A few days ago, I was lamenting that I would soon have to give up my after-work pint as I was losing the battle of the bulge. My good friend Barry who like me is a smoker-who-doesn’t-smoke-anymore and was inspirational to quite a few of us in that regard, used his usual delicacy to throw down the gauntlet.
“You know, if we got off our arses we could have both - drop twenty pounds and enjoy a good meal and a pint now and then.” He then issued a more specific challenge: if I sussed out the schedule, he’d join me for an early morning “spin”. It so happens that equidistant between our houses is a great bike shop that offers spinning sessions. I’d heard about spinning from Carol, who is a spinning-zealot, but I was always a little apprehensive. Images of myself receiving CPR in a puddle of my own sweat while a bunch of yuppies dressed in multi-coloured lycra looked on always kept me out of the spin cycle.
But Barry’s challenge pushed me over the edge.
Cut to he and I, bleary-eyed and slightly hung-over, standing in the dark of early morning, wearing gym clothes that were wrinkled from 4 years of rolled-up slumber. We were greeted by Joanne, a lithe instructor who recognized our virginity and declared good-heartedly that we would probably “cough up a lung.”
But we didn’t. In fact, I have to admit that while it was a bit of work, all in all—it felt great. I began to understand why people love it. The music, the push and pull of Joanne’s pacing, the communal experience of people with varying fitness levels virtual-riding together: it’s invigorating.
I always shy away from making pronouncements of conversion. But we did commit to going again, after some business travel and scheduling snafus get out of the way, and I think we will. In fact, I think we’ll go quite a few times, and maybe be a bit better off as a result.
The last thing Barry said to me, noting that I had picked up the tab and he would repay me on the next go ’round, was that as long as he owed me, I’d never be poor. Well, I do owe him. I owe him for prompting me to get off my arse and giving spinning a whirl. It’s great.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Donna Papacostas // Apr 15, 2008 at 10:29 am
Glad you didn’t lose that lung! Have fun with the spinning.
2 Jesse, himself. // Apr 15, 2008 at 10:38 am
Feeling great all morning, although I’ve heard that there can be a fairly major cramp-up a little later in the day.
I should be at my local when that happens so at least I’ll be able to self-medicate :) !
3 Pat Trueman // Apr 16, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Go Jesse Go!!!! Wow I am impressed! I tried spinning once and I thought I was going to die after the session You must have very good stamina…you know you can always add to your routine a 6 AM jog with Tim. All the best in your athletic endeavours!
4 Jesse, himself. // Apr 17, 2008 at 7:29 am
That one was tough. Today’s the day off, thankfully.
I’d love to jog with Tim but I’m so out of shape I’m afraid he’d have to carry me back over his shoulder. He told me his route: it’s roughly 200 km … I’d be on the road for days :)
Thanks for joining the conversation, Pat!
5 Donnie Bowes // Apr 30, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Great to see that you’re moving. 6AM is bit early for me. But whatever works for you is the main thing. I, like Tim, am a runner. I’m also particularly buzzed about my activity right now since I’ve just been able to continue my sport after a bout with arthritis in my foot. With the help of orthotics and the right runners I’m back at it. Always say it’s as much for my head as it is for my heart. And I agree with Barry–you can have both: the chance to be fit and enjoy some good food. Kind of a love/hate relationship this running is for me. But you feel like a well-tuned car after you do. And you can pop the odd chocolate or pork chop in your mouth afterwards without seeing it manifest itself on your rear end. Yeah, know what you mean about the nightmarish image of being surrounded by multi-coloured shapes in bicycle shorts (there oughta be a law). So the group thing is not for me. I like my torture solitary. The only distraction to running out here in the country where I work is folks stopping to offer you a ride. But all in all, it’s great. And as long as there are folks showing off their tight lycra outfits, I’ll continue to enjoy running as far and as fast as I can in the opposite direction.
Good spinning! You’re gonna see the benefits real soon!
6 Jesse, himself. // May 20, 2008 at 10:39 am
Today was Spin #16 and I’m lovin’ every minute of it. A little tough some days to get there for 6am, but winding down to the last fifteen minutes, you can feel the envigoration building for the day. Is envigoration a word? It is now!
I may be joining you in the running game, but I’ve never really taken to it. But beggars can’t be choosers. As you know, this summer, I’ll be away from my Spin centre. Gotta have something to fill the gap.
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