Spin or Sin?

In this post I will inform you about another passion of mine which has replaced men. And that passion is Spin. After living in a purely male house who do not understand the word sensitivity if it hit them, and the fact I could no longer fit into a size 8 pair of shorts, I joined the gym January 2012! At first I was sceptical if it would do much good for my already pretty slim body, but surely exercise of any kind was beneficial, if not for aestetic purposes but for internal health at least! In I walk, to find a small room which resembled my year 6 disco, crammed with bikes. And on these bikes, my fellow spinners. This motley crew seemed to comprise of various groups.

These include the Serial Spinners, these had reserved bikes, cleats (which for those of you not in the know are the metal clips on the bottom of shoes which attach to the pedals) and most had also just completed the previous class! These also had a full gym outfit, probably bought from the mix and match section in Ashford Outlet. However, I wasn't about to mess with a 50 year old in nothing but a sports bra and cycling shorts...

Then came the Insecure Spinners, these were most likely very very overweight and nervous about their ability so placed themselves right at the back to not be seen, or by the door ready for a quick escape. These did not know the prime spots for air conditioning (the front) which is essential if you don't wish to drown in your own sweat mid class.

The male spinners, these were the only spinners immune to the sever after effects of such a hard racing saddle, since it was designed for their anatomy...they also had calve muscles of steel and always soldiered on. There energy may also have been due to the fact that most us younger girls arrived in Primark leggings, which arent made from the most opaque material...no wonder they all reserved all the bikes leaving us to cycle only directly infront of them!

The Slacking Spinners are the most devious, these tend to have dodgy laces, which need re-tying every other song, as well as their hair which needed rearranging for 3 minutes, and of course they were blessed with dodgy bikes which meant they had to get off and readjust their saddle during the sprinting meaning they only take part in the warm up and cool down. DEVIOUS. And I thought high resistance referred to the gears not the participants!

The OA-sPinnners of the class, were more ripped than most teenage boys I know, matched perfectly with dark brown leather skin from years of sunbeds, these clearly only came to keep updated with 'club chart music'. I will never forget the evening I had to spin opposite a 60 year old leather purse singing 'turn me on' by David Guetta. Unfortunately the bike was stationary and no matter how hard I pedalled I could not escape that nightmare situation!

Then, there were the Newbies such as myself. Not only did we not know the prime spots, we didn't know any of the moves nor did we know just how HARD this was going to be. Another way to spot the new comers is by their flying legs! This refers to the fear that strikes them mid sprint as the weighted wheels suddenly spin faster than they can control their legs, resulting in them retracting their legs from the pedals hovering them in the air for safety, but actually subjecting them to good few whacks in the shins of the continuing pedals! After my first class, I was well and truly shattered, and honestly felt like some sort of plague had hit me!

One year on, and I'd like to consider myself in the Serial Spinner category, my stamina has definitely improved and I have had many comments about how MUCH weight I have lost, which although complimentary has alerted me to the fact that I clearly must have been carrying MUCH weight before in order to lose it! Never the less, Spin is much like childbirth, horrific and painful. A pain that is immediately repressed consequently leading to booking a future class and being reminding how horrible it really is again and again three times a week. However, as you can see the social aspect of this has given me much entertainment and for this reason, and this reason alone, I will not miss a class!!!