Saturday's spin sesh

Here's the ride I used on Saturday.  This was actually a very easy ride to put together as I took a bunch of the songs I've used when transitioning from a 45 to a 60 and put them together.  Of course that won't be much of a help tomorrow when I have to make a new ride for Thursday, but I'll deal.

This Is How We Do It - Montell Jordan - 3:38
Warm up

Ecstasy - Rusted Root - 5:02
This song totally takes me back to high school.  Light climb, in the saddle, keep the pace quick for the entire song, coming up to jog on the Ecstasy chorus.  There's also a hidden hill.  When the music slows down, I ask them to add on as much as they can take and muscle through it, then back to the fast light hill.

Where Them Girls At (radio edit) - David Guetta ft Flo Rida and Nicki Minaj - 3:15
Jumps, 6 or 4 count, staying up in position 2 during Niki's rap

Man Down - Rianna - 4:27
Back to climbing in the saddle.  I tell them that we've done something bad and the police are after us (there are sirens in the song) so we have to move.  5/10, moderate hill, fast legs for the whole song.  Yes, it's dorky, but they get the idea.

All Around Me - Flyleaf - 3:19
Climbing out of the saddle, ending heavy.

This is How A Heart Breaks - Rob Thomas - 3:51
Sprints!  Short recovery and then sprints on the chorus.

Moves Like Lady Jagger (Brian Cua Mashup Mix) - Maroon 5 and Christina vs Modjo-  4:44
Climb, start out moderate, mix it up, in the saddle, out of the saddle.  I keep this pretty unstructured and go with what I'm feeling.

Lighters (feat Bruno Mars) - Bad Meets Evil - 5:04
Climbing.  When Bruno sings, we're in the saddle with the hill as heavy as we can take.  When it switches to the rapping, back the resistance to about a 6 or 7/10 and come out to three, making sure that your combination of resistance and pace is challenging.  Then back to the saddle, heavy as possible when the chorus comes around.

One - U2 and Mary J Blige - 4:20
Continuing from the last song, standing climb.  Ending nice and heavy.  For the last 2 minutes I think I had them add resistance every 30 seconds.

Zorba the Greek - Kostas Papadopoulos - 3:28
Let the pace of the song guide your legs.  Light resistance.  The song picks up as it goes on, so by the end you should be at an all out sprint.  (This song was a departure from my normal style but something someone suggested ages ago.  It was fun and the one Greek woman in the class went nuts over it, so that alone made it worth it.)

Spotlight - Jennifer Hudson - 4:12
Cool down and stretch.

If you use any of these, let me know what you think. :)

Saturday spin sesh (on Monday)

I really did have the intent to post this on Saturday, so without further ado, here it is.

Special thanks to Annette for her hill repeats.  Love them!  This ride is a mix of a few different things, but the hill repeats do play a prominent role.

A few things about this and most of my rides. My classes are typically 45 minutes long. If you do a 60 minute class, in this case you can just add another hill.  But unless otherwise specified, my classes are 45 minutes including the warm up (not including the cool down). 

Also, I ventured into some unknown territory here, the world of Glee.  So far I haven't gotten much of a response about it, so I say that that's a good thing and I'll keep them in the ride for now.  They're just recovery songs so in my opinion they're not quite as important as some of the other songs.




Get What You Give - New Radicals - 3:54
Warm up

Sweet Child of Mine - Guns N' Roses - 5:56
First hill, 5 minute version.
2 minutes seated, 1 minute standing, 2 minutes seated, followed by 1 minute flat/downhill.
Adding resistance every minute or so, starting with a moderate hill (about a 5 out of 10).

Dance Dance - Fall Our Boy - 3:00
First hill, 3 minute version.  This is the same hill we just climbed but we have to do it in (considerably) less time.  Go go go!
1 minute seated, 1 minute standing, 1 minute seated.  Adding resistance every 45 seconds or so, with the goal of keeping the resistance the same as it was on the 5 minute version.

Halo/Walking On Sunshine - Glee - 2:06
Recover and get ready for hill #2

Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - Michael Jackson - 6:02
Second hill, 5 minutes up.
I use this as my spur of the moment hill, meaning that I don't plan out what I'll do until class starts.  This morning I did 2 standing, 1 seated, 2 standing.  Then back to the flat road for 1 minute downhill.

