Ok, straight off the bat let me tell you that this is a lighthearted post brought about by my own experiences of Spin and Sprint classes over the past five months or so. I am certainly not qualified to actually teach you how to spin properly, nor am I pretending too be… Read on if you are considering a Spin class, or if you just fancy a laugh at my expense!
Get a Bike at The Back
I mean I think this is common sense if you are new or, like me, you just like keeping a low profile in quite a high intensity full-on class like Spin or Sprint, but maybe not. My anxiety makes me feel like everybody is looking at me and judging me, even if they are not, so I prefer to be right at the back of the room, where barely anybody can see me, and where it is harder for the teacher to get to when they get off the bike and come round to check how people are doing. It also means that nobody can see my underwear if my top rides up or sports leggings roll down. You may need to arrive early to nab the hallowed bikes on the back row, but it is worth it. You
Tie Your Shoelaces (and Tuck Them In)!
Ok so tying shoelaces when you are about to get on a bike that will spin quite fast is pretty obvious, but maybe not so much to also tuck your laces in (unless you’re well fancy and have those special Spin shoes, but then if you have those, you probably aren’t a beginner, are you?). I have learnt the hard way to always do this after my lace got stuck whilst I was sprinting – aka going very very fast – and it wrapped so tightly around the pedal that the lace actually snapped off, after a very awkward minute of me trying desperately to slow down and not lose a foot (unsure if this can actually happen, but it does seem likely when you are in the moment). Just tuck those laces in please…
Bring Water
You. Will. Need. Water. I repeat – you will need water. I am awful at drinking enough water and barely touch my water bottle most days if I am busy, but oh my word do I drink water during and after a Spin class. Small sips though, unless you fancy the risk of puking during a particularly fast round (hasn’t happened to me but I sometimes feel like it might).
Don’t Eat Before
On that subject, do not eat dinner before you come to a class. For Sprint, you are basically doing a HIIT workout on a bike, and it is not a good idea to eat before this. Even for Spin, which tends to be less high impact but longer sessions, you are using muscles in your stomach as well as your legs, and it will most probably cause cramping, if nothing else. I generally stop eating at midday if I am doing a class after work, or for the early morning Sprint sessions (I put myself through the torture of a 6.30am class a few times a week), then I have half a protein bar before the class and the remainder after to avoid working out when I am starving, which I find worse than doing it on a full stomach to be honest!
Mop it Up
Bring a towel – you’re gonna need it to mop up the sweat that you produce. I have sat behind men who have not brought along a towel and the floor around them is ‘literally’ a swimming pool of sweat – yuck! Whilst we are on this subject, make sure you clean your bike before and after the class too, it’s just common decency to wipe the sweat you have just produced off of the equipment that somebody is about to use but some filthy people don’t, which is why you should always clean before as well…
If you are going to a Spin class for the first time, remember that the agony you feel, the moments when you think why, why lord have I put myself through this torture, will in fact pass (I actually somewhat enjoy the classes now, which is the only reason I still put myself through the charade on a regular basis), and make sure you let the teacher know if you haven’t spun before, because if you faint they would like some warning – kidding!
