What are you waiting for?  Go check it out!

DCAC was last weekend.  Did you attend?   I didn’t so much attend as I shopped.   But I picked up some fun new toys.  In no particular order….

2 new Spinning CD’s.  You can find both of these on the Spinning website.  Aethernal is funky and I love it.   I think Cassiopea is more of traditional  spinning music with heavy beats  meant to be used during a Race Day Ride.   It may make an apperance on Saturday. 

Spinning Ride Book.  How cool is this?  Pressed for time?  Want an Endurance Energy Zone ride?  Well it’s right here in this handy dandy book.  52 profiles/5 Energy Zones, all created by Spinning Master Instructors.  I’m already looking through it to plan Saturday’s ride. 

And…….a Pilates Stick! 

 Arghh!  I’ve been waiting since June for this bad boy.  Which really isn’t a long time, but considering I wanted to buy it at WSSC, but couldn’t because I am the queen of over-packing and ran out of room, it feels like a long time to me.  I love this.  It’s like having a reformer in your house.  Am hoping my abs will start to look like her’s….

…after some hard work of course. (and airbrushing?!?!)

We had an amazing ride on Saturday and I apologize for not posting the playlist and profiler earlier.  I ended up in a teaching trifecta last week with a 9am Spinning, 10am Spinning and 11am Total Body Conditioning.  This profile is from the 10am class.  And it will rock your face off.   It’s an Endurance Energy Zone profile.  And to answer one of the members’ questions:  is this your new favorite way to ride?  I say Hell yeah!  I do love Endurance.  First of all, I like it when I can find that mental and physical “zone.”  That feeling when you lose yourself in the ride, nothing exists beyond the bike the Spinning room, and you are just present in the moment.  Hmmm, love it!  Secondly, I have noticed changes in my body from riding Endurance like this a couple of times a week.  My heart rates comes down much faster on recoveries & I feel stronger.   So here it is.  I hope you love it as much as I do:      

Spinning #66: ENDURANCE of Four Rolling Hills  9 Songs 49.5 minutes.  Find the iTunes iMix here. 

Midnight Star (Oasis vs. The chemical Brothers)—DJ Lobsterdust (4:43)  Warm Up.  This ride is going to be an Endurance ride of 4 rolling hills.  Each a little steeper and longer than the last.  The objective of this training is to stay within your aerobic training zone:  Zone 2 or 65-75% of MHR. 

The Earth Rotation Around the Sun—Wolfmother (2:46)  Seated flat, find your road resistance –moderate…breathable.

Lights Out—Santigold (3:13)  Add road and focus your thoughts on your pedal strokes.  Do some smooth pedal work, isolating first the right, then the left leg. 

The Adventure—Angels & Airwaves (5:13)  First Roller..Mild climb. Guide your heart rate up to 75% of max (or  moderately hard, conversation would require effort)

• Progressively add resistance until your hit your seated climb
• Seated Climb until 4:20:  unload hill, maintain HR

They Don’t Want Music—Black Eyed Peas with James Brown (6:47)  2^nd rolling hill

• Use first 1min 30 seconds to add to the flywheel
• Hold Seated Climb 1:30-4:45
• 4:45-5:45 easy smooth transitions of switch backs
• 5:45-END:  Unload the hill, maintain the road and your heart rate

Back In Your Head (Tiesto Remix)—Tegan and Sarah (8:10)  3^rd Rolling hill 

• Take 3 minutes to find the hill (steeper than the first 2)
• 3:00-7:00  Seated Climb…add a gear.  Hold cadence and HR steady
• At 7:00 Unload the hill, back down.  Maintain HR

Papua New Guinea (Translation 1-12”Originial)—The Future Sound of London (5:00)  Start  the last rolling hill, which is 2 songs long.  This is part one:

• 0-1:30 Add road, get ready to go up and over
• 1:30-3:00, make it steeper
• 3:00-4:30, add more load, but keep your HR in check
• 4:30-END…Seated Climb

Heaven—Angels & Airwaves (6:38)  Part two— Stay in Seated Climb for first 4:15 minutes

• 4:15-5:07  Easy smooth transitions on switch backs. 
• At 5:07  Final Seated climb to the end.  HOLD ON!

