure. I've tried googling that since to work out what on earth he meant, but to no avail. I sort of gave up listening to what he was doing about 30 minutes in. and I decided to give myself my own wee routine, tried to suit the music to the wee hills I decided to make up on my own, the only thing I paid attention to the instructor was to work out whether we were standing or sitting, so I didn't look too much of a tool.

It was infuriating and did feel like a total waste of money. Anna left early, and at the end a very, very, very basic cool down and stretch occurred, oh - that's another thing! I'm glad I did a few stretches in the changing rooms before I went out, because there was none of that and I dread to think how I would have felt afterwards without my stretches before and after. I did a couple more stretches back in the changing rooms before my shower. I cleaned down the two bikes at the end of the class and giggled to myself at the flirting that happened afterwards, considering the sweat was leaping off him, he managed to attract three of the girls, one being the first girl I seen in the room and the flirting was... well cringeworthy, and not all that professional looking either.

-oh, huge edit - at one point the handlebars on the bike I was using and that was apparently tightened by the instructor gave out on me. not amused.

So before I move on, Spinning is great, just, if you're in Belfast, do not go to the Ballysillan Leisure Center on a Friday evening for it. It's a waste of your time and your money. Find somewhere else, and if you do, tell me, I'd like to get back into it.

In the mean time, come next week I'm trying out something else. I plan on doing it for a week before I review it here, and I don't think I can start it properly until next week, but so far? I love it.

So, moving on a little, Tuesday night was, as always, weigh-in night! And I'm down another 1.5lbs!

So doing my wee usual re-cap:

Week 1= Initial starting weigh in

Week 2= -9.5lbs!

Week 3= -2lbs

Week 4= -5.5lbs

Week 5= -1.5lbs

Week 6= week off for easter

Week 7= -2.5lbs

Week 8= -3lbs

Week 9= -4.5lbs

Week 10= -2.5

Week 11= -2.5

Week 12= -2.5

Week 13= -1.5

Week 14= -1.5

 

That's 39lbs over all! and I'm 3lbs off my 3stone mark. Very pleased, if a little disappointed that I seem to be slowing down. Again I'm blaming that on my tracking, I want to readdress everything I track, make sure I'm putting the right point value down for everything. And I do really need to regain a focus with my exercise, my problem is, since the spinning class, I've been getting some pain in my left arch. But I'm still hoping that for next weeks weigh-in, I can manage 2lbs, and then the next week expect my next silver seven sticker.

Oh, incidently, I've also made it to the 20% mark. In 14 weeks I've lost 20% of my over all body weigh, so very pleased with that.

Not far to go now.