a well-thought-out plan

Well, that photo certainly does not suggest the feeling of fall.  Nor does it convey the dreary raininess I have endured for this past week (I know, it could be worse, it could be snow)…but, this photo was taken just about 1 week ago.  Not possible?  Did I mention it was taken in Cancun?!?!  That’s right fellow readers,  I took a very last minute vacation (also known as an attempt to escape reality) to Cancun last week.  How last minute you ask?  Approximately 12 hours passed between the time we booked our trip to when we were actually boarding the plane that would take us to sunshine, warmth, sand and unlimited margaritas! 

You know me, I’m a planner.  I’ll be the first to admit that the 12 hours preceding our flight was stressful, but it all worked out in the end.  Turns out you really don’t need much more than a swimming suit, sunglasses and sun block when in Mexico.  Well, that and a good book (or 3 or 4.)  One of the books I read while lying in my lounge chair next to the ocean (you can hate me for that, I agree, Mexico twice in one year is very bourgeoisie) was Jillian Michaels’ new book Master Your Metabolism.  I’m a total sucker for marketing…what can I say, I love The Biggest Loser and I find Jillian rather motivational.  Anyway, the book it very interesting…all pro organic/anti processed foods.  In a nutshell, her message is:  if it didn’t have a mother or it didn’t grown from the ground, don’t eat it.

From a health standpoint (and seriously, who are we kidding…I’d like to shed a few pounds), I feel I get a B+ in the exercise department.  Food and eating, well, that’s another story.  I struggle with what I put in my mouth.  More accurately, I should I say I struggle with the fact that I put way too much food in my mouth.  There are very few foods I dislike and they are mostly found in the “melon” category.  Honeydew, yuuuuck!  Give me pad thai, pizza, cinnamon rolls, cookies, pancakes, mac-n-cheese…yum!  Jillian makes a very good argument for eating clean and trying to avoid all the chemicals/hormones/additives that are added to our foods.  I’m trying to incorporate a few of her suggestions a little at a time.   

A few of her “homeowork” assignments I am working on this week are:  

1. Eliminating (or cut down on) artificial preservatives, artificial sweeteners, high-fructose corn syrup and preservatives.  Buh-bye Coke Zero…I’ll miss you.
2. Eating 1 serving of berries every day.  This is an easy task, I love all berries! 
3. Sleeping at least seven hours a night.  Not an impossible undertaking.  Apparently, in addition to helping balance out your hormones (and sensitivity to insulin)….some researches have postulated that a particular type of slow-wave sleep (which begins about 1 hour after you fall asleep) will help you burn fat while you sleep.  Sign me up!  I guess this hour after you go to sleep is when our bodies release a bunch of growth hormone and it’s this hormone that prompts the body to burn stored fat.  

One of her exercise suggestions was to add intervals to your work out.  According to Jillian “intervals give the same hormonal benefits and high excess post exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC—also known as after burn—as longer bouts of continuous intense exercise”.   Sounds good, you get more for your buck.  In honor of Jillian, Saturday’s class was all about intervals.  

Here’s the playlist and breakdown:  You are going to work very hard in this class, elevate your heart rate, push yourself out of your comfort zone for 4-5 minutes…but after each push you’ll be rewarded with a 1-2minute recovery.  Every time!  I promise.    

WARM UP

Nothing to Worry About (Jocko for Teaddybears Remix)—Peter Bjorn and John (5:18)  Burr, its cold outside.  We need a really good warm up today.  Start with light resistance.  Progressively add every minute. 

INTERVAL #1

Who Do You Love?—Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (4:15)  Flat road.  Your gear might be just fine from the warm up, but if it’s too thick, just drop a little…just a little, remember to hit it hard, a recovery is right on the other side (besides, we’ve just begun…toughen up!)  Start out of the saddle for 1 minute to raise the heart rate, seated fast pace 1 minute (keep the HR up), stand for 1 minute, finish seated. 

Battery Run—Thomas Newman (1:14)  Recover.  Don’t let your heart rate drop below 65% of max (we want to recover around 65-70% of MHR)

INTERVAL #2

Boys Wanna Be Her—Peaches (3:56)  Begin in a standing climb for about 1 minute.  Then the stair steps start!  30 seconds alternating between standing and sitting.  Keep the cadence to match the beat.  Oh yeah, that smoke you’re smelling…it’s your legs…on fire!

Go Go Go—John Murphy (2:11)  Recover at 65-70% MHR

INTERVAL #3

Medicate—AFI (4:21)  Medium resistance/find a moderate effort out of the saddle.  Start with a standing flat…but I want it fast.  Jump on the chorus (“medicate, you and me…”)  The song slows around 2:33, slow the standing run to a jog.   Remember to keep good control during your jumps.  If you have knee problems, or jumping is uncomfortable, turn the jumps into speed surges. 