Rimini Chill (Lost In Paradise)—Islands of Chill (7:07) cool down and stretch

Amazing, right?!?!!

Unfortunately, the blackberries were picked over by the time we made it there, but the peaches were all ready for us.  Little did we know, but we arrived just as the hayride was leaving for the orchard. (yes, I said “hayride” though it was more of a covered wagon, don’t you just love the countryness of it?) 

With no time to run back to the car to dump our purses Em and I boarded the wagon complete with our fancy-pants city purses.  Yes, we looked absolutely ridiculous, but not nearly as silly as we looked toting them through the orchard.  Nothing like carrying a giant purse as you fondled peaches… 

Peaches….

Peaches…

And more peaches….

When was the last time you actually ate something that you picked with your own hands?  It was fantastic!  Want to know what was even more fantastic than handpicked peaches?  Um, the Bluemont Vineyard that was conveniently located right across the street.  Hell yeah!  That’s my kind of a Sunday, which was preceded by a pretty nice Saturday too.  2 Spinning classes, back to back.  I used the same profile and playlist for both.  As an aside, it always fascinates me how different the energy of the ride will be from 9am to 10am.  Especially when I teach the same profile….hmmmm… 

This ride is based on Paul’s Hyperspace Spin Mix on one of my favorite spinning blogs:  Spinning Music.  Of course I had to shorten his original ride (his is 75 minutes long) & I changed a few songs around (‘cause I’m picky like that).  But overall, it’s nearly identical to his original ride.  This is Spinning #65:  14 songs, 50.3 minutes.  Find the iTunes iMix here. 

The ride is divided into three segments.  Each segment has 2 climbs, followed by a seated flat.  Our goal is to add nine heart beats by the end of each segment.  The ride will get progressively harder.  Try and maintain your intensity all the way to the end. 

The Warm Up

No Love Lost—LCD Soundsystem (3:40)  Find road resistance, just ride and loosen up. 

Gel—Collective Soul (2:58)  Keep your heart rate around 60-65% Max: feeling comfortable, you could converse with little effort.

All My Life—Foo Fighters (4:24) Seated flat, heart rate should be at 65% by end of this song.  Come in and out of the saddle with the chorus.   

Segment 1—by the end of this, be at 70% MHR or a moderate effort

Out of the Blue—Julian Casablancas (4:41)  Standing climb.  The work is beginning

Cream and Bastards Rise—Harvey Danger (3:18)  Keep the standing climb going strong.  Conversation would require some effort.  Cadence is a little faster

I Want You to Want Me—Letters to Cleo (3:26)  Seated flat.

Segment 2—by the end of this, be at 75% MHR or Moderately hard effort

Prophecy—Remy Zero (3:24)  Seated climb.   Conversation would require a bit more of effort.

Hyperspace—Nada surf (4:36)  Standing climb.  A little faster. 

I’ll Be Your Jonny On the Spot—Ween (2:00)  Seated flat.  Should be at 75% intensity.

(Final) Segment 3—by the end of this, be at 80-85% MHR or Difficult to Very Difficult effort

In My Head—Queens of the Stone Age (4:01)  Standing climb.  Find your comfortably uncomfortable zone & work it.

Who Taught You to Live Like That?—Sloan (3:02)  Seated climb.  Conversation requires a lot of effort. 

The ’59 Sound—The Gaslight Anthem (3:13)  Kill it with 3 sprints (a la Mad Dogg)

Cool Down/Stretch—bring yourself back down to 60% max, all the way back to your starting point

The Fear—Lily Allen (3:27)

Better Together—Jack Johnson (4:15) 

I found the main challenge in managing my intensity.  It’s a test of your control not to hit the first segment too hard.  You must listen to your body & watch your heart rate.  And the intensity just builds and builds and builds.  I’m not going to lie, the back half of this ride really bites, but feels good! 

