Spin to Win!!

When I first started out in cycling, if there were two girls there, that was successful; but now, if there are 20 girls there, it's just unbelievable. The growth of the sport is just incredible.

Laura Trott

If you've followed my blog for a while, you'll know that I like to keep fit. I love running in the fresh air and I'm very fortunate that I live near one of London's huge green spaces however, I will confess to being a bit of a fair weather runner, I don't do running in the rain which in the UK is a bit of a problem - I read somewhere that we've just had the wettest August on record!

I do a little treadmill work in the gym however, I find it incredibly boring subsequently, I've tried lots of alternatives to remain trim. I love the evening classes I do including one I originally had to be dragged to by a friend who kept banging on about how much I'd enjoy it. After lots of sighing and eye rolling, I joined him at a spin cycling class. I don't do cycling, in my line of work I've seen the results of cyclists versus vehicle and its ugly, I can't understand why anyone would even consider cycling in city traffic, it's madness!

Spin takes place in the relative safety of the spin studio in the gym however, that's not why I love it.

Spinning is perfect if you are recently recovering from an injury or surgery or just need to take things a little more gently. Don’t get me wrong, you can still get a great workout, but as the bike is stationary there is no risk that you will come off or collide with another cyclist. It also means you can focus on what really matters in class, working towards your fitness goals at your own pace. If you've not come across spinning, whilst everyone in a class follows the banter of the instructor, you set the resistance at a level that suits your level of fitness and experience.

Spin has huge health benefits. Spin is a fantastic way of improving your cardiovascular health, something most of neglect to a certain extent. In addition, like all exercise the activity releases a burst of endorphins. Endorphins, or happy hormones interact with receptors in your brain and trigger positive feelings in your body. This brings me to something I'm a passionate advocate of, using exercise as a way of reducing stress!

One of the best advantages of a spin class is the increase in muscle definition in your legs and core. I'm sure I don’t need to tell you how important the strength of your core is, it basically holds your body upright. As you start to build more lean muscle definition you are likely to put on weight, don't be put off though, essentially muscle weighs more than fat. On the flip side, your body shape will change in all the right places. Plus, the more muscle-mass you have the more calories your body burns day to day, even when resting!

One of the biggest benefits for me though is the social element. When you’re doing Body Pump or Zumba or even Pilates, you’re kind of focused on you as an individual – unless you’re in a Zumba class with me and the focus is on trying not to laugh at me going in the wrong direction or falling over – with spin you’re kind of working as a team, the instructor shouts, “effort level 6” and all of a sudden your all climbing up a hill, then “change” and you’re down to level 3 puffing and panting together, you look around and everyone is like, “that was tough!!” The class I go to is fifty, fifty boys to girls and it’s the only class I do really, where at the end of it people ask each other for a coffee or a beer or a glass of wine, I mean we do in the other classes but with spin, the team spirit seems to transcend the class into something more social – it might be different in your club, but that’s how it works in mine.

What’s on this week?