Happy Memorial Day!

Take a look at my neighbor’s giant flag!  Way to represent, yo!

How has your 3-day weekend been?  Sad it’s over?  Me too…hands down this has been a fantastic weekend! 

There was gardening/flower planting/mulching:

And outlet shopping:

And spinning…just to name a few of the highlights. 

Saturday’s class featured Spinning profile #59  13 songs, 46.6 minutes  Strength intervals to challenge the body.  Bring focus and awareness to breathing and form in spite of challenges and fatigue.  (Inspired by Christina Tait’s Drown In the Now ride)

Find the playlist on iTunes here.

Drown In the Now (Radio Edit)—The Crystal Method feat. Matisyahu (3:33)  Begin warming up and focusing on the ride ahead.  65% MHR

Lessons Learned—Matt & Kim (3:34)  Continue warming up.  Shift your focus to your breathing.  Drop your shoulders, open your chest, and maintain smooth pedal strokes 65-70% MHR

Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)—Florence + The Machine (3:52)  Bring up your heart rate.  Standing flats on the chorus.  70-75% MHR

Parallel Universe—Red Hot Chili Peppers (4:29)  Seated climb, standing climb on the chorus.  Feel the music, which will carry through.  Breathe deep with control and try to relax during the climb. 75-80% MHR

Take You On—Peaches (3:44)  Head up a steep hill with jumps.  Every 30-45 seconds, add half a turn of tension so that by the end you’re riding straight-up Mt. Everest. Steady pace, hard climb.  Gain momentum by bringing yourself out of the saddle in had position 3.  Take a seat for the remainder of the climb.  Feel strong, feel empowered.  75-85% MHR

Breathe Out—St. Leonards (2:58)  Recover.  Catch your breath and grab some water.  65-75% MHR

Nobody Gets Me But You—Spoon (4:57)  Back up the hill with jumps.  Seated climb for back ½ of climb.   75-80% MHR

Dashboard—Modest Mouse (4:06)  Take 3 minutes to recover with seated flat.  Last minute, jumps on a hill begin again…it’s all about guts and grit today. Muscle through!

Like I Do—Live (4:15)  Seated climb, standing climb on the chorus.   We’re going to push past otherwise assumed physical limits today.  Come down the hill fast at 3minutes.  Quick pedal stroke, keep control, let your legs fly.  75-80% MHR

Serenity—Fireflight (3:31)  Take a 2 minute recovery.  Imagine hitting a head wind.  Maintain resistance and pedal with more intent.  Bring heart rate up a maximum sustainable effort that does not leave you breathless.  65-80% MHR

For What It’s Worth—Placebo (2:48)  Standing flat, seated speed on the chorus 75-85% MHR.  Really push to finish for the last 27 seconds.  Slow and deep breathing will help your quick feet carry you to the finish.  All the way baby!

Do You Know Me—John Mayer (2:30)  Recover, bring your heart rate back down.  

Do You Remember—Jack Johnson (2:24)  Stretch. 

Beth will be teaching for me this coming weekend as I’m going to be rockin’ it out at WSSC in Miami!  Who’s joining me this weekend? 

 

I’m super psyched for this conference for a few reasons. 

 #1 I get to see one of my very best friends in the whole wide world, Erika:

#2 I’m rooming with fellow Awesome Foursome Body Pumper Roxane

#3 I’m finally completing my Mat Pilates certification and

#4 I know I’m going to return home totally exhausted, but completely inspired & can’t wait to pass along all of the knowledge and ideas to you!

–‘Till then, spin on!

up and down, fast and slow

Before I start to gain moment with this post I must take a moment to thank Jonathan for his amazing music selection.  This week, the hardest part of creating our Saturday profile was trying to decide which songs to include.  He sent me a list of about 20 songs…all of which are fantastic.  Some groups I had heard of, many I hadn’t.  My favorite so far is probably The Wombats or The Fashion.  Expect to hear more of their music in the future.

This is Spinning #57:  13 songs, 48.1 minutes.  Find the playlist on iTunes by clicking here. 

We are going to travel up and down, fast and slow.  The real star of this profile is “The Stairs” where we find a seated climb resistance and alternate every 30 seconds with a standing running w/resistance.  Without losing our cadence or enthusiasm (that’s the hard part)

Warm Up:  The Royal We—Silversun Pickups (4:47)  loosen upper body @ 2min when the music slows

Keasbey Nights—Streetlight Manifesto (3:01)  technically still part of our warm up.  Raise the intensity by adding more resistance (what does ½ a turn feel like on your bike?)  Still comfortable, flat road.  Quicker cadence. 

Let’s Get to Work:

Moving to New York—The Wombats (3:31)  Seated Climb x 2minutes  ….control yourself as it gets steeper.  Standing Climb for rest of the song.

Propane Nightmares—Pendulum (5:13)   Lighten up, standing jog x 1:04……..then move into 30 second seated climb, 30 seconds running with resistance (AKA “The Stairs”) for the rest of the song.   

Geek Stink Breath—Green Day (2:15)  Downhill we go!  Faster cadence, lighter resistance (have control of the flywheel)  Standing for 1^st minute, Seated for 2^nd minute

She’s Dead to Me—The Von Bondies (1:24)  Relax and recover where you need it. 

Monster—The Automatic Automatic (3:43)  Seated Climb x 1:38, Standing Climb until 2:20, Start to descend the hill…faster at 3:11!

Invaders Must Die—The Prodigy (4:55)   Are you ready for this?  Take a short break to recharge your legs if you need it, otherwise jump back on the hill…..it’s time for some stairs. 

Let’s Go Surfing—The Drums (2:54)  Ahhhhh, back off the hill.  Comfortable resistance, comfortable pace.  Recover. 

Beautiful Dangerous (feat. Fergie)—Slash (4:39)  Seated Climb x 1:48, Standing Climb until 3minues (when the guitar kicks in).  Start to decrease the tension, come down the hill….seated fast at the chorus (have enough resistance to keep control & not bounce in the saddle

Like Knives—The Fashion (4:15)  Our final set of stairs!  Heavy in the saddle…alternate in and out every 30 seconds.  Push to the end

Cool Down & Stretch:  

Bloodstream—Stateless (5:14) 

From the Morning—Nick Drake (2:30) 

You know I’m all about gadgets and accessories to fitness.  I love heart rate monitors, Power Balance wrist bands….

…iPods, pedometers and fancy spin shoes, just to name a few.  Anything to make it just a little more exciting to workout.  Recently I have been contemplating two new fitness doodads.  First, there is the body bug, well actually the technical name is GoWear fit Lifestyle and Calorie Management System.  It sounds so fun!  You wear it on your arm for most of the day and night & it will track calories burned, physical activity, number of steps taken, sleep duration and sleep efficiency.  I love this concept!  Please, please let me know if you have used a device like this.  Do you love it?  Has it changed your life? 

The second nifty thingamabobs are these running shoes called fivefingers.  My brother-in-law has a pair and loves them.  And they look cool (which is about 50% of what is factored in when I make decisions like these.)  He says his knees don’t hurt anymore & he actually wants to go out and run.  Sign me up!  I would love to actually want to run. 

Maybe a little difficult to get on….

—but that’s a sweeeeeet look!