Amazing - Seal - 3:02
Second hill, 3 minute version.
Once again, mimic the 5 minute version, but pick up the pace and squeeze it in in 3 minutes.

Sweet Caroline - Glee - 2:00
Recover before our last repeat

City of Blinding Lights - U2 - 5:50
Third (and final) hill.  Seated 2 minutes, run 1 minute, standing climb 2 minutes.  Again, starting at 5/10 and adding resistance as desired.

Magic - B.o.B. (feat Rivers Cuomo) - 3:16
Final 3 minute version.  Seated 1 minute, running 1 minute, standing 1 minute.  Keep that pace up!  We should be nice and out of breath by the end.

Animal - Neon Trees - 3:32
Short (I said short) recovery on the flat and then right in to sprints.  First one is at :45, second at 1:38, third from 2:36 to the end of the song.  Use the chorus as your guide for when to sprint.

Take It Off - Ke$ha - 3:35
Love Is Gone - David Guetta and Chris Willis - 3:21
Final two songs are tough.  Let's do some jumps.  Counts of 8-4-2.  Recover quickly, add moderate resistance and start with one minute of 8 counts, followed by one minute of 4, then one minute of 2.  You may need to adjust the duration a bit, but the plan is to jump for at least 6 minutes.  Good news is, once this is done, the work is over.

Crazy - K-Ci & JoJo - 3:40
Cool down!!!!


Thoughts?  Comments?  Questions?  If you have any good ride ideas or just songs you'd like to see added (or are currently loving), drop me a comment.

Happy Spinning!!!

Spin Ride Saturday

Since I initially started this blog with the intent of posting spin rides and have been slacking, I'm going to work on fixing that.

The plan...Spin Ride Saturdays.

This one is called Summer Spin...me and my creative names.  Ha!  I have both a 45 and 60 minute version for this one so I'll include both. 

45 Minute

Beautiful Day, U2 - 4:08
Warm up

Hot in Here, Nelly - 3:50
Seated climb, the fun begins.  Don't let it get too heavy, there's still a bunch of climbing to come.

California Gurlz, Katie Perry feat. Snoop - 3:54
Come out to standing 2 for a run.  On the chorus come out to three for speed bursts.  Then back to the run, and so on.

Summertime - Will Smith - 4:30
Back to a seated climb.  At this point we're starting to feel that hill getting a little heavy.  Don't max out, still 2 more songs to go.

Summerlove - Justin Timberlake - 4:13
Alternate 30 seconds in the saddle with 30 seconds out in 3.  Add resistance as you wish but remember there's still one more climbing song to go, so let's not try to kill our riders. :)

Heat of the Moment, Asia - 3:52
Standing climb, let's finish up this hill.  Picking up the pace on the chorus, very heavy in the end.

I Get Around, Beach Boys - 2:15
Recover

Sweat (A La La La La Long), Inner Circle - 3:45
Light climb, jumping (6 or 4 counts) on the chorus.  Add a little resistance throughout to be sure that everyone feels a moderate hill by the end of the song.

Sandstorm, Darude - 3:45
There are two one minute sprints on a hill on this song.  The first starts at :29 the second is 2:29 (i think).  It's nearly impossible to go slow to this song, it just breeds energy.  Remember, it's a sprint, but it's seated on a hill so the legs shouldn't look out of control.

Cruel Summer, Bananarama - 3:26
Don't touch the resistance from the previous song.  Climbing, your choice as to the saddle/standing mix up.

Panama, Van Halen - 3:32
Final song.  Big hill.  Out in 3, adding resistance to get to a heavy hill.  If I'm sensing good energy I'll make them go from standing 3 to the saddle for 5 counts each.  Mix it up, have fun, but make them work as it's the last song.

Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett - 4:10
Cool down

Now here's the 60 minute version, use the same beginning including Cruel Summer, then skip Panama and use the following songs.

Summer Rain, ATB - 4:23
Heavy climb, ideally out of the saddle.  Play with pace and resistance.

All Summer Long, Kid Rock - 4:59
Recover.  This is a long song so I usually have those that feel up for it put a light road on and pick up their pace to a slightly uncomfortable level.

Good Vibrations, Marky Mark - 4:30
Seated climb, moderate hill.  Adding some resistance throughout but try to keep it moderate/heavy.

Boys of Summer, the Ataris - 4:18
Moderate hill still, sprinting against the resistance on the chorus.  Feel free to add as the song progresses, thus challenging them further on each sprint.