Was in der Zeitung steht—d.o.c.h.! (1:56)  Recover at 65-70% MHR

INTERVAL #4

Blood On My Hands—The Used (3:18)  Heavy, hard, challenging, tough resistance.  Standing climb (hands in position 3 of course.)  Speed surges on the chorus (“there’s blood on my hands…”)

Check—Goose (1:38)  Recover.

INTERVAL #5

But Tonight We Dance—Rise Against (2:48)  Find a moderate resistance out of the saddle and jog…run on the chorus.  Hands are in position 2, weight is balanced over the center of the bike.  Make your legs work for you.

Since that was a short song, you get a two-for in this interval.  Here we go….

Hurry Up Let’s Go—Shout Out Louds (2:19)  Keep that resistance knob right where it is.  Have a seat.  I’m going to ask you for a faster cadence with little tiny speed surges on the chorus (i.e. when the music speeds up.)  Earn your break!

Safari Beach—Goose (2:20)  Hello recovery, we missed you!

INTERVAL #6  also known as the FINAL INTERVAL!  (please hold your applause until the end)

With Or Without You—U2 (4:59)  Standing climb.  Elevate your heart rate by adding resistance back on the flywheel.  Get a little comfy for the first 3 minutes, then get really uncomfortable for the final 2 minutes with the same resistance, same cadence IN THE SADDLE.   Remember our pedal stroke drills from a couple of weeks ago?  Put them to use now. 

Meet Me On the Equinox—Death Cab for Cutie (3:44)  Recover & cool down. 

What a Day(2008)—Greg Laswell (5:09)  Stretch, breath, pat yourself on the back ‘cause you made it!

Find this playlist on iTunes at Spinning Spincycles 10.17.09

This class was fun!  So much fun that I’m going to repeat it tomorrow in the 6:15am class.  Yay intervals…burn fat burn!

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…

Fall Is Just Something that Grown-Ups Invented

Can you feel it?  I can….it’s fall!  I love the fall, it’s my favorite season of the year and makes me want to do all things cozy.  I’m overcome with the urge to bake things like fall fruit crumble, and burn candles with names such as frosted pumpkin and mulling spices while watching oodles of football (go Bears!); and oh, the candy corn pumpkins…that tooth-rotting sweetness will be the death of me.  Yum.  It always comes down to candy with me, doesn’t it?      

I cannot remember or figure out from whom or which website I borrowed this ride from for Saturday’s class, but I thank you, it was quite a good workout.  It is composed of high intensity sliding intervals, and is more appropriate as an advanced class, though you can always modify it for beginners. 

This ride is four repeating blocks of about 11 minutes, each with the same sequence of movements (except for the last block…which I had to shorten to keep within our allotted 45 min. class time.)  Within each block, there will be one segment where you will push yourself as hard as you can achieving heart rates between 85-92% of MHR (those are bolded).  After the hard push, your heart rate will come down slightly, but not by much.  Condition your body to “recover” while still working.  Beginners: do not achieve as high of heart rates, take the full recovery time…maybe put about ½ the resistance I suggest to the class. 

This class is also a great reminder of the importance of wearing and using a heart rate monitor….which I’m trying to do with more consistency.      

The Fixer—Pearl Jam (2:58)   Warm up.

BLOCK #1

Funhouse—P!nk (3:25)  1:00 Seated Flat (75%). Bring your level of intensity up one notch.  Medium resistance.  1:00  Standing Flat (80%).  Increase 1 turn.  Prepare for the level of effort to come.  Know that I want you to push as hard as possible for the 1 ½ minutes.  1:30  Seated Climb (85-92%)  Beginners: keep the resistance.  Advanced: Add ½ turn.  Push as hard as possible for 90 seconds.  Test yourself! 

Uprising—Muse (5:05)  2:00 Standing Climb (80-85%)  This is the hard part, you need to drop your heart rate a little while in a standing climb.  Calm down mentally and let the rhythm drive you.  3:00 Seated Climb (80-85%)  Sit down.  Stay with the rhythm, don’t quit, you are still working.  The recovery is coming.

Keep Fishin’—Weezer (2:52)   Seated Flat (75-80%)  Back off, breathe.  Take your recovery at a level where you need to be.  Mentally relax.  Be prepared to get it going again. 

BLOCK #2

Casanova, Baby!—The Gaslight Anthem (3:10)  1:00 Seated Flat (75%)  Back to work.  1:00 Standing Flat (80%)  Bring up the level of intensity.  1:30  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….add ½ turn

Help I’m Alive—Metric (4:46)  2:00 Standing Climb (85-92%)  Standing and give me all you have for 2 minutes.  2:30 Seated Climb (80-85%) Drop the hear rate by the necessary beats (drop ½ turn if you need to).  Don’t recover just yet….you’re still working.

The Impression That I Get—The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (3:15)  Seated Flat (75-80%) Back off, breathe.  Take your recovery at a level you need it. 

BLOCK #3

Man Ray—The Futureheads (2:20)  1:00 Seated Flat (75%)  Back to work.  If you let your heart rate drop in that last recovery, bring it back to working levels.  Medium resistance.  1:20 Standing Flat (80%) Don’t touch anything, just stand and let the intensity rise a little.