Let me know if any of you have these (or maybe another gadget I don’t know about) that you love and can’t live without!   

You know you are in Louisiana when…

“Slap Ya Mama” can be found everywhere!

One of your potato chip selections is “Voodoo” flavor.  (Nope, still not sure what voodoo exactly tastes like.)

And your friends take you to eat crawfish (pronounced craw not cray as I originally thought) for lunch.  They are excited, so I’m excited.  I love shrimp and am imagining a huge plate of shrimp—yummy!  I was a little leery when they ordered 5 pounds (sounded like a lot, but I was hungry).  This is what arrived at our table several minutes later: 

Um, are these things still alive?  This our lunch?  Seriously? 

Yes, seriously.  And specific instruction followed:  you need to break off the head first (I’m cringing even as I type this) and discard it…unless you want to suck the spices out of the head—-yeah, I declined that step.  Then you tear off a couple of the tail shells…followed by squeezing your thumb and forefinger at the end of the tail to (easily?) slide the meat out and eat.  Oh, and avoid the ones with straight tails…those are not good. 

Can you see the level of excitement these instructions hold for me? 

Once I got past the ick-factor they tasted really good.  I tried to get the meat out as quickly as possible…keeping my eyes kind of squinty so I couldn’t really see that I was actually tearing these little creatures apart (again, am cringing as I type).  Overall, it was a great experience and glad I tried them…next time I’ll probably order shrimp.    

But I’m back in Northern Virginia now, and back to eating foods that don’t make you feel like you are committing murder.  It feels good to be home!  And Saturday’s class was no disappointment.  We had big energy and big calorie burns.  There’s something about giving the class choices that makes people push themselves harder…and I love to see that when given the choice, people don’t slack off, but actually work harder.  It’s inspiring!  Here’s our profile and playlist:    

Spinning #50:  12 songs, 48.9 minutes.  2 big climbs coupled with a fast push to the finish line.

Find most of this playlist on iTunes at Spinning Spincycles #50.  You’ll have to go to DJ Lobsterdust to get that mashup and our cool down was from one of my CDs..But easily found on iTunes or Amazon. 

Listen to the Music (DJ Malibu Mix)—The Doobie Brothers (5:01)  Warm Up.  Come up out of the saddle with standing flats on the chorus (Ohhh, disco music)

What Else Is There?—Royksopp (5:17)  HILL #1  Begin in the saddle with lots of good gear.  Get used to this feeling of resistance under your feet for a minute.  Start to take up the resistance every 60seconds.  At 4 minutes, fast forward to the next song (boring.)

Shut Up And Give Me Some Pie (Warrant vs. The Ting Tings)—DJ Lobsterdust (2:49)  Continue up hill #1 in the saddle.  Power up to standing accelerations on the chorus. 

Eminence Front—The Who (5:43)  Here’s your choice:  you have 5 ½ minutes to get to the top.  You get choose how to get there, all I ask is that you increase the resistance and make it more challenging every 60 seconds.  I want you wishing and wanting a flat road when this is over. 

Let It All Hang Out—Weezer (3:18)  Hit the saddle if you are not already there.  Drop the resistance.  Find the breath you lost and let your heart rate recover.  You only have 3 minutes here.  Advanced riders…don’t want/need a recovery?  Keep a medium tension on the saddle, stand and jog/run with the chorus. 

Enjoy the Silence—Anberlin (3:32)  You know I love this song like no other!  Let’s see how quickly we can turn it back up and take HILL #2.   Rolling hills to start:  1 minute seated climb, into a standing climb, into a run with resistance…sit down, drop the resistance and do it again. 

Crossroads—John Mayer (2:29)  Second section of hill #2.  Add resistance every 60 seconds…combine that with 30 seconds seated, 30 seconds standing climb.  Got it? 

You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Re-Mixed and Re-Edited by Soulwax)—The Rolling Stones (6:07)  Just like the first hill, the top of Hill #2 is a choice.  It’s all up to you.  Take the resistance up every minute.  You have 6 minutes to the top…own it. 

Sliver and Cold—AFI (4:11)  How does a little recovery sound?  Take the recovery where you need it to be.  Feeling good at 1:10?  Add a little resistance and pick up the pace on the chorus.  Stay in the saddle. 

I’m Shipping Up to Boston—Dropkick Murphys (2:34)  Just a little more speed work to knock out before we cool down.  We need a little more resistance before we get this started. At 0:30 we are stair stepping at 15 second interval.  In/out of the saddle. 

Half of My Heart—John Mayer & Taylor Swift (4:10)  Cool Down

The Poison—The All American Rejects (3:54)  Stretch

Have a great week guys! 

Short and Sweet

This is going to be one short and sweet blog entry today as I am headed to the airport later this afternoon and still need to pack….

I somehow have to get a week’s worth of clothes from here (I know, my closet is beyond scandalous)….

Into here…..(now can you sense my urgency?)

 

So, where am I going?  Mexico? New York?  Paris?  Chicago? 

Actually, I’m headed to LA.  Um, that would be Louisiana, not Los Angeles. 

Specifically, I’m off to Baton Rouge for a week of fun-filled training for my new job/career.  I finished my last day at my old job on Tuesday (yay!) and quickly transitioned into this new one.  And let me tell you, even though it’s only been 3 days the new job is seriously kicking my old job’s ass!  But, to be fair most of this past week was spent buying office furniture and appliances…nothing beats shopping (especially if it’s someone else’s credit card!…no I’m not committing identify fraud, I’m just using the company card)  I’m anticipating an April 1^st grand-opening, but there’s still a lot to do between now and then!  Oh, there is so much to do!!!  I already mentioned that, didn’t I?   

On to it then….here is our profile and playlist from Saturday:   Spinning #49:  14 songs, 46.5 minutes

This is probably my favorite spinning profile to teach and ride.  It’s our Loop de Loop!  I think this originated from Jennifer Sage formerly of FunhogSpins…but can now be found at IndoorCycleInstructor.com, but I’m not 100% sure.  All I know is that I can’t take credit for this little gem of a ride.  This profile consists of 3 loops of work simulating a mountain bike ride.  You have an approach road, short steep climbs (really crank up the resistance), downhills, and a stair-stepping uphill.  First lap=reconnaissance, 2^nd lap= fine tuning your form and performance, 3^rd lap=give it your all!

Find this playlist (which I personally think is superior) on iTunes at Spinning Spincycles #49

Strange—Tokio Hotel & Kerli (3:51)  Warm up with a seated flat. 

Boom—Anjulie (3:14)  1min 30 second Seated Climb.  Control yourself, it gets steeper ahead.  For the final 1min 30 seconds transition to a  Standing Climb.  If you love climbing, use this to your advantage.  Otherwise take it easy conserving your energy for the stairs

Call to Arms—Exodus (1:33)  Drop the resistance a little but stay in the climb until 0:53 when the guitar kicks in.  Take more resistance off, have a seat for a fast seated downhill.  Cadence is a little higher than before. 

A Little Bit of Riddim (feat. Cherine Anderson)—Michael Franti & Spearhead (4:18)  This is the work!  Add resistance.  30 seconds seated climb, 30 seconds running with resistance 4 X! 

