Friday, May 29, 2015

You Spin Me Right Round

Remember last week when I posted about stepping outside of my comfort zone for my Thursday Triumph (if this is news to you, check out that post here)? Well, yesterday I sort of did it again!

Source

I took my first ever spinning class! CRAY-CRAY, right?! I had gotten an email from the local Yelp a while back about some fitness class options.


It was stoked, so that evening (or maybe a day or two later) I went to RSVP... AND ALL THE SPOTS WERE TAKEN - BUMMERUSKI! I saw the sweet Smitha posting about how she had signed up for a couple classes through the #YelpFitClub2015 so I mentioned how I was jealous that I didn't get in.


The amazing KristinStuftMama, was teaching a few of those classes, so I was extra bummed... Much to my surprise (but just a testament to how cool my friends are) Smitha invited me along for one of the classes (and Kristin was kind enough to offer me a guest pass to check out the gym). Remember, I said I have NEVER taken a spin class before, but I am all about stepping trying to step outside of my comfort zone (and it was a free class with a friend AND A FRIEND AS THE TEACHER which doesn't hurt) so I just HAD to, right?!

So yesterday afternoon I grabbed my water, a bit of fuel for afterwards, a SMILE (because I never leave home without it and that's what Kristin was sure to tell us to bring :)), and jumped in the car to head to Fit Athletic Club in Carmel Mountain.


It took about 45 minutes to get there (due to traffic), but the drive wasn't bad at all. I pulled into a parking spot and not 2 minutes later Smitha pulled in right next to me. We were both a bit nervous (since this would be both of our first spin class EVER), but had a little more confidence because we weren't doing it alone.



Once we got into the gym Smitha was able to check in and Patrick signed me up for a guest pass and showed me around the facilities (Talk about SNAZZY! If only I lived closer and wasn't such a cheapskate I might take them up on joining :)). I grabbed a quick locker room mirror selfie and we made our way over to the Spin classroom.



Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect. Sure I "bike" once a week, but it is on a hybrid beach cruiser (meaning my cruiser has 7 gears) so I wouldn't exactly consider it a BIKE bike. Also, I have never taken a fitness "class" before (unless you count the Yoga for Runners Workshop I took a couple weeks ago or the Athleta Yoga Event I attended a while back - but neither of which were at a gym).

Kristin showed up and calmed our nerves a little bit - hugs all around. But that didn't last long, we were there to get down to business! And that is exactly what we did :)

I guess it is GO time...

Thankfully my Shwings fit in the shoe holsters on the peddles ;)

Pre-class selfie... LET'S DO THIS!

My "holy crap, what did I get myself into" face 

The class was an hour long. It had sprints, hills, standing, sitting, you name it, we did it! Kristin is such a great teacher (and I'm not just saying that because she's my friend)! She really talked us though everything we needed to do and was super encouraging (in a butt-kickin' sort of way).

At one point I looked over at Smitha and said, "THIS IS HARD". She concurred and said, "Running is so much easier". THEN IT HIT ME! I wonder if running should be this hard... I mean, follow with me for a minute, what if I have been running "in my comfort zone" for all this time?! To get stronger, better, faster, I should probably walk away from a workout or two thinking "THIS IS HARD", right?! 

Anyway, the class was tough, but great! We finished extra sweaty (thank goodness for gym towels), but with BIG smiles on our faces. Not only did we try something new, but we KICKED ITS BOOTY (or at least we didn't fall off the bikes or get hurt)!

Sweaty selfies are the best, right?! HA!

And yes, there were others in the class (probably about 10 total), but we "staged"
this shot after everyone left ;)

Afterwards Kristin wanted to show us around the gym and have us try out a few of the machines that she loved. First up, Jacobs Ladder! I was pretty nervous to give it a go, but Kristin showed us the ropes on it first and promised it would stop at the bottom if anything happened.

It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but definitely is a work out!
Not to mention, with nothing to look at I don't know how long I'd last on it.

The other "cool" machines were all being used, so we decided to look at them from afar, take a couple pictures, and obviously chat a little more.

We needed a selfie in front of Jacobs Ladder - DUH!

I've got some lovely ladies as friends, #AmIRightOrAmIRight?!

And then it was time to part ways. BOO! Thankfully we will all be seeing each other again on Saturday for the Pro Compression Shake Out Run (PS If you are in town, come on by!) so I guess I can't be too sad.


On the ride home I busted into my PROBAR BITE bar. I don't know if I was just famished from the workout or what, but the Superfruits & Greens flavor (I hadn't tried it before) was DELICIOUS! I scarfed that baby down so fast I almost forgot to snap a picture!

Don't worry, I was stopped at a traffic light while taking this picture

Oh yeah, how could I almost forget?! Smitha is DA BOMB and brought me PRESENTS! I wanted to go to the Rock N Roll San Diego Meet-Up a while back but Ryan and I were camping in Malibu so I missed it. Smitha was sweet enough to grab me one of the tanks for the event though. Also, she got me this FABULOUS "Be The Change" Sevenly tank (as a gift for being a "big time blogger" and buying my own domain!). HOW AMAZINGLY AWESOME IS THAT?!


I guess the moral of the story is - step outside of your comfort zone, and while you are at it, take a couple friends along for the ride!

Have you ever tried a spin class before?

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Leaving your comfort zone is tough but always rewarding when you do it. I can't believe that was your first ever spin class. I am so in love and think it makes me a better runner. It's definitely taught me how to push my boundaries more.

SD Mom said...

Yay for awesome friends and seeing you tomorrow!

Kate @ SoCal Runner Gal said...

So fun! I love spin and I belong to the Fit downtown. I would love to take one of Kristen's classes and I should totally make the trek up there one of these days. If you ever want to come take a class together at my gym let me know and I'll put you on the guest list!

Danielle said...

I did my first spin class a few months ago, definitely hard but a great workout! Glad I finally tried it, I don;t know why but I had been so intimidated by it!

Tracy said...

I'm a spin FANATIC! I usually do one or two full classes a week, and sometimes a 30 minute one if my schedule permits. So glad your first was awesome!