Say Hey (I Love You)—Michael Franti & Spearhead (3:56)  1:30 Seated Climb (80-85%) Add a BIG gear.  Keep cadence in line with the heart rate.  2:00 Standing Climb (80-85%)  Add tension to stand, but keep speed under control.  Stay steady.  You are getting ready to fly in the next movement.  Be a little afraid!  I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think you do it!  Ready?????

Bleed It Out—Linkin Park (2:44)  Seated Climb (85-92%) Here we go!  Your gear is probably fine, just push through that pedal stroke, a little speed.  Give me all you have for the next 2 minutes 30 seconds

King of All the World—Old 97’s (2:52)  Seated Flat (75-80%)  Back off and breathe.  Relax.  You’ll probably need the entire song after that last effort. 

BLOCK #4

I Want You—Fefe Dobson (2:10)  1:00 Seated Flat (75%)  This is it.  I know you’re tired, but I also know you can finish this.  1:00 Standing Flat (80%)  Bring up the intensity.  The upcoming hill is short…think about that final flat section—that will be where you push  that will take us to the finish

Full Chemical Gear—Thomas Newman (2:00)  1:00 Seated Climb (80-85%)  BIG gear in the saddle.  1:00 Standing Climb (80-85%)  Add a little gear and stand, but keep the intensity about the same.

The Gutterati?—The Fratellis (2:29)  Seated Flat (85-92%)  OK, this is it.  Show me what you’ve got and drive it home.  Cadence should be a good solid flat road cadence of 90-110 RPM.  You’re not sprinting…make sure it’s a pace you can hold for the entire song.

COOL DOWN & STRETCHES

Why I Am—Dave Matthews Band (3:53)  Relax, breathe.  You made it!

I Will Follow You Into the Dark—Death Cab for Cute (3:09)  Stretch.

Find this playlist on iTunes at Spinning Spincycles 9.19.09.

Woo!

I want to be a Woo girl. 

You know who I’m talking about.  There was an entire How I Met Your Mother episode devoted to the Woo girls (hilarious).   They are those girls who have endless amounts of enthusiasm, and unable to contain the aforementioned enthusiasm; constantly shout “woo!”  These “woo’s” are often accompanied by some sort of elevated arm movement/fist pump/devil horns hand gesture. 

It seems like a prerequisite for group ex instructors (especially Body Pump instructors).  I tried it out a little at Saturday’s Spinning class. did you notice?  I hope not…it’s embarrassing, it just doesn’t come naturally to me.  I’ve got the fist pump, the hand gesture, I definitely have the enthusiasm…but the woo just doesn’t sound right.  Is it too pitchy…not loud enough…am I not fully committed to the woo?   Whatever the reason is, it needs some work.  Which is why I plan to practice it over the next few weeks.  You can now find my dogs constantly in a state of anticipation, they think each woo is preceding something very very exciting (like a walk or a treat or a spilled box of Rice Krispies) instead of something mundane.  Woo! It’s time to wash the dishes!  That alone incites much tail wagging and shuffling into the kitchen, only to be followed by two heartbreaking dog stares in my direction.  Oh, the doggie guilt trip…woo, I guess it’s time for a walk…

Wooo! Find Saturday’s playlist on iTunes at Spinning Spincycles 9.12.09.  Woo!  Here’s the break-down of our ride….wooooo!        

Knights of Cydonia—Muse (6:07)  Time to warm-up. Do plenty of stretching and grab some water before we really get into it.  First three minutes = good warm up.  Add a little tension on the bike and stand and run for the final minutes of the song.  We want you really warm today. 

Hey Driver—Luck Boys Confusion (2:34)  Seated flat.  Increase your cadence to 90-110 RPM.  Stand and slow down to a jog on the acoustic portions of the song.  Increase ½ turn after each interval (will happen 3 times)

The Rat—The Walkmen (4:22)  Can you stand the resistance?  If so…keep it right where it is.  30 seconds in the saddle and 30 seconds out alternate for the whole song.

The Underdog—Spoon (3:42)  Don’t touch that resistance knob.  We’ve got a climb. Focus on opposing movements of the pedal stroke.  Stay seated for the first 45 seconds, then make it a standing climb.  Increase resistance at 1:50 and cruise through the rest of the song

(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To—Weezer (3:29)  It’s new Weezer!!!  Decrease the resistance and move out of the saddle to a standing flat.  Make sure you have control of your flywheel.  Use this as an active recovery if you need it.  Have a seat and increase your cadence on the chorus.

Run to Paradise (Radio Edit)—Nick Skitz vs The Choirboys (3:57)  Gimme more resistance and keep it rolling…we’re running with resistance for the whole song.  You decide your pace…I’m going to try to follow the music…

Magic—Ladyhawke (3:27)  More resistance (what???  That’s right, add more) it’s a seated climb.  Add a little more resistance each 30 seconds.  It’s a steep steep hill.  Focus on your strength, not your speed. 