Wake—Linkin Park (1:41)  Seated flat downhill, use this as a quick recovery to prepare for the 2^nd loop

Fall Hard—Shout Out Louds (4:15)  2min: Seated Climb followed by 2 min: Standing Climb

Check—Goose (1:38)  Seated Flat downhill.  Get ready for the stair steps!

Fell Down a Hole—Wolfmother (5:03)    Make it feel a little heavy.  30 seconds seated climb alternating with 30 seconds of standing run 5 X!  

Always Running Out of Time—Motion City Soundtrack (3:00)  Whew, use the first minute to ride downhill, the final 2 minutes is our recovery/approach road.  1 more loop to go!

Resistance—Muse (5:47)  This is it, make it count! 2min 30 seconds:  Seated Climb followed by 2min 30 seconds:  Standing Climb  (musically there’s not much going on after the 5min mark, so I skip to the next song when I’m ready to hit the downhill)

Attack of the 60Ft. Lesbian Octopus—Does It Offend You, Yeah? (1:58)  Fast seated downhill! Quick pedal turn over.

Bring It On Down—Goose (4:03)  Our last set of stairs…you know this.  30 seconds seated climb alternating 30 seconds run with resistance 4X. 

Undeclared—The Dodos (1:53)  A much deserved (and much needed) cool down.  Seated Flat

Breakeven (Falling to Pieces)—The Script (4:21)  Stretch everything off the bike.  Well now, that was fun!

There’s so much more I want to write, but I seriously need to get my butt in gear and pack as well as get things organized for the week.  I’ll be back in time for Spinning next Saturday Morning.  But here is the list of subs (people, not sandwiches—ha ha, that joke never gets old) I have organized to cover my classes during the week.

• Monday 6:30pm Body Pump @ WSC-Alexandria:  Gigi (part of the “fab four” Body Pump inner circle)
• Tuesday 6:15am Spinning @ WSC-Alexandria:  Michael C.
• Wednesday 6pm Body Pump @ WSC-W. Springfield:  Julianne

There will be no spinning for me this week.  However, I plan to do a lot of yoga podcasts from yogadownload.com (in addition to their website, you can also find free yoga podcasts on iTunes from…free=sweet!)  and maybe a little running depending on the hotel gym/neighborhood.  Or, I’ll just veg-out,  watch a ton of TV and read mindless celebrity gossip mags during my down time.  I’m still 50-50 on which way it will go. 

–Spin On!

 

Two for One

 

***UPDATE*** Here is the highly anticipated link to Saturday’s playlist on iTunes iMixes:  Spinning Spincycles 1.9.10

 

I have a treat for you today…two (that’s right, 2) profiles!  The first is from our Saturday 10am class.

Find this playlist on iTunes iMixes at Spinning Spincycles 1.9.10 (I will post the link shortly, just waiting on iTunes)

High Intensity Sliding Intervals are making a re-appearance.  Remember them?  4 repeating blocks of work, each with same sequence of movements. Within each block there will be one segment where you will push yourself as hard as you can (though never sprinting).  For each block that “very hard” segment will change.  After that hard push your HR will come down slightly, but not by much.  Beginners: go easier on the flats, use them as recoveries.  Advanced riders:  there will be a recovery ½ way through, challenge yourself to hold on to your heart rate until then.  (The “very hard” segments are bolded.  And the suggested max HR is in parenthesis) 

WARM UP:  Houses—Great Northern (4:18) 

BLOCK #1 

Save the Lies—Gabriella Cilmi (3:39) 

• 0-1:52 Seated Flat (75%)  Bring your level of intensity up one notch.  Increase resistance to medium & pick up the pace. 
• 1:52-3:30 Standing Flat (80%) Prepare for the level of effort to come.  We have our first big push up next 

 

Closer to the Edge—30 Seconds to Mars (4:33)

• 0-1:30 Seated Climb (85-92%)  PUSH AS HARD AS POSSIBLE FOR 90 SECONDS.  Don’t be afraid to touch the knob and speed up.  Test yourself 
• 1:30-3:20 Standing Climb (80-85%) Drop your HR a little while in a standing climb.  Calm down mentally and let the rhythm drive you 
• 3:20-4:33 Seated Climb (80-85%)  Sit down.  You are still working.  Stay with the rhythm, don’t quit.   

 

BLOCK #2

Dancing With Myself—The Donnas (3:28) 

• 0-1:00 Seated Flat (75%) Back off and breathe.  This is when you are going to decide how hard the workout is going to be.  Take your recovery at a level where you need it to be.   
• 1:00-1:58 Seated Flat (75-80%) Back to work.  Pick up the pace and add a medium resistance 
• 1:58-3:28 Standing Flat (80%) Bring up the level of intensity 

 

Bad Romance—Lady GaGa (4:55)

• 0- 1:13 Seated Climb (80-85%) After this seated climb, we’ll be ready to get rolling.  Find the gear you’ll need for the big push, but keep the cadence under control.  Here we go…. 
• 1:13-3:22 Standing Climb (85-92%) STAND AND PUSH IT
• 3:22-4:55 Seated Climb (80-85%)  Drop the HR by the necessary beats, but don’t recover.  You’re still working.  Earn your break it’s coming up next.

(Yes, I have jumped on the Lady Gaga bandwagon.  I really tried to avoid it, but then I saw her Bad Romance video and she won me over.  Completely.  I’m just fascinated by her and her ever-changing appearance.  What does she really look like?!?!)

RECOVERY

I’m Your  Daddy—Weezer (3:09) 

• Seated Flat (75-80%)  Back off and breathe.  Take this recovery where you need it to be.  Two more blocks of work are ahead. 

 

BLOCK #3

Beautiful Thieves—AFI (3:46) 

• 0-1:50 Seated Flat (80%) Back to work.  If you let your HR drop in that last recovery bring it back to working levels now
• 1:50-3:46 Standing Flat (80%) Don’t touch anything, just stand and let the intensity rise a little

 

Push It—Garbage (4:03)

• 0-1:15 Seated Climb (80-85%) Add a big gear and keep cadence in line with heart rate
• 1:15-1:57 Standing Climb (80-85%)  Add gear to stand, but keep speed under control.  Stay steady.   You are getting ready to fly in the next movement
• 1:57-4:03 Seated Climb (85-92%)  Here we go…PUSH IT….GO HARDER.  Your gear is probably fine, just push through that pedal stroke, a little speed, and give me all you have on this seated climb!

BLOCK #4

Mrs. Robinson (Remastered)—The Lemonheads (3:46)

• 0-1:00 Seated Flat (75%) Relax and breathe.  Recharge your legs and recover
• 1:00-2:00 Seated Flat (80%) This is it, back to work.  I know you are tired, but we can finish this!
• 2:00-3:46 Standing Flat (80%) Bring up the intensity.  The upcoming hills are do-able.  Lets head to the finish line!

Don’t Look Back In Anger (Live at Wembley Stadium, 2000)—Oasis (5:28)

• 0-1:33 Seated Climb (80-85%) Big gear in the saddle
• 1:33-3:00 Standing Climb (80-85%) Add a little gear and stand
• 3:00-4: 49 ** Seated Climb (85%) Sit and push through.  Don’t be afraid to play with the resistance knob to find the right gear, the right terrain.  We are almost there! 