My teaching schedule for this Saturday at WSC-Alexandria:

• 9am Spinning (subbing for Deirdre)
• 10am Spinning—I’m working on an Endurance ride for us.  We’ll see how that develops….regardless, wear your padded shorts & heart rate monitors!
• 11am Total Body Conditioning

Whew, it’s going to be an awesome Saturday!  And sometime this weekend I’m going to hit up the Trade Show at DCAC.  I didn’t sign up for the conference since many of the courses are similar to ones I took at WSSC in June…but I need to get my shop on.  I’m thinking another Spinning CD (or two), maybe some Pilates educational stuff, and a jersey if I’m lucky. 

One last mention:   Happy Birthday to Erica, one of my best friends in the whole wide world!  And, incidentally, the one who inspired me to become a Spinning Instructor.  Happy Birthday!!!

We left Thursday night.  A little later than usual, but that’s typical.  Said goodbye to the pooches and hit road.  A little bit into the drive I started turning into an ice cube due to PJK’s relentless use of the air conditioner.  After unsuccessfully warming myself by curling into a ball I started to ask, and possibly get a little naggy, about stopping so I could get some sweat pants out of my suitcase.  It was at this point that PJK turned to me & said the following:

PJK:  I have a funny feeling I didn’t put your suitcase in the car.

Me: What do you mean?  I saw you take it outside.

PJK:  Yes, but I don’t remember putting it in the trunk.  I remember taking it to the car and sitting it next to the bumper, but I don’t remember actually placing it in the trunk.

Me: (silence + death stare)

Luckily we were sitting in stop-and-go traffic, and I had about 5 seconds to jump out of the car & check the trunk.  Which I did, quickly & swiftly (like a ninja).  Can you guess what I saw in there?  Yep, everything but my suitcase. 

We were in Delaware. 

My suitcase was in the parking lot in Virginia. 

And it was midnight. 

Do you know how hard it is to get a neighbor on the phone at midnight on a Thursday to see if they will a.) Look outside & see if my suitcase still is, in fact there and b.) Bring my suitcase inside, because I’ll be home about 2 hours to retrieve it. 

That’s right, we turned around and drove right back home.  I have a feeling PJK wasn’t too thrilled with this plan, but everything (seriously, everything) I needed for the weekend was in that suitcase.  If it was even still there…which I did not know at that point.   Mad love to my house sitter for answering his phone,  recovering the bag, bringing it inside & tolerating our 2 am entrance and departure the next day.  A thousand thank yous!

Regardless of our rocky start, the weekend and wedding was fantastic.  As I mentioned it was in New Jersey at the Crystal Springs Resort.  Who knew NJ looked like this?

There were these giant hamster balls and this sweet cliff to jump off into the pool. 

And I’m not confirming anything, but there may have been some unauthorized cliff jumping around 1am after the reception.  

Oh, and they had these fantastic group exercise classes….I took a kick-butt yoga class on Saturday morning.  It felt sooo good to stretch after being in the car for so long.   

Here’s our standard wedding self-portrait:

Check back next week for a proper post, complete with a profile & playlist. 

Have you been watching?  I have…well, sporadically anyway.  I was so motivated by the racing that I had it set in my mind that this week I wanted to teach a profile inspired by this incredible race.  Rather than creating my own (we all know most of my free time last week was spent Body Pumping my brains out) I did the only thing I know how:  Google it!

In addition to a kick ass TDF profile, I found another great group fitness site:  GroupFitPower.  For Saturday’s ride I borrowed Krista’s Spinning Profile:  TDF 2007, Stage 15 (SEZ).  You can find her post about this ride by clicking here…although it was originally designed by Patrick Schutte.  Don’t you just love that about the Spinning community?  We all genuinely help each other out and in turn, we all become better instructors. 

I made a few musical changes & had to eliminate one song completely to adhere to our 45 minute class layout.  My playlist ended up looking like this: 

Walk On the Wild Side—DJ Disse (7:09)

Break On Through—DJ Disse (5:57)

Crash—Cavo (3:15)

Fever—Black Lagoon (4:02)

Wild and Young—American Bang (3:36)

Every Morning—Basshunter (3:16)

Fall With Me—Son of the Velvet Rat (3:01)

Hush—Kula Shaker (2:56)

Dilruba (Andy Gray Grayed Out Remix)—Niyaz (8:01)

Ever Think About Me?—Josh Harris (2:30)

Cochise—Audioslave (3:42)

One of Those Days—Joshua Radin (3:03)

I’d Rather Be With You—Joshua Radin (2:49)

This was an amazing ride & once again I was impressed by how hard everyone worked!  You can find my iTunes iMix here. 