A-Punk—Vampire Weekend (2:18)  Decrease the resistance and recover.  Seated flat.  Use the whole song to recovery so you can hit the back half of our ride hard.   

She’s a Genius—JET (2:59)  Find a moderate resistance.  It’s time for jumps on a hill.  Maintain good form and use your smooth moves to transition in and out of the saddle.  Jump on the chorus, standing jog in-between.

I Owe You a Love Song—Shiny Toy Guns (3:44)  Gradually increase resistance on this moderate seated climb. 

Electric Feel—MGMT (3:50)  Resistance should be very heavy at this point.  Bring it to a standing climb.  Feel the beat.  Find your rhythm.   Sit and burn it out at: 1-1:15, 2:15-2:30, and 3:15-3:30.

It’s All Your Fault—P!nk (3:52)  Decrease the resistance and take a short (i.e. 45 second) recovery.  Add to create a moderate resistance and pick up the pace on a standing flat.  Sit and catch your breath during the slow parts of the song, only to stand and push your legs faster.  Advanced riders:  increase resistance after each interval.  Really push it on the last 30 seconds…this is it…make it count!

Stick With Me Baby—Robert Plant & Allison Krauss (2:51)  The long awaited cool down seated flat

Friendly Fire—The Federalists (2:37)  The end is here.  Finish with our standard stretches. 

Woo!

Labor Day 2009

Happy Labor Day! 

I obviously survived last weekend’s Body Pump certification training…though if you had asked me Saturday evening if I thought I was going to make it, my answer may have been “doubtful.” It was tough…both mentally and physically.  But, I am so excited about this program & if you are a member at Alexandria WSC…just wait…you’ll see very soon for yourself how amazing this group exercise class is.  I’ll let you know as soon as I know the days and times of Body Pump classes.   

Speaking of the holiday, thanks for making it to class Saturday morning.  Here’s the rundown of our 10am class:

Cherub Rock–Smashing Pumpkins  Warm up your legs with a seated flat & a few upper body stretches

Little Dawn–Pharmacists & Ted Leo  Add about a ½ turn of resistance and start to pick up the pace.  Cadence changes in all 3 positions: sitting/standing/climbing.  Add a ½ to a full turn of resistance before each position change.  End the song in a standing climb for the last 2 minutes when the lyrics  It’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright  is repeated about 150 times. 

Sugarbaby–Morningwood  Keep the resistance for 8-count jumps on a hill alternating with a standing running with resistance during the chorus.  Remember to keep your jumping transitions smooth 

Don’t Leave Me Hanging–Jet Lag Gemini  Lighten up the resistance.  Start seated, alternating between a jog and a run, add resistance to stand & repeat, add more resistance.  Find yourself back in the saddle and repeat tempo changes.

White People for Peace–Against Me!  Don’t take a bit of resistance off.  Stay in a seated climb, add resistance until it feels thick and heavy, and then hold it steady for the rest of the song.  Bring it to a standing climb at 2:15 and finish strong.

Laid–Better Than Ezra  Lighten up on the resistance, grab a drink & then jump right back up into another standing climb.  This time is a little heavier and a little slower pedal stroke than the song before.

Far Behind–Social Distortion  No more climbs for a while.  Reward yourself with a 1 minute recovery.  Add a ½ turn of resistance back on, then, when you are ready, find a racing speed in the saddle for 1 minute.  Stand and jog to recover, sit and let your legs fly for the last minute of the song.

Stumble and Fall–Razorlight  Find a challenging resistance.  Find a good rhythm with your legs and don’t slow down.  Alternate between sitting and standing every 30 seconds trying to keep the same beat the entire time.

The Comeback–Shout Out Louds  Advanced rider?  Add more resistance.  4 count jumps on the chorus, climb in-between the jumping intervals.  Pick up the pace if you can manage.

Lifeline–Papa Roach  Make the resistance feel hard, then harder…do this in a seated, standing & finally climbing position.

Honestly–Zwan  Hey Billy Corgan, thanks for making dual appearances on the the playlist this morning!  Standing climb with rolling hills  (adding and subtracting resistance to simulate an uneven ride.)

Happiness Is Overrated–The Airborne Toxic Event  Short recovery for the intro of this song.  Pick up the pace on a seated flat for 1:15.  Add resistance for a short standing run until 2:00, finish in a standing climb for the last part of the song.

You Look Like I Need a Drink–Against Me!  This is our last working song (smile).  Catch your breath then find a fast racing speed and burn it out for 1 minute.  Another quick catch of your breath…then race faster and faster and faster and faster and…..whew!  And, you’re done. 

The Wrestler–Bruce Springsteen  Cool it down on the bike.

1, 2, 3, 4—Plain White T’s  Stretches off the bike.

Find this playlist on iTunes iMixes under Spincycles 2.28.09.  Yeah, I borrowed a playlist from the past.  Didn’t think you would notice since it was 6 months ago…nor did I think you would mind, since it’s a really great mix of music.  I plan to have some new stuff next week.