**fast forward to end of the song because of some potentially offensive bad words…it’s the end of the song anyway.

COOL DOWN AND STRETCH IT OUT

Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa—Vampire Weekend (3:35)

All We Are—Matt Nathanson (3:37)

I’m not sure if you noticed, but Block #4 didn’t get a “very hard” segment because I ran out of time.  If I’d had another 5 or 10 minutes you would have a seen a “very hard” seated flat.  It worked out just the same though. 

So that was Saturday….on to Sunday morning as I was subbing for Glenn’s 10am class.  Every time I sub for an instructor I’m conscientious about his or her  personal style.  Though I can never be Glenn, I did make an effort to “Glennify” today’s profile.  And, what better way to try out a different persona than borrow a profile and playlist from another instructor.  Sunday’s class was borrowed from a ride Jen at Leave it on the bike did back in November.  I couldn’t find all of the mash-ups she used, so the music is only about 90% accurate, the rest of the ride is identical (thanks Jen!) Though I was a bit unsure of the ride and music at first, I made it my own and of the two…it actually ended up being my favorite ride.  Maybe because I felt freer to play around with profile, or maybe it was the excellent energy in the room.  Either way it was an extraordinary ride!

Here it is: 

 (photo source)

60 Minute Sunday Morning Climbs….this ride is part endurance and part strength, with 2 nice climbs.  You will have a choice at the top of each hill…how to climb it…how to finish it…how to reach the top.    Make it your ride and yours alone.

Find most of this playlist on iTunes iMixes at Spincycles Sunday Morning Climbs.  (you’ll have to get the mash-up at http://djlobsterdust.com/  which, by the way, why haven’t I checked out before?!?  You will definitely see a lot more lobsertdust in playlists to come.) 

T&F Moltosugo Remix—Milk & Sugar (7:32)    Warm up

Listen to the Music (DJ Malibu Mix)—the Doobie Brothers (5:01)  Keep it on the flat road in the saddle.  Add in a touch of resistance to make it tougher.  Come up out of the saddle on standing flats for the chorus (Oohh, disco music)

Place Your Hands—Reef (3:38)  Hill #1.  Begin in the saddle with lots of good gear.  Take up the resistance every 60 seconds and push the last 30. 

Shut Up And Give Me Some Pie (Warrant vs. The Ting Tings)—DJ Lobsterdust (2:49)  Continue up hill #1.  We’re climbing in the saddle and power up to a standing at 15 second intervals. 

Eminence Front—The Who (5:43)  Here’s the choice:  you have 5 and ½ minutes to get to the top.  You choose how to get there.  All I ask is that you increase the resistance and make it tougher every 60 seconds.  You should be wishing for the flat when this is over. 

July, July!—The Decemberists (2:53)  Hit the saddle, if you are not already there.  Drop resistance, find the breath you lost on that climb and let your heart rate recover.  You only have 2:53 minutes here.

Enjoy the Silence—Anberlin (3:32)  Let’s see how quickly we can turn it back up and take Hill #2.  Rollers here…1 minute seated climb…into a standing climb…into a run with resistance as you pick up the cadence and break through all that gear.  Sit down, drop a little resistance off but stay on a climb and do it again. 

Show Me What I’m Looking for—Carolina Liar (4:00)  Second section of Hill #2…seated climbs with switch backs out of the saddle at the chorus.  Take the resistance up before you come out of the saddle and try not to drop it when you sit down.  Your quads will love you for it!

You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Re-Mixed and Re-Edited by Soulwax)—The Rolling Stones (6:07)  Just like Hill #1, the top of Hill #2 is a choice.  It’s all up to you.  Take the resistance up every minute, and you have 6 minutes to the top and a glorious, well-earned flat on the other side (if you did your work.)

Disco Lies (Spencer and Hill Remix Radio Edit)—Moby (3:35)  Sit down if you  are not already there.  Recover, breathe and re-group on a flat road.  Then start to push for the line.  Sitting and standing intervals. 

Fanfare (Masterpiece Theater)—Michiel van der Kuy (5:03)  All-out, in the saddle push.  I want you to pick it up (cadence, resistance or both) every 60 seconds until there are 2 minutes left.  Then we make it tougher every 30 seconds.  The entire last minute is a build until you cross through the finish line… (I can’t find this song on Amazon, you’ll have to get it off iTunes or another music site–sorry!)

Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand—Primitive Radio Gods (5:37)  Breathe, consciously lower your heart rate, cool-down

Crash Into Me—Dave Matthew Band (5:16)  Stretch

Speaking of stretching …please, please don’t skimp on your stretching.  It is very important and vital to your muscle recovery.  And you know it must be imperative if it’s coming from me.  Seriously, if there is a short cut to be found… I’ll find it.  If I’m short on time I’ll often think to myself oh, I’ll work out a little longer and just shorten my stretches and still get out of the gym on time.  WRONG!  Stretching helps realign the muscle proteins within the muscle which in turn assists in the muscle’s overall development.  Check out this handout at   http://www.spinning.com/images/Stretching.pdf  for more specific stretching ideas.  Bottom line…don’t omit your stretches, they are just as important as the workout it-self.

I won’t have a new profile next week because I’m off to Vegas, baby—yeah!  PJK and I are headed there to celebrate his mom’s big 60^th birthday.  Now I know what you are thinking…Vegas with the in-laws = boooring.  I can see how you would think that, but then again, you haven’t met Big Ed.  I have to say PJK and I have a much higher likelihood of living out the plot of The Hangover in the accompaniment of Big Ed and Linda than without.  I’m looking forward to a very entertaining mini-vaca.  Maybe some photos of our shenanigans will make it onto this blog.  I’m not promising anything though…

Since I won’t be around next weekend, Roxane has been kind enough to teach my Saturday 10am Spinning class in Alexandria for me.  You will love her, I have no doubt she will also totally kick your ass.  Tuesday morning 6:15am spinners…you’ll still have to answer to me… 

‘Till next week—spin on!

It’s gonna get harder still, before it gets easy

(photo source)

I don’t know about you, but I have a couple of servings of Thanksgiving stuffing (and maybe some pumpkin pie) I need to burn off my thighs.  And what better way to do that than a high intensity, no holds barred, balls to the walls spinning class?!  Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!

Find this playlist on iTunes iMixes at Spinning Spincycles 11.28.09

Always Be—Jimmy Eat World (3:05)  Warm up and be prepared to say buh-bye to that extra helping of  Thanksgiving leftovers

Hurry Up Let’s Go—Shout Out Louds (2:19)  Add more tension and pick up the pace in the saddle.  Let’s keep our heart rate on the up and up.  Add another twist of tension around 1:20 because it’s time to run.  Go!

Shine a Light—Wolf Parade (3:47)  Climb #1 of the day.  No messing around, crank the resistance so it feels difficult and heavy in the saddle.  Hold a strong seated climb for 1 minute 45 seconds.  Increase the resistance and finish the song in a standing steep narrow climb.