A couple of updates before I call it a night: 

1. I’m out of town next weekend, but Tal (yes, that Tal…the one and only “original” 10am Saturday Spinning instructor) will teach my Saturday class for me.    
2. My inaugural Monday  6:30pm Spinning class kicks off at WSC-Alexandria tomorrow
3. I haven’t gone back to Tidal EPC for my Active Metabolic Re-Test  (yet.)  I got a little out of sync with my training schedule about a week ago (i.e. took about 5 days off).   But I’m back on track.  My super-elaborate tracking system for remembering which base-building workout I’m supposed to be following : 

Hey, if it’s important…it goes on my hand!  The good news is that I have noticed a difference in my work-outs.   I’m going to stretch out the training just about 1 more week & then head back for re-testing the first week of August.  Can’t wait!

Be well– 

Sooo perfect!  If I closed my eyes and concentrated real hard, it was like we were back in Mexico.   Hmmmm…Mexico. 

But, prior to the beach I taught an awesome (little aside here..I think I overuse that word…awesome, awesome, and awesome) ride on Saturday morning.  The class was full and the energy was sky high!  It was a great ride. 

Spinning #63  9 songs, 47 minutes:  this is a strength energy zone profile and consists of 2 hills, but not much else.  You can find the iTunes playlist here. 

What Part of Forever (Johan Hugo Remix)—Cee Lo Green (4: 52)  Are you ready to climb today?  Let’s get warmed up!  Keep work in the strength interval zone:  75-85% of max HR. Constant resistance—moderate to heavy load on the flywheel.  RPM’s between 60-80.

Let It Happen—Jimmy Eat World (3:26)  Standing flat.  Start to bring your heart rate up to 65-75% of max

It’s Thunder and It’s Lightening—We Were Promised Jetpacks (4:49)  Seated hill.  Progressive resistance loading.  Add resistance every 1 minute.  Keep it aerobic!  Breathe and relax. 

Pride—Syntax (6:17)  Stay in Seated Climb.  Adjust resistance based on HR or perceived exertion.  Take a butt break at the 3 minute mark, but settle back after about 30-45 seconds ( I couldn’t find this on Amazon, but it’s an amazing song.  Please check it out on iTunes)

Leave the Memories Alone—Fuel (3:58)  Last leg of our first seated climb.  AT 1:43 make the hill steeper & stronger.  Power up at 2:30…finish out of the saddle and be strong! 

High Roller—The Crystal Method (5:30)  Seated flat until 1min, let your heart rate settle down.  Find your focus, the next hill is beginning now:  Turn resistance knob so you have to come out of the saddle.  Stand until 3: 38min…then sit.  (the song kind of peters out at the 4 minute mark.  I fast forwarded to the next song so I wouldn’t lose momentum)

Weapon of Choice—Fatboy Slim (5:46)  Jumps on a hill…simulated switchbacks.   Work on smooth transitions.  Use even 8 counts in the saddle 8 counts out.  

Climbatize—The Prodigy (6:37)  Last leg of our final climb.  In the saddle for 3 minutes.  Shut your eyes, focus on intensity.  This will be the most intense of our whole class.  Start standing, sit for about a minute ½ way through and finish strong out of the saddle.   

Chakra Dance (Radio Edit)—Brent Lewis (5:56)  Cool down and stretch (can’t find this one on Amazon either!)