Panama, Van Halen - 3:32
Heavy hill, just like in the 45 minute version.  Last effort.

Margaritaville
Cool down

While the summer is definitely on it's way out, it might be fun to do a themed ride in February or March, maybe even buying some leis or something silly like that.  Just an idea.

Happy spinning!

Ready, Set.....SPIN!

Good morning!  Happy FRIDAY!

I'm all confused about what day it is since I was away the past few days, which made today feel like a Monday.  Plus I was covering the 6a spin, which is normal for a Monday, not for a Friday.

But it's Friday, wooohoooo!

So today I thought I'd explain about getting my first spin class.  Whenever anyone asks me about one of my proudest accomplishments (usually in a job interview), this is what I tell them.

I went for my certification on August 1st.  So that part was done.  I had spoken with someone at the gym prior to my class so I knew I'd be able to get on to the sub list.  So I went in and had to do a little audition in order to officially be added to the sub list (and payroll).  Done.

I was so excited to be on the list and to start getting emails for subs.  I was on the NY and CT lists.  I'd get lots of emails but none of them were for CT, which was so frustrating.  Here I was, chomping at the bit, and NO ONE in CT seemed to need a sub.  Finally a desperate last minute plea came out for a class in White Plains, NY.  I emailed the woman and said that I could do it, but did tell her that it would be my first time teaching.  But she took a chance on me.  That gave me the courage that I needed to actively try to get my own class.

I learned that a Saturday 10a class was available at my home club, so I called the manager and told her I'd like to be considered.  She said she wasn't sure she wanted someone new, so she'd get back to me.  What she meant by that was that she'd call everyone possible to see if any of them wanted the class.  Apparently no one did, so she called me back to say the class was mine.  I could tell she wasn't thrilled, but I used this as ammo to fuel my fire.

Some background:  There's a 9a and a 10a on Saturday.  It used to be that the same guy taught both, and he ran straight from 9a until 10:45a, with no break.  The gym didn't like this because people felt weird walking in at 10a since he didn't break.  So they decided to put a new instructor in that second time slot.

My first class was interesting.  The guy before me shot daggers with his eyes.  He instantly hated me because I had taken his class away from him.  Similarly, his class felt loyal to him and didn't want to take my class.  I think my first few classes had maybe 3-4 people.  When I hit 8 people it was significant.

Teaching to an empty class sucks, but I knew I was good so I persevered.  And slowly those numbers started coming up.  I'd sub for the Sunday teachers and plug my Saturday class.  They'd enjoy me as a sub, so they'd come over to my class on Saturdays.  Slowly it started improving.

It's been tough, but it's been SO worth it.  I've even had a few people who have stopped taking his 9a and now take my 10a instead.  I have a loyal following and my class is usually pretty close to full.  It's truly invigorating to me to think about how things started and where they are now. 

It makes me proud and confident and reminds me that doing something you love really does show through.  You need to be passionate and when you are, your enthusiasm shines through, and that's what people want.

So there's my feel good story for a Friday.  Go enjoy your weekend!!

Spin Odyssey in Shape Magazine

Shape magazine was the big sponsor of Spin Odyssey in March.

If you look at the June issue of Shape (Kim Kardashian is on the cover), you'll see this.

Pardon the lousy quality, I just took a picture of the page with my point and shoot.  But the fact of the matter is that our event was listed in a national magazine, pretty cool.

Hanging Around

Happy Thursday!  I'm glad the week is starting to wind down.

This is what I did this morning.

Yup, took some of my freshly washed gym clothes and hung them up on my newly hung clothesline!  While doing so I also told the birds that this was not a new place for them to perch, as bird poop on my clean clothes is not the goal.

You can't really tell, but three of the five bottoms hanging up are cycling shorts.  Do you wear them?

First I had one pair, then realized that I should probably have more, so I bought two more pairs.  So now I have three, which is not enough and I need to get another pair or two.

Do you ride with cycling shorts?  If you don't, I'd recommend you give it a try.

Now this may be TMI, but I ended up getting a blister from cycling in a rather private area.  Lovely, right? 

So cycling shorts were the only way to ride without being in extreme pain when sitting.  My issue has since cleared up so I decided to give a ride in regular pants, umm no.  I was in shock as to how hard and uncomfortable the saddle felt, especially after having used cycling shorts exclusively for a few weeks now.