Molly’s Chambers—Kings of Leon (2:17)  Hold hands in position 3 but lighten the tension for 1 minute.  Coming down the hill…finish the song with hands in 2 and find a jogging cadence.  Advanced riders give me a little speed surge to match the music

Brick By Boring Brick—Paramore (4:14)  Heavy resistance in the saddle again.  Stand and run with resistance on the chorus alternating with a seated climb.  Oh yeah, it’s supposed to hurt a little.

Give It All—Rise Against (2:51)  Light resistance in the saddle.  Quick 45 second recovery only to add resistance back on to a moderate feel.  Picture a wide open road.  Seated flat….advanced riders: speed surges on the chorus

Back It Up—Colette Carr (3:09)  Climb #2…in the saddle for 1min 30seconds.  Finish the hill out of the saddle.  Check your resistance, can you go heavier than climb #1?  Of course you can! (I can’t find the MP3 on Amazon.com, but you can watch the video here or find it on iTunes)

Ring of Fire—Social Distortion (3:51)  Back to your seated climb.  Pick up the pace it’s time to alternate 30 seconds seated 30 seconds standing run.  Hold it steady. 

Fire Away—The Swellers (3:52)  1 minute opportunity to lighten up the resistance and recover.  Start to pick up the pace again.  Seated flat or standing jog…riders’ choice. 

Jars—Chevell (3:20)  Climb #3.  Heavier than last time.  Start seated for 1 ½ minutes, finish strong and solid out of the saddle. 

Photograph—Weezer (2:19)  Quick downhill, recharge your legs.  Jog—sit—jog

Piranha—The Prodigy (4:05)  Last push, ask your legs for a little more power…we are almost finished.  30 seconds in the saddle 30 seconds running with resistance.  Resistance should be on the heavier side, but we need to keep the cadence up

This Is Beautiful—Tyrone Wells (4:36)  We are finished, what’s more beautiful than that?  Take a nice long cool down in the saddle. 

Come Back When You Can—Barcelona (3:44)  Stretch, give yourself props for finishing with gusto…now relax…

Self magazine’s December issue (the one with Amanda Peet on the cover) has a short one-page feature on Spinning.  You can check out the article and corresponding video here.  It’s mostly the basics that are covered, though I love one of phrases they used and will probably start incorporating it into cueing my classes. Here it is:

• During a standing run…use your core to hold your body over the tip of the seat to avoid knee strain.

Oh, and by the way, please ignore the advice they give about pulling your abs in tight.  According to Mad Dogg Athletics (whom I hold my certification with) in order to properly perform deep breathing, the abdominals should NOT be pulled in or kept tight…as this practice will hamper optimal breathing. 

You’ll serve yourself best by performing ab exercises off the bike….or taking my Body Pump class on Wednesday evenings where you’ll get strength training and killer ab exercises!  (you know I can’t pass up  even the smallest opportunity for self-promotion)

 Have a great week spinners!

Happy Halloween

Did you dress up for Halloween?  Of course I did, would you expect anything less from me?  I was torn between dressing as homage to the 1980s workout queen Jane Fonda (a la sweat bands, leg warmers and a leotard…belted, of course) and some sort of flying bug/beetle/insect.  The insect won…specifically, a lady bug.  Overall I was pleased with my choice and the unexpected surprise of some serious wing movement during standing climbs!  Lucky for me and my fluttering wings, Saturday’s class was all about hills and climbs with the goal to make you stronger on and off the bike.   

In an effort assist newer spinners, and taking into consideration that not everyone wears a heart rate monitor (shame shame), I decided to use the RPE scale to monitor our efforts. 

What is RPE?  RPE is the rate of perceived exertion is used to gauge your intensity in cardio workouts.  Here’s what the numbers and correlating % of max heart rate (MHR) mean:

RPE	Description	% MHR
1-2	Very easy; you can converse with no effort	50-55%
3	Easy; you can converse with almost no effort	60%
4	Moderately easy; you can converse comfortably with little effort.  Feels perfectly comfortable	65%
5	Moderate; conversation requires some effort; the work is beginning	70%
6	Moderately hard; conversation requires quite a bit of effort	75%
7	Difficult; conversation requires a lot of effort; “comfortably uncomfortable”	80%
8	Very difficult; conversation requires maximum effort; light burning in the legs	85%
9-10	Peak effort; CANNOT talk.  You have just enough wind to finish the effort (30 seconds max)	92%

 WARMUP   I’ve divided the class into 4 rounds of work, each round is a little different from the other.  Let’s get started…..  

Supermassive Black Hole—Muse (3:31)  Seated flat warm up.  RPE 3-4(feels comfortable)

More Human Than Human—White Zombie (4:30)  Alternate 30 seconds seated, 30 seconds standing; increase resistance each time to start our hills.  RPE 5-7(starting to get difficult and uncomfortable)

ROUND 1:  3 short climbs alternating with recoveries

Numb/Encore—Jay-Z & Linkin Park (3:25)  Boost resistance for standing hill x 2 minutes RPE 8-9.(very difficult, maximum effort)  Lower the resistance and find a seated flat for the remaining 1:25 RPE 4

Talk to Me—Peaches (3:05)  Boost resistance back up again for standing hill x 2minutes RPE 8-9.  Lower the tension, seated flat x 1 minute RPE 4

Tremendous Dynamite—Eels (2:46)  Back up to find your standing hill x 2 minutes RPE 8-9.  Less resistance, seated flat x 46 seconds RPE 4

ROUND 2:  strong steady climb

Unthought Known—Pearl Jam (4:09)  Settle into the saddle.  Seated climb.  Increase tension about 1 minute in.  Good strong pedal stroke RPE 7-8 (difficult-very difficult)  Three minutes in I want your RPE 8-9(peak effort)…to achieve either maintain resistance and boost pace or maintain pace and boost resistance.

Glow—Alien Ant Farm (3:17)  Lower resistance, seated flat, active recovery for 1 minute.  RPE 4.  Dial in a bit more tension to bring your RPE 5(moderate, feels like the work is beginning again)

ROUND 3:  long endurance climb starting in the saddle, then out

Normandie—Shout Out Louds (3:23)  Seated climb.  RPE 6(moderately hard)  Add resistance every 1 minute.  Keep breathing under control. 

Kings and Queens—30 Seconds to Mars (5:48)  Oh yeah, turn your seated climb into a standing climb.  RPE 7-8 (difficult to very difficult, light burning in the legs) Maintain focus.  Close your eyes if you need to.  Check in with your body.  Concentrate on a strong pedal stroke pulling up with one leg while the other pushes down.  Active all of the muscles in your legs. 

All Good (Radio)—Zeroleen (3:02)  Active recovery.  Lower the resistance.  RPE 4.  After about 1 minute, start to jump on the chorus. 

ROUND 4:  our final push!

Dragula (Clean)—Rob Zombie (3:43)  Hill-type tension.  It’s not Halloween without Rob Zombie!  Stair steps…seated climb alternating with standing run.  Make this count. RPE 8…Last 30 seconds RPE 9-10 (give me all you’ve got)

COOL DOWN & STRETCHES 

Who Says—John Mayer (3:00)  RPE 3

World Spins Madly On—The Weepies (2:45)

Find this playlist on iTunes iMixes:  Spinning Spincycles 10.31.09

Stomp!