Benefits of strength rides like this: 

• Helps your relax and focus during a challenging workout
• Psychological intensity will increase
• Improves muscular endurance
• Sharpens climbing skills and strength

 With the new WSC-Alexandria Summer Schedule in full effect, here’s my new teaching schedule:

• Monday 6:30pm Spinning (Alex will teach tomorrow, but I take over next week)
• Tuesday 6:15am Spinning
• Saturday 10am Spinning
• Saturday 11am Total Body Conditioning (I will be sharing this class with Sara)

And, I personally think this is the most exciting change, I’m going to be teaching Body Pump at XSport Fitness in Merrifield!  Since the pilot BP program at WSC ended about a month ago I feared my Les Mills days were in my past.  I was more than a little mopey about it, so imagine my excitement when I heard XSport was hiring!  My audition was a couple of weeks ago; I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to jinx it.  But it’s official now….my new class is Tuesday at 6:30pm!  By the way, Release 74 launches this week, who-hoo! 

–you’ll have to excuse me, as I have a little, ahem, memorization of a track or two to take care of tonight. 

The inevitable has happened.  I have officially entered the Facebook universe.   I can’t believe I caved into the peer pressure.  But I did.  And look (you are going to have to imagine me pointing down at the lower right-hand corner of the page)…I even added a link so we can all be friends. 

But I have to warn you.  I’m a horrible Facebook friend.  My page is very barren, no good pictures to look at and not much else going on either.  Also, I have no idea what to write on my wall and am coming to conclusion that other people lead way more exciting lives than I do.  Yesterday I contemplated writing about my overwhelming desire for a disgusting, chemical-laden 2-beef patties/special sauce kind-of a burger…and when my willpower was at its weakest how I sheepishly entered a drive thru only to be told there wasn’t any electricity at the un-named establishment & that my craving would go unmet.  Then I was going to prattle on about something like the universe was sending me a message loud and clear (Darcy, do not eat that crap) and about how I had to obey.  I mean, it was the Universe!  And because it really is crap, but like 10% of the time you’ve got to give yourself permission to fall off (or on….can’t ever remember the correct analogy) the wagon.  ‘Cause a 90-10 ratio is pretty darn good…

 But really, really do you want to read silly stuff like that on my FB page?  At least when I post brainless stories like that here you have to option of scrolling down & getting to the good stuff (i.e. stuff that is actually relevant to spinning and/or fitness.)  So how about that for an endorsement?   Ta da!

And on to the good stuff.   On Saturday we rode Spinning Profile #62:  Out and Back 

10 songs, 46.1 minutes, find the iTunes playlist here. 

We did an Endurance ride last week (which I loved), but we are back to the Interval Energy Zone for this one.  We will start on a flat road, move into a few climbs, back to a flat—then (figuratively) turn around and head back over the climbs to the start, where a final stair step awaits us. 

Surin (Unmixed)—Quivver (6:21)   warm up

Switchback [2001] INSTRUMENTAL—Celldweller (3:58)  Fast flat.  Get your heart rate up to 80-85% max.  It should be a hard effort

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) [The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Song] {feat. Freshlyground}—Shakira (3:23)  Moderately steep climb.  Heart rate 85%.  3 tweaks to the top…one every minute. 

All My Friends—LCD Soundsystem (7:42)

• 0-2:00 Fast seated flat (80-85%)
• 2:00-3:00  Fast steep standing climb (85-90%)
• 3:00-4:00  Fast seated flat.  
• 4:00-5:00 Fast steep standing climb.
• 5:00-6:00  Fast seated flat. 
• 6:00-7:42  Standing run.

The Line (Bonus Track)—Battles (5:06)

• 0-1:00  Grab a drink.  Turn around, & we’ll do it in reverse (for the most part)
• 1:00-2:00  Standing climb
• 2:00-3:00 Fast seated flat 
• 3:00-4:00 Steep standing climb 
• 4:00-5:06  Fast seated flat   

Punks—Niels Bye Nielsen (1:22)  standing flat.  Jog if you need recovery, run if you don’t. 

Crossfire—Brandon Flowers (4:18)  Moderate climb.  In or out of the saddle, your choice.  Let the music dictate your pace. 

Cutdown—Matt & Kim (2:52)  Fast seated flat.  The finish is right around the corner.

Vox Populi—30 Seconds to Mars (5:43)  Our big dramatic finish.  Let your intensity match the drama of the song.  30 second stair steps.  Heavy resistance, like a climb in the saddle.    

What You Thought You Need—Jack Johnson (5:27)  Cool down and stretch. 