Reflections on Labor Day 2009:

• No matter how many times you shout “Sit down! Stay still!” dogs do not instinctively know the importance of motionlessness and keeping their weight balanced in the middle of a kayak.  I foolishly thought my typically hyperactive terriers would magically turn into docile creatures the moment their paws touched the inside of a kayak…I was very very very wrong. 
• Ducks, surprisingly, do not mind being sprayed with the garden hose.  I, on the other hand, mind (a lot!)
• Big Ed may be more obsessed with squirrels than my two dogs.  Unfortunately, the end result of that obsession has a slightly bleaker outcome than the squirrel scampering up a tree to escape a couple of canine chompers.
• A tree in a ditch next to I-95 starts to seriously look like a viable alternative to a rest stop bathroom after you have been stuck in a car in Labor day traffic for many many hours.   

–Goodbye summer, see you next year!

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.

Fountainhead

Mountain biking sounded like a fabulous idea.  I wanted to try my new bike shoes off the spinning bike…and here was the perfect opportunity!  It really sounded like a great idea on Saturday night…not so much on Sunday morning when I found myself face down in a pile of leaves and twigs and dirt with one leg under my bike and the other foot firmly clipped into my pedal.  Nor did it feel like a great idea when I wiped out trying to jump over a handful of tree roots….or when I cut it too close to a tree and caught my back wheel in just a way that it threw off my balance…or when I got a little scared on a decline and changed my mind at the last minute and decided to walk down instead, but couldn’t get my body and brakes and feet to work in sync…

What was I thinking and more importantly, who was I kidding?  My badass spinning self had its butt kicked all the way up and down the trails at Fountainhead.  And I have the bruises (and scrapes and bumps) to show for it. 

However, despite the falling and feeling like I was on the losing end of a prize fight, it was totally worth it and so much fun!  I’m ready to go again.  Well, maybe not right away.  Let a few of my bruises heal first…and I might need to invest in some tube socks and/or knee pads-shin guards.  Other than those minor details….bring it on!       

In the meantime, I’ll return to the bikes that are firmly bolted to a frame that isn’t going anywhere (much less down a crazy trail marked with a skull and cross bones).  Find Saturday’s playlist on iTunes iMixes at Spinning Spincyles 8.15.09

Never Ever—Shout Out Louds (3:53)  Seated Flat (80-110 RPM) warm up and prepare for a kick ass class. 

Heads Will Roll—Yeah Yeah Yeahs (3:41)  Standing Flat (90-100RPM).  Begin adding resistance as you come to the base of the first hill for 1:40.  Gradually add resistance (1/4 turn every 30 seconds) until you are running with resistance for 2 minutes as you begin a moderate hill climb.

Soldier’s Grin—Wolf Parade (4:37)  Keep the resistance on the bike from the previous song.  Have a seat and start a seated climb (70-80RPM).  After each minute, increase resistance slightly (1/4 turn) to raise heart rate.  Come out of the saddle at 3:37 to finish the first hill effort.

Drama Queen—Switches (2:57)  Decrease resistance and recover in a seated flat (90-110 RPM) for 2 minutes.  Add a turn of resistance for standing flat for last minute of song.  Ready to for more?

No Sex for Ben—The Rapture (4:06)  (I have had this song stuck in my head for days….now you too can mumble it over and over and annoy the hell out all of your friends)  Moderately challenging hill in the saddle. 

• Start with slower cadence (60 RPM) for 30seconds. 
• Speed up to 75-80RPM for next 1 minute. 
• Slow down to 60 RPM’s for 30 seconds, then
• Push it faster to 80RPM for next 1minute
• Drop down to slow for 30 seconds
• Finish song fast

Spotlight (Twilight Mix)—Mutemath (3:21)  Decrease resistance, pick up the pace (90-100 RPM) and recover in seated flat for 2 minutes.  Add a ½ turn for a standing flat and finish the song

Waiting Room—Fugazi (2:53)  Hold that resistance and have a seat.  It’s time for switchbacks.  Add ½ turn and start to feel the resistance under your feet. 

• Add full turn at 0:50
• Standing climb 0:57-1:15, give me a burst of extreme intensity
• Drop full turn, have a seat and keep it going strong
• Add full turn at 1:50
• Standing climb 1:57-2:15….second spike of intensity
• Drop full turn, finish strong

Zombies Ate My Neighbors—Single File (3:02)  Decrease resistance, pick up the pace and recover in seated flat for 1 minute.  Add ½ turn and stand and jog for 1 minute.  Add ½ turn and start to run with resistance for final minute of song. 

Panic Switch—Silver sun Pickups (5:42)  Keep the resistance on the bike, sit and start a seated climb. 