I made a quick little trip up to NYC this weekend to meet my sister and her boyfriend and to ramble around the city a bit…and, of course, to see Stomp at the Orpheum. 

Have you seen this show?  Have you heard of it?  It is…”a high-energy, percussive symphony, coupled with dance, played entirely on unconventional instruments, such as garbage can lids, buckets, brooms and sticks.  It is a movement , of bodies, objects, sounds-even abstract ideas, made completely original through the use of everyday objects in totally non-traditional ways.”  Bottom line:  Stomp is mind-blowing! Talk about cadence and rhythm and sheer physical strength and endurance!  At one point four of the actors came out on stage with giant metal drums attached to their feet via ski boots.  I have never seen anything so amazing and am pretty sure that my mouth was hanging open in awe the entire time.  At the conclusion of the show I was totally ready to quit my full-time job to join the Stomp cast and start banging away at some trash cans of my own.  I’ve got good rhythm and everyone looked like they were having such a fun time!  

Regardless of my level of exhaustion, the drive home was incredible (well, other than the smoldering VW Beetle on the side of the road and subsequent rubber-necking that followed.)  Seriously though, the ride between DC and NYC is beautiful.  The fall foliage is really incredible.  Reds and oranges and yellows…any shred of denial that I was holding onto was completely obliterated today:  autumn is in full swing! 

Speaking of autumn, with the fall colors (and colder temps) brings bigger Spinning classes.  What a great turnout on Saturday!  Nothing beats a huge Spinning class with fantastic energy.  The profile I used on Saturday is one of my favorites and once again it did not disappoint.     

Saturday’s profile:  3 laps each one includes an approach road, short steep seated and standing climbs, downhills and our favorite stair stepping uphill. 

Use the first lap to get a feel for the ride.  Use lap two and three to challenge your body.  You will get a recovery after each stair step drill.  Our goal is to maintain 80% MHR for the bulk of the class.  An 80% MHR (or feeling comfortably uncomfortable) is going to keep us very aerobic and increase our fat burning levels.  Try to keep recoveries at 75%.  Train yourself to recover while still working.   

WARM UP

Always Something—I Hate Kate (3:36)  Dial in a resistance so you feel the road underneath your feet—as you know we never ride with no resistance, even in the warm up.  Gradually raise your heart rate. 

LOOP #1

Everybody—Goose (2:25)  SEATED FLAT  This is our approach.  Find a moderate resistance and begin to accelerate.  Raise your heart rate to about 75%. 

Non Dairy Creamer—Third Eye Blind (4:26) 

SEATED CLIMB More resistance!  Use the first 1:40 for the seated climb

STANDING CLIMB  (1:40-3:10) Make it a little heavier.  Hands in position 3.  Keep climbing until 3:10.  Don’t forget to maintain great form. 

SEATED FLAT DOWNHILL  (3:10-4:26) This is our downhill.  Decrease the resistance, have a seat.  Let your heart rate come down a little in preparation for our next drill…but not too much, we aren’t going to recover just yet

Danger! High Voltage—Electric Six (3:35)  STAIR STEPS  30 seconds seated climb, 30 seconds run with resistance.  Alternate for the whole song.  This is where the real work is.   

Best of Me—Morningwood (3:03)  DOWNHILL/RECOVER  Use the first 1 minute to ride down the hill….finish the song in a seated flat and recover.  Make this recovery where ever you need it to be for you and your fitness goals. 

LOOP #2

Famous Last Words—My Chemical Romance (4:59)

SEATED CLIMB (0-2:00)   feel your legs respond to the hill

STANDING CLIMB (2:00-3:40)  

SEATED FLAT DOWNHILL (3:40-4:59)  concentrate on not bouncing in the saddle, if you are add a little resistance

Get U Home—Shwayze (3:14)  STAIR STEPS  Seated climb alternating with standing run on chorus (“take me…”)

Chase This Light—Jimmy Eat World (3:27) DOWNHILL/RECOVER  Take 1 min to come off of the hill, then recover where you need it  (or no lower than 75% MHR)

LOOP #3

City—Hollywood Undead (3:34)

SEATED CLIMB (0-1:56)  keep your breathing under contro

STANDING CLIMB (1:56-3:34)  stay committed to the climb

Pickin’ It Up—Hot Hot Heat (2:34)  SEATED FLAT DOWNHILL x1:30, then add a little bit of resistance back on and get ready for our last set of stairs

Silver and Cold—AFI (4:11)  STAIR STEPS  Focus and breathe.  Seated climb alternating with standing run with resistance at the chorus (“nothing….”)  Stop thinking.  Feel the music.  Hear the acceleration in the beat and match it.  Go! 

COOL DOWN

Hey, Soul Sister—Train (3:37)  Keep moving until you get below 65% MHR.  Keep pedaling, keep breathing. 

STRETCHES

Maybe—Ingrid Michaelson (3:13)   

Find the entire playlist on iTunes at Spinning Spincycles 10.24.09

When the wheels come down. When the wheels touch ground.

It’s been two weeks since I posted.  Humph.  Not a tragedy, but still, I like to maintain consistency and the routine of posting once a week.  So, what have I been up to that caused a break in my posting schedule?  In addition to trying to pass off buffalo as ground beef to PJK (yes, I was successful, you can hide anything in a good tomato sauce), I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.  I was not as successful with this venture as I was with Operation Mystery Meat and am realizing I should have answered that question long before I technically “grew up.”  

As I investigated this topic further I found myself mentally making lists of what (and who) I don’t want to be.  But apparently, this is (really) the wrong way to go about things such as this.  I guess the theory is that if you put all of your energy into thinking about negative traits, even if you are thinking that way because you want to avoid them, you end up taking them on anyway.  Like an evil self-fulfilling prophecy.  Therefore, instead of focusing on the negative, I’m supposed to focus on creating lists of what (and whom) I do want to be.  And then I found this blog:  SPINTASTIC.  Speechless & totally impressed.  Hi, Melissa, will you be my friend?  We’ll be best friends forever!  And then I can move in with you and we can be roommates….no cause for alarm when I start to borrow a few things without asking. Your clothes, your boyfriend, your life…  Only kidding Melissa, no need to file that restraining order.  I am, as I mentioned before, entirely and completely inspired by you.  So I decided to borrow one of your motivating profiles for Saturday’s class.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…right?

Or maybe not. 

According to Pink (yes, I watched VH1’s Behind the Music last week) that’s a load of bullshit.  Speaking of, I’ve been in a Pink phase for a while.  Her music just sounds sooo good to me (I think it’s that emotional connection I’m always seeking in my song and playlist selections).  Okay, I have to go on a tangent real quick before I get to this week and last week’s playlists.  Here it goes….my current fixation on all songs Pink brought to mind a recent conversation I had with a friend.  The question on the table was:  “which celebrity would you go gay for?”  Wen asked this I immediately responded with Anne Hathaway.  But the more I think about it, the more I want to change my answer to….(you guessed it) Pink.  Don’t get me wrong, Anne is gorgeous, but I think I would rather be her then be with her.  What is it about Pink that’s so darn applealing?  The tattoos?  Her killer abs? The piercings?  Her general badassness?  Um, how about all of the above!  So there you go.  You can add that to all of the other interesting details I choose to reveal in this venue.  Maybe PJK should punk it up a bit….            