With the summer right on top of us there will be some changes coming to WSC-Alexandria Group Exercise schedule.  I’ll post my part as soon as I get confirmation.  In the meantime, and despite the upcoming Independence Day holiday,  I plan to teach Saturday at 10am (unless I can find a sub, then I will be headed down to VA Beach for some sun.)

So, I guess maybe I’ll see you on Saturday….until then…

Here’s quick description of the test from Tidal’s website:  http://www.tidalepc.com/node/13

Active Metabolic Testing tells us how many calories you’re burning, and how efficiently you are burning them, while in an aerobic state. This is also referred to as a “VO2 test”. We then design a two-step cardiovascular program:
Step One – training in heart-rate zones where you burning calories most efficiently.
Step Two – design the plan to progress your ability to burn calories while increasing the amount of cardiovascular work you can do.

(I just showed PJK my photo…his response:  you look just like Cobra Commander!)

Despite some serious performance anxiety I didn’t fall off the treadmill or pass out or get tangled in the chords.  What I did find out was that I have been training at a very high intensity/heart rate for way too many of my work-outs (read: all of them).  The positive side of this is that I burn a lot of calories when I workout like that…but since I’m anaerobic during that time what I’m really doing is burning up glycogen and sugar.  Which explains my overwhelming need desire to eat ½ a pizza, some cookies and take a nap after some of my spinning classes.  And also possibly explains why I haven’t been seeing the changes in my body appearance that I would like to see. 

If you live in the DC area and have been thinking about Metabolic Testing…call J!  First of all, he’s a super chill and secondly, he knows his stuff & really has his act together.  Here’s the Tidal EPC website:  www.tidalepc.om    I was really impressed with the information and the practical applications to kick up my metabolism & start burning off my excess fat.  I go back for re-assessment in 4-5 weeks to see what kind of progress I’ve made.

Conveniently, I had already planning on teaching an endurance ride for Saturday’s classs….it just so happened to suit my heart rate needs as well.  Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve ever taught an Endurance ride, so it’s a little different.   You’re in the saddle for basically the entire ride…training like an athlete. 

This is Spinning profile #61.  Find the iTunes playlist by clicking here.    

 The object of this ride is to stay within your aerobic training zone.  We will never feel out of breath.  You will never feel the need to back off or slow down (translation:  no recoveries…because you won’t need them.)  We will work in Zone 2 heart rate zone…65-75% MHR.  If you don’t have a heart rate monitor (shame on you)… perceived exertion would be moderate (conversation requires some effort) to moderately hard (conversation requires quite a bit of effort….but never out of breath). 

We need oxygen to burn fat, so breathing will be of utmost importance for today’s ride. 

Here’s your playlist, 10 songs, 48.2 minutes: 

Over the Line—The Crystal Method (6:55)  Warm Up.  As I mentioned, this morning’s training is going to be an Endurance ride.  You are going to train like an athlete

Read My Mind (Pet Shop Boys Stars Are Blazing Mix)—The Killers (7:20)  Resistance is moderate…breathable.  Focus on your breath keeping the inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.  Maintain this pattern the entire ride.  Cadence 90 rpm

• At 4min:  Focus on your pedal strokes.  Focus on your right leg…let the left go for a ride. 

American Slang—The Gaslight Anthem (3:41)  We now need to go over to the left leg.  Cadence 90 rpm Shift your attention to your left leg as we incorporate the same drill.

• At 3:10—bring the right leg in to join the effort of the left, notice your pedaling rhythm

Heavy In Your Arms—Florence + The Machine (4:44)  Mild, gentle climb. Guide your heart rate up to 75% of max (or  moderately hard, conversation would require effort.)  Cadence 80 rpms

Quiet Dog—Mos Def (2:57)  Stay in the seated climb.  Where is your perceived exertion?  Where is your heart rate?  Where is your head? 

Resonator (Cor Fijneman Remix)—Modena (3:32)  Back to the flat.  Cadence 100 rpm— Heart rate no higher than 75% max. 

• Feeling antsy?  Its okay to take a 15-30 second stretch.  Watch your breathing and heart rate. 

Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever)—Muse (3:50)  Flat with two 30 second standing flats—cadence 90-100rpms.  This is a challenge of self control!  Standing flats are definitely a jog…not a run. 

• 1:30 first out of the saddle.  May need to add a tiny bit of resistance
• 2:07 back in the saddle
• 2:39 2^nd out of the saddle…check your exertion and heart rate
• 3:07 have a seat

Kids—MGMT (5:03)  You should have a nice sheen of sweat by now.  Enduring training  will allow your body to be able to tolerate a bigger gear and push faster while remaining aerobic and burning serious fat. 

Cadence is 90-100rmps

We’ve talked about cadence, pedal stroke, breathing, heart rate management….put it all together.  You have 5 minutes to perfect it.  Just ride! 

Game On—Pitbull, Tkzee & Dario G (3:20)  Flat road—cadence 100rmps–never out of breath!  We’re not done yet.  Last challenge—I want to see if you are able to manage a bit more resistance (very tiny bit) with same control.  This song is only 3:20…again I don’t want you to blow the objective of this training.  

Track 4—Sigu Ros (6:57) cool down and stretch.  You should feel really good and energetic after this ride.  You trained like an athlete today!

Here are some of the benefits of training in the Endurance Energy Zone: 

Increased stroke volume of your heart

Increased ability to use oxygen efficiently

Development of awesome fat burning system

Stronger immune system

Increased mental focus

More energy

You goal should be to do 2-3 sessions per week.  Cool, right?

–Have a great week guys!

(can you guess who’s head is peaking over the side?)

Saturday’s class was the first profile I have created and taught since WSSC; those of you who were there may have noticed some differences, namely the music.  Little more trance/techno than typical for me. 

Of the many realizations I had at WSSC, one of them was the ability to really lose yourself on the bike and find your zone when the music was right.  I found that during the rides where there were a lot of lyrics competing for my thoughts I couldn’t as easily get into the zone, but when you just had a beat to move to (i.e. Taiko drumming) my mind shut down & I was able to focus… which is part of the reason I moved away from my typical music selections for this playlist.  Besides, it’s a good thing to mix it up a little every now and then….keeps them guessing!

Another WSSC conclusion I came to was remembering and appreciating how much fun it is to ride as a participant.  Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching…I would be happy as a clam if I could teach spinning 8 hours a day…but there’s a different perspective and energy when you are part of the audience.  No pressure, no thinking, just riding.  And so, on Saturday for our final working song I decided to jump off my stage bike and join the group.  And turn my mic off.  It was fantastic!  What a different outlook.  But what I liked best was the feeling of riding with a group, really hearing the pedals and the breathing.  Awesome.   

You will not find an iTunes playlist for Saturday’s ride.  A lot of the songs came from this CD (you can buy it here)

A little WSSC gift I picked up in Miami. 

Spinning #60:  11 songs, 48.4 minutes.  It’s all about choices…you get to choose your workout effort, your cadence, you tension, and even your riding position. 

Ego Trip (cirrus Remix)—Keoki (5:46)  Warm up.  Seated or standing, your choice.  At 4:07 pick up the pace.   

Gearbox—Todd Haberman (2:11)  Add resistance, stand at 0:27 find a comfortable pace.   At 1:00 drive it faster.

Eclipse (All Yours)—Metric (3:45)  Same resistance.   Steady pace at this resistance…be honest.  Fine tune your pedal stroke.  Accelerate with the music (seated or standing, your choice.)  Quick drink at the end if you need it. 

Superstylin’—Groove Armada (6:01)  Big hill…3 tweaks to the top, start right away with the first resistance change.   At 2 min dial in 2^nd resistance change.   At 4min give me that 3^rd and final resistance change.  If you need power—do your thing out of the saddle. 

Jonathan Low—Vampire Weekend (3:33)  Roll down that hill.  Grab a drink.  Game face on at 2:00…bring your bike back to life.  Seated or standing….your choice.    

Pizza Huh (Das Racist vs. The Rapture)—dj lobsterdust (3:18)  30 second jumps, alternating with standing run.  Make your feet dance.  Jump at your own pace.  Smile!  Hungry?