• Add ½ turn at 1 minute. 
• Stand and run 1:25-2:00. 
• Add ½ turn and make it a standing climb
• Stand and run 2:55-3:31
• Don’t touch that resistance knob, sit down and hammer it out. 
• Stand and run at 4:00-4:30
• Finish in standing climb

Letters to the President—Hawk Nelson (3:16)  drop the resistance and recover in a seated flat for the first 58 seconds .  Make sure you have enough resistance on the flywheel to maintain control.  Speed surges: 

• 0:58-1:15
• 1:42-1:53
• 2:00-2:20
• Add ½ turn, standing run
• 2:48-till end of the song

Notion—Kings of Leon (3:01)  Find moderate hill (standing climb)  30 seconds out of saddle, 30 seconds in saddle.  Add ½ turn…30seconds out, 30 seconds in.  Can you handle it?!?!  Add ½ turn…30 seconds out, 30 seconds in

No Pun Intended—The Hives (2:17)  Drop 1 ½ or 2 turns.  Stay seated and let your legs fly for 1 minute…race to the finish…can you handle 1 more minute? 

Falling Apart—Matt Nathanson (3:28)  Drop the resistance.  Drop the effort.  Keep the legs moving and start cool down. 

All My Days—Alexi Murdoch (4:57)  Take extra time to stretch it all out!

–Thank you Dan & Sarah for letting me tag along today…I’m not always that spastic (or foul-mouthed), I promise!

Taking the Leap

(don’t be too harsh on my photography skills…it’s really really hard to hold the camera steady on a boat)

Why are some decisions so hard to make?  Sometimes there are just so many choices available (sometimes not)…and all I have to do is just pull the trigger and pick one (although I guess, technically, the lack of making a choice is one on its own).  But making a decision (and I’m talking about the big ones here) is scary.  I’m a planner.  I want to know the outcome of my choices.  Where is the manual outlining that if I take option A things will turn out this way…but if I pick option B things will turn out a little differently.  How do you choose?  And what if there is a secret option C that will only reveal itself if you wait just a tiny bit longer.  But how much longer?  And when do you give up on waiting for C?  I want guarantees.  I want a return policy and do-overs.  Wait; hold it just a sec…am I getting serious here?  Let’s put a stop to that right now.  My apologies.  Instead I will try to entertain you with a few (non life-altering) decisions I faced of my own this past week:

1. Should I maintain my “regular” schedule or break it and have some fun with PJK’s brother who was staying with us all last week?  (Forget the schedule…have fun!)
2. Should I decline an invitation/adult beverages/late return home and go to bed early on Friday knowing I have to teach Spinning Saturday morning?  (Stay out, enjoy…that’s what Red Bull is for in the morning, isn’t it?)
3. Should I take care of my weekend chores/errands and skip a boat ride on the Potomac?  (Easy-peasy….boat ride always wins, who cares if there isn’t a pair of clean underwear anywhere to be found on Monday morning)
4. Do I ignore the rumors about the cleanliness of the Potomac & enjoy a swim in potentially fecal-filled waters?  (I took the leap, literally, on this one.  However, the verdict is still out on this decision….if some weird skin infection shows up in the next 7-10 days, we’ll know I clearly made the wrong choice)

Since I was busy having way too much fun and shirking all responsibilities this past week, I ran out of time to create a “new” playlist.  Instead, I picked a lot of my favorite songs that I’ve played before.  Find Saturday’s playlist on iTunes at Spinning Spincycles 8.8.09

Troublemaker—Weezer (2:45)  Warm up

White People for Peace—Against Me! (3:32)  Pick up the pace and start to climb, add ¼ turn every 15 seconds….throw in some speed surges to really increase the heart rate

Middle Management—Bishop Allen (2:44) Drop resistance to a medium effort and jump during the “all right” chorus.  Standing run in-between to keep your heart rate up adding about ¼ turn of the resistance knob after each interval.

What I’ve Done—Linkin Park (3:29)  Slow it down for a heavy standing climb.  Find your focus & hold it there for about 3 minutes, but don’t let your form get sloppy.

Let It Rock—Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne (3:56)  1 minute of recovery.  Then move to a standing jog, add a little more resistance and have a seat in saddle, increase resistance just a bit more, keep your speed to alternate standing and sitting with the resistance

Smooth Criminal—Alien Ant Farm (3:29)  Faster and faster for the chorus using a moderate resistance with short periods of recovery in-between the speed drills.

Joker and the Thief—Wolfmother (4:40) Start in the saddle with light resistance.  Stand for 30 seconds, add ½ turn and have a seat.  Add another ½ turn to stand and run again.  Keep that resistance on the flywheel and have a seat.  Drop the resistance ½ turn for a short recovery & repeat.

Monkey Wrench—Foo Fighters (3:51) Light resistance, but always keeping control.  Pick up the pace fast, faster, fastest in saddle.  Short recovery, add a turn of resistance and repeat standing.

Know Your Enemy—Green Day (3:11)  Heavy resistance alternating between standing and climbing every 30 seconds. 