Allrightythen, moving right along, I think I’ve more than made up for my negligent blogging habits.  Here’s the playlist from last week:

Find it on iTunes at Spinning Spincycles 9.26.09

3 laps…each with a climb, a downhill and a stair stepping uphill…all separated by a much deserved recovery flat.   

No You Girls–Franz Ferdinand (3:40) Warm up with a seated flat.   

BLOCK #1  feel it out, get to know the ride……………………………

Here It Goes–Ok Go (3:00)  We kick off the ride strong by increasing the effort and intensity.  Pick up the pace on the chorus to raise the heart rate just a little.  Prepare for the hard work we have ahead of ourselves.   

Tear You Apart–She Wants Revenge (Clean Version) (4:44)  Start in a seated climb, progressively adding resistance every 30 seconds until you cannot…move…the…pedals…anymore…but you will keep moving the pedals!  Because you are strong.  Focus on the pedal stroke.  Slide your weight toward the back of the seat…breath in calmness

All The Small Things–Blink 182 (2:48)  Take off ½ the resistance, stand and run down hill…all the way baby.  Feel the wind in your hair. 

Say Aha—Santogold (3:35)  Add a little more resistance back on, this should feel challenging in the saddle.  30second seated climb alternating with 30 seconds running with resistance. Try to maintain a steady cadence throughout the entire song.  This is where the real work is.  Don’t lose focus

Whoa Oh!–Forever the Sickest Kids (3:25)   Recovery seated flat, be wherever you need to be.  Advanced riders:  make it an active recovery.  Keep working while decreasing the heart rate a little

BLOCK #2  push yourself harder this round…………………………..

Counting Down the Hours–Pharmacists & Ted Leo (3:07)  How strong are you feeling?  Fast and steep climb.  Add resistance every 15 seconds for the first 1min 30 seconds.  Finish the song in a standing climb….keep adding if you can stand it.  Advanced riders…pick up the pace with the music.  Beginners:  hold it steady, you look great!

Bouncing Off the Walls– Sugarcult (2:21)  What goes up, must come down.  Drop about ½ of your resistance (it should still feel a little heavy in the saddle).  Seated flat…fast.  This is not a recovery! 

Spaceman–The Killers (4:45)  I love this song!  Stair steps!  Add enough resistance so it feels like a seated climb.  Now lets hit it:  30 seconds in the saddle, 30 seconds out of the saddle (running).  It’s really going to bite, hard…don’t let it slow you down, just keep going. 

Tomorrow–Ladytron (3:36)  Drop the resistance.  Grab a drink.  Recover where you need it. 

BLOCK #3  you know it, make it work for you………………………..

The ‘59 Sound–The Gaslight Anthem (3:13)  Last true climb.  Riders choice of seated or standing.  Make it heavy…make it count.  Surge ahead on the chorus, then slow it back down. 

Lights and Sounds–Yellowcard (3:28)  Downhill….have your cadence follow the speed of the music.  Drop the resistance every 30 seconds…stay in the position you chose for the climb. 

Helena (So Long & Goodnight)–My Chemical Romance (3:23)  The last working song;  it’s finally here.  Intensify the resistance and stay in a nice heavy climb…one more time, hit the stair steps.  Hit them hard!

Wait–Go Set Go (2:47) Cool down in a seated flat with light resistance.

Say–John Mayer (3:50) Stretch your legs off the bike. 

–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–.–

And now for this week’s playlist:  find it too on iTunes at Spinning Spincycles 10.3.09. 

This week I wanted to focus on pedal stroke.  It’s easy to assume that it’s a no-brainer to ride a bike, but if you can develop an efficient pedal stroke you will find yourself less fatigued and better equipped for intense efforts and a greater use of muscular power.  Sounds good, right? 

You want to pedal in a smooth, elliptical motion.  Push forward with one leg while you pull back with the other; this will allow you to minimize the dead spots at the top and bottom.  Focus on lifting your ankle toward your hip to enhance hamstring recruitment.  Keep your feet flat over the center of the pedal (no ballerina toes!) 

It helps to think of the circular pedaling motion being broken into four parts.

1. First, you push the pedal down, working your quad. Here, your heel should be lower than your toes to get the most power out of your legs.
2. At the bottom of your stroke, actively pull your foot back like you’re scraping muck off your shoe. This phase engages your hamstring, the muscle on the back of your thigh.
3. Next, pull the pedal up working your hip flexors.
4. The last part of the circular stroke is the top; you want to kick your foot forward and feel like you’re pushing the pedal, which sets up your down stroke, or the first phase.

 

WARM-UP

Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song—Matt Hires (4:09)  Warm up for a strength ride.  75-85% MHR.  I love a good standing climb.  It’s my go-to move.  But today we are going to learn to appreciate (and love) seated climbs today…burn out our glutes and hips, strengthening and sculpting our legs while paying very close attention to our pedal stroke. 

We will stand…don’t you worry…we will stand to recover.  Three blocks of work, each comprised of seated climb, standing run, seated climb.  Blocks will be separated by short recoveries.  Let the fun begin….

BLOCK #1

Feel Good Time—Pink & William Orbit (3:57) Seated flat with progressive loadings to seated climb: 65-70% MHR.  Focus on pedal stroke mechanics, hip alignment, pelvic tilt. 

The Hand That Feeds—Nine Inch Nails (3:32)  Drop a little resistance.  Stand and run to stretch out the legs.  70-75% MHR  Pay attention to what happens to your heart rate and perceived level of exertion.  Adjust resistance and breathing to modulate any changes. 

Wheels—Foo Fighters (4:38)  Have a seat.  Progressive loading to seated climb: 75-80% MHR.  Focus on dropping the heel on the backstroke to keep a flat foot.  Slide your weight toward the back of the seat on the widest part.  Breathe.  If you are feeling it, give me a little acceleration on the chorus.  Last 1:30, push it to an 85% MHR

RECOVERY

Beware (Jay-Z Remix)—Punjabi MC (3:59)  Light resistance.  Let your heart rate recover.  2 minutes…make the recovery whatever you need it to be.  Final 2 minutes, add a little more resistance on the flywheel, bring it up to a standing run and start to raise your heart rate again.  Block #2 is waiting for us…..

BLOCK #2

Black Gloves—Goose (2:34)  Pile on the resistance in the saddle, we’re right back in the thick of it.  Seated climb, 75-80% MHR.  Relax the upper body…remember, it’s the legs that are supposed to be doing all of the work.  Direct your awareness to anyplace where you might be wasting energy…is there extra tension in your shoulders?  What about your hands, your face? 

Thrash Unreal—Against Me! (4:14)  Standing climb for first 45 seconds of the song.  Drop the resistance a tad and start running.  Maintain a 75% MHR.  Stretch your legs.  Throw in cadence accelerations on the chorus

A Dustland Fairytale—The Killers (3:45)  Slow it down.  Find your seated climb.  Make it heavy, but keep your heart rate between 75 and 80% of max.  Don’t sandbag this.  Think about moving the pedals in a circle…don’t mash down, use the entire pedal stroke to your advantage, you are triggering your glutes to fire with each forward extension and upward stroke.  Use the beat to push you faster for the final 2 minutes of the song.  I’m looking for an 85% MHR…adjust if you need to. 