Lay It Down—Catalyst (5:27)  Melt into the saddle…seated climb.  Add resistance to force your feet to slow.  We will keep this resistance the whole climb so choose wisely.  It’s all about endurance….physically and mentally.  

Rollin’ Tumblin’ (Remix)—R.L. Burnside (4:13)  Standing climb.  Heavier…same rules…pick your tension & hold it.  Tackle this hill. 

Praan—Garry Schyman (4:29)  Final working song.  This is yours…take it for what it is.  Your ride, your choice, do whatever feels right.  Fall into the rhythm.   

Free Fallin’ (Live)—John Mayer (4:24)  Cool Down.

Guru Ram Das Chant—GuruGanesha Singh (5:26)  Stretch & good bye.

So what do you think?  Love it?  Hate it?  Somewhere in-between?   Who knows what we’ll do next week……………

So, WSSC….all I have to say is wow, what a conference!  If you are thinking about going next year…don’t think, just go.  Seriously.  I went into the week expecting one thing and got something else.  Something I didn’t even know I needed, but I did.  And every single lecture or ride I went to was 100% relevant to things that are going on in my life right now.  I would be remiss if I didn’t send out special props to the best roommate in the world:  Roxane!  (aka. the instructor with the rockin’ abs.)  and of course my BFF Erika for showing us the ropes.

I wish I could tell you all of the good things that I experienced, but that would take forever, so I’m going to hit the highlights. 

My week started off with a bang with 2 days of Peak Pilates Mat Basic Certification.  My core was so shot by the second day I was worried I wouldn’t be able to perform the practicum, let alone roll out of bed when the alarm went off at 5:30am.  But not to worry, I dug deep, sucked my tired abs in and up & performed my little heart out.  I am pleased to report I passed with flying colors.  I am ecstatic to have this certification & can’t wait to start teaching.  And, the best part is I found 2 new toys: 

 (source)

the MVe Chair (which totally kicked my ass and legs and arms and abs and everything else inbetween)

(source)

And the PilatesStick

If I get my way, both will be coming to a certain SpinCycle household very soon.   

I had some mind-blowing rides last week.  I mean, seriously unbelievable!  I’ll re-cap my favorites for you (in no particular order)

1.African Storm Ride—taught by the amazing Elsa Storm.  We were in this huge ballroom…tons of us!  All riding and spinning together to some kickin’ South African music.  Not to mention there were two gianormous screens on either side of stage showing a variety of gorgeous African safari scenes.  And there were take homes…these great little beaded animals. 

2.Climbing with Taiko Drummers—taught by the adorable Masakuni Tachi (seriously, I wanted to shrink him down, stash him in my pocket and smuggle him home, he was really cute).  Again we were back in the big ballroom, lights dimmed, and huge drums sharing the stage with Masakuni, his drummer (aka girlfriend) and his bike.  I forgot my camera that night, but a photo wouldn’t have done this ride justice.  It was all about the feel, and the beat.  Oh, and lots and lots of resistance!

3.Reiki Ride—taught by the divine Hans Hobbel.  Smaller room this time, almost totally dark except for a few candles on the stage.  This ride was like a meditation on the bike.  I think I rode a majority of it with my eyes closed.  Profound is the only way to describe it.  I can’t wait to get the playlist from Hans!

And those were just the tip of the riding iceberg.  I almost forgot to tell you, a lot of the bikes had the cadence/heart rate computers, which brought a whole new dimension to my riding.  Especially when the Master Instructors came around to check on your pace…no chance of cheating there! 

Holey moley, I have so much great information to share with you in class and on this blog.  I’m still digesting a lot of it, but I know it’s going to make our rides together more effective, and fun.  Oh, and I might have to cave in a get a Facebook page.  Really.   Because below you will find a transcript similar to many conversations I had over the week:

Awesome person from WSSC:  I’ll just Facebook you

Me:  um, let me just give you my email…I’m not on Facebook

Awesome Person:  (blank stare)

Me:  I know, I’m lame.  (and apparently no longer old-school, just old…does any one use email anymore?)

I’ll let you know when it is done. 

 –See you Saturday for a brand new ride!