By the Way—Red Hot Chili Peppers (3:32) Keep that heavy resistance going strong.  Explode out of the saddle to hand position three, increase speed and overcome resistance.  Sit & keep the cadence, drop resistance to recover.

Are You Going to Be My Girl—JET (3:31)  Light to moderate resistance.  Fast jumps with the beat for a working recovery to prepare for our final push to the end. 

Youth of a Nation—P.O.D. (4:17) Hold the resistance from the previous song.  Standing run, increase 1 turn and move to a heavy climb on “we are”.  Finish strong.

Human—The Killers (4:10) Cool down.

The Wrestler—Bruce Springsteen (3:51)  Stretches off the bike.   

**New shoe update(wore them Saturday):  They are AWESOME!

Hey, I put some new shoes on, and suddenly everything is right

Check it out…brand new spinning shoes. 

I’m so embarrassed about my old pair; I’m not even going to post a picture of them.  They are ugly!  I originally bought them because they were on sale…and to make matters worse they aren’t even women’s shoes, (they’re men’s)!  Like I said, they were on sale and the price was right.  But, those have been retired (RIP shoes, you’ve had a long, useful life) and I got to be a whole lot pickier this time around.  I wanted these cute ones with a hot pink sole, but as the salesman patiently pointed out, those weren’t appropriate for spinning class…only racing.  Before my disappointment could set in, he quickly pointed out another equally nice pair.  No hot pink, but compared to my previous shoe, they are beautiful! 

If you are in the market for a pair of spinning shoes and live in the Alexandria, VA area go see the guys at Spokes.  Not only are they hilarious, they are very knowledgeable.  Hell, they’ve almost convinced me join them for their weekly mountain bike ride.  Who knows, I still might!   Seriously though, stiff- soled spinning shoes are the best for cycling.  Soft-soled shoes like running shoes absorb way too much of the pedal force and make pedaling inefficient.  Also, when you are in the standing position running shoes bend over the pedals and can cause some temporary numbness in the feet…and that’s really not good. 

Check out Saturday’s playlist on iTunes iMixes at Spinning Spincycles 8.1.09

Under Pressure—My Chemical Romance & The Used (3:32)  Warm up with an easy seated flat.  

Can’t Believe a Single Word—VHS Or BETA (3:43)  Continue to warm up and raise your heart rate with a seated climb.  Increase resistance with ½ a turn every 30 seconds.  Stand about half way through the song to gain some momentum, then have a seat and keep climbing.

Love Drunk—Boys Like Girls (3:47)  Keep your resistance, grab a quick drink.  Come to a standing climb with hands in position three.  Give me some speed surges on the chorus! (there may be a swear word around 2:14-2:16, but it’s really buried in the music, you might not even notice it)

Hope is Fading—The Well Wishers (4:18)  1 minute recovery, pick up pace and find a medium resistance and then stand  Intervals q 30 seconds: 1)Standing jog 2)Standing run 3)Drop ½ turn for seated recovery Increase resistance 1 full turn then standing jog again, moving into a run for the last minute

Drive Me Insane—Billy Boy On Poison (2:52) Find a heavy resistance in the saddle.   Standing run x 30 seconds, sit and burn it out on the chorus. 

I Want You To Want Me—Letters To Cleo (3:26)  Light resistance, but enough to keep control.  Fast—Faster in seated, standing, seated positions in time with the music.  Increase ½ turn of resistance after each speed surge.

This Is Our Perfect Crime—The Von Bondies (2:57)  Seated recovery, nice and easy to catch your breath.  Add 1 or 2 turns of resistance for standing heavy climb on chorus at 0:48-1, 1:28-1:43 and 2:10-2:51. 

Believe—Yellowcard (4:31)  Let your legs fly!  Drop back to medium resistance and pick up the pace.  Alternating surges x20 seconds with recovery x10seconds.

Stop!—Against Me! (2:33)  Jumps on the chorus, increasing the resistance so it feels like a hill.

Don’t Cry Out—Shiny Toy Guns (4:10)  Find your flat with an easy standing recovery.  Pick up the pace.  Sit and Sprint 1:14-1:34 (on chorus).  Recover.  Sit and Sprint 2:05-2:34, and finally sprint at 3:05 and bring it home in a mad dash.

Cash Machine—Hard-FI (3:43)  Seated climb, increasing the resistance every 15 seconds until you want to stand…but don’t until the last 1 minute

Best of You—Foo Fighters (4:16)  Shake out your arms and grab some water and get ready to finish.  At 0:48 power surge and stay there fast x 10 seconds.  At 1:33 power surge and stay there faster x 20 seconds.  Add 2 good turns of the tension and stand up during instrumental part.  Charge in a climb until 3 minutes….when the music slows take a deep breath and then end strong and fast