RECOVERY

I Wanna-The All-American Rejects (3:29)  Drop the resistance.  Catch your breath.  Let your heart rate slowly decrease.  Stand and jog or run around the 2 minute mark.  We’ve got another block of work straight ahead

BLOCK #3  We know this, we’ve seen that we are strong and focused and have the drive to do it one more time.

Cochise—Audioslave (3:42)  Seated, progressively adding on resistance until it’s challenging.  Looking for a 75-80% MHR.  Stop thinking, just feel and climb

Crawl Back In—Dead By Sunrise (3:03)  Don’t stop working, stand to stretch your legs at 75% MHR.  Drop the tension if you need to.  Jog or run, just don’t let you heart rate drop.  We’ve got about 3 minutes to enjoy out of the saddle. 

Run This Town (feat. Rhianna & Kanye West)—Jay-Z (4:35)  Ah, yeah.  Last climb, about 4 minutes long.  Our goal is a 75-80% MHR.  It’s heavy, it’s slow.  Your choice to stand or sit for this one.  Check your form.  How are you feeling?  Last 2 minutes at 85% MHR…all the way to the end

RECOVERY/COOL DOWN:  Fireflies—Owl City (3:48)

STRETCHES:  Flightless Bird, American Mouth—Iron & Wine (4:01)

Reminders:  

1. Starting Tuesday October 6^th I will be teaching the 6:15am (yes, that is early in the morning) 45min. Spinning class at the Alexandria WSC.  Come spin with me in my pj’s and bed head (which probably won’t look too much different than how I look on Saturdays)!
2. Les Mill’s Body Pump…and not to be forgotten Body Combat classes are coming to several WSC’s around the DC metro area.  I don’t have a permanent class (yet)…but will be substituting at Alexandria, Springfield and probably Clarendon too.  If you haven’t experienced these classes, please please check them out.  Next Saturday 10/10 we are doing short (30min) demos!  The schedule at Alexandria is this: 8:15am BodyPump in Studio 1 and 8:15am BodyCombat in Studio 2; 10am BodyPump in Studio 1 and 10:30am BodyCombat in Studio 1.  Please come and check it out, you will have fun for sure!

Okay, okay! This post is way too long.  I’m off to continue to try to figure out what I want to do with my life…

Pressure Makes Diamonds

Waiting in my email inbox Thursday evening:  Congratulations!  You have been selected by WSC to participate in next weekend’s Les Mills’  BODYPUMP training – many were called and few were chosen. 

Whoo-hoo…I made the cut!  And can I even tell you how freaking excited I am?  And maybe a little scared…so, I was a teensy bit sore after Wednesday’s audition, that’s not a big deal, right?  (and by “teensy bit” I mean every time I moved from the sitting to standing position on Thursday I felt the need to emit a small groan of agony sounding exactly like an old decrepit man)  The soreness was probably from my BodyCombat audition…right? Not my beloved BodyPump.  Give me a little reassurance here…it was the multiple round-house kicks that burned up my quads, right?  Seriously though, I can’t imagine how I am going to feel Sunday night at the end of the training.  No wait, I know….I’m going to feel AWESOME!  (Did I mention I’m pretty wound up about this certification training?  Yeah, well, maybe just a little.)    

No playlist from me next week as I was specifically instructed to “clear your schedule completely for the duration of the training”…in the meantime, enjoy Saturday’s playlist on iTunes iMixes at Spinning Spincycles 8.22.09.    

Saturday’s class was inspired in part by my activities last weekend in addition to some great suggestions from Jennifer at FunhogSpins.  My goal was to try to simulate a mountain bike loop (minus the wipe outs) with three laps of a flat, a climb, a downhill and an oxygen-sucking stair stepping uphill. 

I Gotta Feeling—Black Eyed Peas (4:49)  Nice easy warm up.  Start to pick up the pace (85 RPM) for the final minute of the song.  (Emily—this one’s for you.  Mozoltov!) 

LAP #1…use this first lap to get a feel for what to expect during the ride today

The Nerve—MuteMath (2:58)  Add ½ turn to raise your heart rate and prepare for the first hill.  Seated flat, cadence 80-85 RPM

Daylight—Matt & Kim (2:51)  Add a full turn of resistance and start a seated climb.  Don’t get crazy with resistance just yet, there will be time for that on laps 2 and 3.  Climb for 1:52.  Add a ½ turn and finish the song in a standing climb. 

Ruby Soho—Rancid (2:38)  Drop ½ turn, but stay in hand position three for 30 seconds, drop another ½-a full turn.  Sit down, pick up the cadence to 90RMP and finish the downhill in a seated flat to get ready for our next challenge.  Grab a quick drink, but don’t slow down. 

Please Visit Your National Parks—Oxford Collapse (4:09)  Add a little more resistance back on, this should feel challenging in the saddle.  30second seated climb alternating with 30 seconds running with resistance. 

Flathead—The Fratellis (3:17)  Drop the resistance, have a seat and hustle (90-95RMP) downhill for a minute.  Drop the resistance once more…slow your cadence and use the rest of the song as a recovery. (I can’t find this on Amazon, which is really weird, because I swear I’ve linked to it before.)

LAP 2:  start to push yourself….here we go again…

Now We Can See—The Thermals (3:30)  Make this heavier than your first climb…add 2 turns of the resistance and go right into 1:27 of a seated climb, finish song in standing climb

Whoo! Alright, Yeah…Uh Huh—The Rapture (3:49)  Drop the resistance a ½ turn back to the seated climb. 30 seconds alternating with 30 seconds running with resistance

Full Chemical Gear—Thomas Newman (2:00)  Drop the resistance to something light (but keep control of the flywheel) and pick up the pace in a seated flat.  Shoot for 90-95 RMP…don’t slow down just yet

LAP #3:  you know what to expect…now make it work for you

The Angels’ Share—Pharmacists & Ted Leo (3:46)  Take a quick 45 second recovery…longer if you need it….if you don’t need the extra rest start to pick up the pace.  Add ½ turn as we start our third and final lap.   At 2:45 (when there is 1 minute left in the song), pile on the resistance and start your seated climb

Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t)—All Time Low (3:11)  Keep the seated climb going strong for another 50 seconds.  Quick!  Add another ½ turn, stand and climb to the top (pick up the pace if you have the energy during the chorus).    Start to drop the resistance and move to seated fast down hill with 15 seconds left in the song.

Sick of Me—Green Day (2:07)  Seated flat, pick up the pace (90 RPM’s)  let your heart rate come down just a little.  We still have 1 more working song left, use this as a working recovery.

Million Miles Away—The Offspring  (3:40)  Use the first 30 seconds of the song to grab a quick drink.  How are you feeling?  Strong?  Add ½ turn to finish….if this a recovery day for you keep the resistance where it is.  You know this:  30 second seated climb alternating with 30 seconds standing run with resistance. And. You. Are. Done. (this one isn’t on Amazon either, WTF?)

World Keeps Turning—Brett Dennen (3:00)  Shed that extra resistance, find a nice seated flat to cool down

Hero of War—Rise Against (4:13)  Nice ride!  Don’t forget to stretch.