While they aren't extremely flattering they do make a HUGE difference and i'd definintely recommend them for anyone who spins more than a few times a week.  To quote Ariel from the Little Mermaid, "it's a whole new world."  Hahaha (i'm cracking myself up here).

Cheers!

Spinning for Beginners

When I first started teaching, I really wanted to teach a beginner class.  I felt that the gyms should offer an "intro to spinning" class once a month, because as I know better than anyone, Spinning classes look intimidating.

I took my first spin class about 5 or 6 years ago and I was scared.  At that point my mother had been spinning for years and she encouraged me to try it.  So I agreed that I'd try it, but first, I needed to prepare.  I put myself on a training regimen where I'd ride the stationary bike every day, eventually working up to 45 minutes.  Once I got there I told myself I was ready for a spin class.

The day before my first class I called in and reserved a space in the 6:30 class.  Phew.  The next day, on my way to that class, I realized that I hadn't specified AM or PM and sure enough found out I was on the AM list.  Uh oh!  I had a mini freak out thinking that my well laid out plans of starting would be thrown off.  The staff assured me there was room, I hoped they were right.  I showed up at least 15 minutes early so that I'd have plenty of time to talk with the instructor and get the lay of the land.   The class was a success and the rest is so-called history.

The point of my story is that I was freaked out by Spin.  I had been a regular at the gym for years but Spinning intimidated me.

This morning I got a call from the Group Exercise Manager at one of my clubs asking me if I'd like to teach a beginner class next week.  Of course I said YES!!!

So now I'm off to plan out a nice introductory ride.  Any suggestions are welcome.  Were you scared your first time?

T - 6 Days Until 6 Hours of Spinning

I've spoken before about Spin Odyssey, a spin-a-thon to benefit breast cancer research, that I will be participating in.

Well now it's hard for me to believe that it's less than one week away!

I figured I'd plug it one last time and see if any of my readers were feeling generous.  I know times are tight but if you can spare $1, $5 or really anything, here's the link to my donation page.

http://www.active.com/donate/SO2010/Bondell

I'm really excited to be involved in such an inspiring event.  The training ride I participated in on Valentine's day was inspiring with only about 30 people, so I can't wait to feel the energy at the actual event.  I definitely plan on bringing my camera and I'll share pictures ASAP.

Let's find a cure!

Endurance?

This past weekend I had a 3 hour training ride (Spinning) for my upcoming Spin Odyssey event (http://www.spinodyssey.org/).  I'll admit, I was NERVOUS.  While I have taught 3 classes in one day, I have never done three hours consecutively and between you and me, I wasn't even sure I could do it.
But, I did do it and it felt great!
The difference between a 3 hour ride and a 45 minute ride is also the subject of this post, ENDURANCE.  Like many spin instructors (and students), when we teach (or take) a 45 minute class, the goal is to work hard and sweat.  I feel like if I don't make the class work hard, they're going to leave feeling cheated and then maybe never come back to my class.
However when you're riding for 180 minutes, the goal has to be different.  The first hour of the ride was completely "endurance" training.  While we moved through different positions and resistance, the goal was to never get our heart rate over 75%, which for me is somewhere around 145 beats per minute.  Sometimes this meant going slower than my natural inclination or using less resistance than I'd normally strive for.
So while it was very different than what I'm used to, I enjoyed it.  It forced me to be in touch with my body and how it was feeling.  I was one of the few people wearing a heart rate monitor so I was able to compare how I felt with my actual effort.
The next two hours were a bit more varied, but still with more of an endurance theme than an all out effort.  Which when you think about it, is really how a 3 hour ride has to be.
I spoke with my sister after the ride.  She's currently training for a half marathon and then perhaps the full.  She's on a pretty structured schedule and told me that 90% of our training should in fact be endurance, especially when the goal is a significant distance or time.
It makes perfect sense.
However my dilemma still comes back to my 45 minute class.  Most of the students don't wear heart rate monitors so i'm not sure that they'll be true to themselves in how their body feels and then end up leaving the class thinking it was "easy".  The mentality of a casual spinner is to work hard, so I'm just not sure that the level of student I teach will be accepting of the fact that endurance is a key part of any training regiment.  But really, that's my issue.
I definitely plan on incorporating more endurance training in to my rides, it's just a question for me, of finding the right balance.