You spin me right round, baby, right round!

I have been going to a spinning class every Thursday for the last three weeks. The class is held at my gym, LA Fitness, and is called "Cycle." I have heard others talk about this class and had always wanted to try it out. But the intimidation overwhelmed me. I always heard how difficult the class was, but also how great a workout it was. I finally worked up the courage to pursue my first spinning class. I invited three friends who were also members of the gym to come with me; none of them could. I didn't want to go the first time on my own... but I had already mentally prepared myself to go so I finally decided to just go for it! I arrived at the gym and the instructor was very helpful. She showed me how to set up my bike and showed me how to change the resistance. I had my water bottle, my towel, and I was ready to go!

What I found is that I LOVE SPINNING!!!! It is a difficult class, but you control your own bike. The instructor will tell you to increase the resistance on your bike, and you can move the lever at the rate that is appropriate for your own fitness level. The most difficult part of the class was for one whole song we stood up for 8 seconds, sat for 8 seconds, up for 8, down for 8, and so on. We did this while pedaling quickly at a high resistance level. It was like doing squats on the bike!

The intensity of a spinning class is determined by the following three factors:

- Your resistance

- Speed of pedaling

- Your body position (sitting in the saddle, standing straight up without weight on your handle bars, or standing and learning forward on your handle bars)

I try to push myself a little more each week. I get a wonderful workout and I don't even have to wear a helmet!