It’s Because We’ve Got Hair—Tunng (3:03)  Cool down seated flat

What Sarah Said—Death Cab for Cutie (6:21) S…t…r…e…t…c…h…e…s…

–Want to know why I didn’t make my regular Sunday post and am instead posting on Monday night??  Because my laptop sucks, that’s why!!  Take that stupid computer! And you call yourself a “laptop”…ha…you are so big and bulky you look like you originally belonged to Zack Morris and are of little use to me when you keep showing me the blue screen of death (which is basically my computer’s version of giving me the middle finger).  Whew, I feel better that I got that off my chest.  Now you know my computer’s going to rebel here in a second…I’m anticipating the blue screen of death in 5….4…..3….2……

You should blog about that

Sometimes (i.e. this week) I run short on blogging topics.  PJK was nice enough to offer some inspiration of his own.  Last week we were watching TV and I was blathering on about one thing or another when PJK casually said: “you should blog about that, you talk about it enough.”  What topic do I apparently talk about with such frequency that others are starting to take notice?  Um, that would be Jonah Hill’s hands.  I know, I wish it was something like the US foreign policy or healthcare reform.  But it’s not, it’s Jonah Hill.  Well, his hands specifically…and how small they are.

Have you ever noticed?  They are super duper tiny compared to the rest of his body, but no one ever mentions it.  I mean, TMZ did a whole story on Megan Fox’s “wonky toe thumbs” but I don’t see any tabloid stories on Jonah’s baby hands.  His hands aren’t as small Junice’s…but they are petite!  I tired to find photos to represent my contention, but they don’t look as miniature as they do on film.   Maybe they aren’t as small as I think they are…but then I really wouldn’t have anything to blog about…so just go with me on this, he has very disproportionately small hands. 

Anyway, back to PJK’s suggestion.  My argument against writing about Jonah’s tiny hands was that there wasn’t a way to tie it into spinning.  Oh, but there is, he promised….you can just speculate about whether his child-like hands are even large enough to wrap around the spinning bike handle bars.  So, there it is…could Jonah Hill participate in one of my spinning classes, or would he be too hindered by his wee little hands?  Discuss amongst yourselves…..

Find Saturday’s playlist on iTunes iMixes at Spinning Spincycles 7.25.09

Gimme Sympathy—Metric  (3:54) Warm up seated flat.  Lots and lots of intervals today…it’s interval insanity!!!!

Young Folks—Peter Bjorn and John (4:39)  Easy seated climb.  Let’s start to bring our heart rate up before we really get into all of our intervals.  Increase resistance ¼ turn every 30 seconds.  Speed surge 1:30-2.  Another speed surge 2:55-3:30

Cross My Heart—Marianas Trench (3:12)  Drop resistance so it feel like you are using a moderate effort in the saddle.  Let’s keep our heart rate up!  Seated flat 0-0:30.  Standing run 0:30-0:55.  Increase ¼ turn.  Seated flat 0:55-1:30.  Standing run 1:30-1:45.  Jumps 1:45-2:20.  Increase ¼ turn.  Sit 2:20-2:50.  Finish in standing run

Breathe, Stretch, Shake –Mase & P.Diddy (3:18)   30 second easy flat in saddle.  30 second medium standing climb.  Add 1 FULL TURN & keep climbing x 30 seconds.  Drop 1 TURN and keep climbing x 30 seconds.  Add 1 FULL TURN…keep climbing x 30 seconds.  Drop 1 TURN and finish the song

Rock & Roll Queen—The Subways (2:52)  Light Resistance (but don’t bounce in the saddle).  Seated recovery….work it fast on the chorus…then recover

Daftendirekt—Daft Punk (2:45)  Recover x 45 seconds.  Fast seated flat x 30 seconds…alternating with fast standing run (keep your head still when you run, don’t cheat, let your legs do the work).  Advanced riders—add ¼ or ½ turn after each interval…otherwise keep it at a light to moderate resistance

It’s Time to Party—Andrew W.K. (1:30)  Light resistance (but enough to have control and not bounce in the saddle)  Fast…75% effort with race speed for entire song…it’s only a minute and a half

Pickin’It Up—Hot Hot Heat (2:34)  Light resistance in the saddle to recover….Add 1 or 2 turns and stand and climb with speed surges on chorus.  Alternate

Right Here, Right Now—Fatboy Slim (3:56)  We are going to stay out of the saddle the whole song.  Medium resistance standing and jog.  Speed surge 0:55-2:05, Increase ½ turn & jog to recover.  Speed surge 3:12-3:56. 

You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Re-Mixed and Re-Edited by Soulwax)—The Rolling Stones (6:07)  It’s our second to last song :o) 1 minute to add resistance in the saddle to start the climb.  Then come out, add another ¼ turn and stand to climb.  Sit on the chorus to burn it out……

Bang Bang (feat. Adam Levine)—K’naan (3:06)  Drop to medium resistance and standing flat, increase the pace when you hear Adam sing, sit & sprint on chorus.  Add ½ turn if you are advanced and repeat twice (last repeat starts at 2:15 with jog)

Snow (Hey Oh)—Red Hot Chili Peppers (5:35)  Seated Flat Recovery

Sleep—Azure Ray (5:00)  Stretch it out, the insanity has ended