CLICK HERE FOR FREE BLOGGER TEMPLATES, LINK BUTTONS AND MORE! »

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Want To Get Fit?

Okay, it is no secret that I love fitness and being healthy.  I really do.  I have been a super slacker over the past year however.  No lie!  I have been more than disappointed in how I have slacked off from my physical exercise. 

However, I have re-entered the gym and also am doing a spin class which I will say is pretty great.  I didn't know what "spinning" was until about April of this year and then I wasn't able to attend due to my surgery but I have been going for 3 weeks now.  Isn't it amazing what just a little exercise can make you feel like? 

What Happens in a Spinning Class?


Imagine a whole bunch of exercise bikes lined up inside a health club studio. Riders are on each one, spinning the pedals at a rapid pace. The lights are turned down, pumped up music fills the air and an instructor with a headset sits atop a lead bike, calling out commands.

"Climb out of the saddle," she barks at the class. "Big hill coming!"

The riders rise as one, pedals spinning faster as they grimace with exertion, sweat dripping off their bodies.

What you're witnessing is a spinning class, a workout option available at fitness clubs everywhere. Spinning is a relatively recent phenomenon, where participants take part in a group workout on exercise bikes that typically lasts anywhere from 30-75 minutes. The classes are lead by instructors who normally guide participants through a series of phases, from warm-up to more challenging phases, to a period of peak effort followed by a cool down.

In spinning classes, the intensity of the workout is influenced by a couple of things:
  • cadence, or pedal rate
  • resistance of the bike's flywheel, which can be continually adjusted throughout the class to make pedaling easier or more difficult
  • by the rider's body position, as they either pedal from a seated position or rise from the saddle.
Ultimately participants determine their own levels of exertion, something that works better for some folks than others.

But a good instructor can certainly encourage and motivate you to push yourself, and you'll most likely find spinning to be a vigorous workout. It's a decent way to stay in shape when you can't get outside on the bike.



Calories? Ab Challenge? What is all this?


I have seen numerous posts on this 300 Ab Challenge and finally came across the blog that gives you step by step instructions on how to do it.  This blog also has a TON of great information.  Some of which I have copied and pasted here.  Including the link below.  It is an assessment based on the information you enter.  I printed mine off and intend to utilize it. 


I am a very visual person.  I need to see things to understand them.  I don't think I am ignorant, but I just need visuals to get the full effect.  Just like when I start a class, I like to observe the first go round and then once I get an idea of how things are to be done, it just makes me feel more at ease.  I am sure I am not the only person out there that understands what I am saying and if I am well then so be it.

On this blog she has a bunch of great graphics that I am going to post on here.  I really liked them.







I hope I can stay with this regimen I am setting up for myself but lets face it, life happens and ultimately my children come first, not the gym.  I do randomly do crunches or what.have.you at home, I don't necessarily need the gym.  Anyway, if this is at all helpful to some of you, then my job is done. 

No comments: