Over Thanksgiving break when the boys were out of school, Chance and his brother came with me for the first time to spin class.
For those of you who have not experienced spin class before, you use a kind of stationary bike with a dial in front of you so that you can adjust the tension. Turning the dial to the left, makes for easier peddling because there is less tension. Turning the dial to the right, causes the pedaling to get harder and the more you turn the dial to the right, the more it feels like you are climbing a giant hill.
Chance and his brother joined me during the wee morning hours before the sun was up to get an hour of exercise in for the day.
Spin class is held in a room full of bikes and after doing the warm up, most of the lights are turned out and you ride in the dark. I don't know why. So there all three of us were, exercising in the dark listening to our instructor give out instructions like, "Turn down the tension to level 4.....now, here comes a hill, turn it up to level 9, here we go!"
Chance's brother being an avid biker, was in his element though it was a bit weird for him to be riding on a stationary bike. I tried to help the boys during the class to know what was going on as the first time you go, it can be little confusing to know exactly where say level 9 is because there are no numbers on the dial. It is very individual, you learn what a level 9 is for you and turn up the tension until it feels like you are climbing a steep hill, or what level feels like a flat level road to you.
When Chance and his brother were spinning their legs really fast while the rest of us were struggling up a hill, I told them to turn up the tension.
All during the class the instructor is calling out instructions and giving encouragement as you work to get stronger and better.
At one point, I looked over next to me and found Chance with his head practically on the handle bars and his legs barely able to push the pedals. He looked exhausted. I tried to get his attention and tell him to turn the tension down, and he did, but he was still struggling. I told him to turn it down some more and then it occurred to me that Chance had not been hearing all of the instructions. He had turned up the tension and then left it there, not hearing when the instructor told us to turn it down. We had been doing a pattern of turning the dial clear down to the left, riding as fast as we could, and then turning the dial up high like we were riding a hill. We had done that at least 3 times except for Chance had not been hearing the change in instructions so he had kept the tension high the entire time.
I took note of the loud music, the dark room and realized that Chance probably could barely hear the instructor at all.
I felt so bad and told Chance to turn down the tension and get a drink. He asked me if he could go to the bathroom and I told him that would probably be a good idea thinking it would give him a chance to bring down his heart rate. When he got back, he looked much better.
I don't know that spin class was all that fun for Chance. He liked riding the bike and the music, but he wasn't able to hear the instructions. We'll have to take him back and this time be more prepared. Chance is more familiar with how the class works now, and his brother and I would make sure to tell him each time there was a change in how we were riding. I want him to go and have a better experience the next time. I am amazed at Chance and the way he just kept riding even though it was really hard for a loooong time for him.
Chance is a little trooper.
For those of you who have not experienced spin class before, you use a kind of stationary bike with a dial in front of you so that you can adjust the tension. Turning the dial to the left, makes for easier peddling because there is less tension. Turning the dial to the right, causes the pedaling to get harder and the more you turn the dial to the right, the more it feels like you are climbing a giant hill. Chance and his brother joined me during the wee morning hours before the sun was up to get an hour of exercise in for the day.
Spin class is held in a room full of bikes and after doing the warm up, most of the lights are turned out and you ride in the dark. I don't know why. So there all three of us were, exercising in the dark listening to our instructor give out instructions like, "Turn down the tension to level 4.....now, here comes a hill, turn it up to level 9, here we go!"
Chance's brother being an avid biker, was in his element though it was a bit weird for him to be riding on a stationary bike. I tried to help the boys during the class to know what was going on as the first time you go, it can be little confusing to know exactly where say level 9 is because there are no numbers on the dial. It is very individual, you learn what a level 9 is for you and turn up the tension until it feels like you are climbing a steep hill, or what level feels like a flat level road to you.When Chance and his brother were spinning their legs really fast while the rest of us were struggling up a hill, I told them to turn up the tension.
All during the class the instructor is calling out instructions and giving encouragement as you work to get stronger and better.
At one point, I looked over next to me and found Chance with his head practically on the handle bars and his legs barely able to push the pedals. He looked exhausted. I tried to get his attention and tell him to turn the tension down, and he did, but he was still struggling. I told him to turn it down some more and then it occurred to me that Chance had not been hearing all of the instructions. He had turned up the tension and then left it there, not hearing when the instructor told us to turn it down. We had been doing a pattern of turning the dial clear down to the left, riding as fast as we could, and then turning the dial up high like we were riding a hill. We had done that at least 3 times except for Chance had not been hearing the change in instructions so he had kept the tension high the entire time.
I took note of the loud music, the dark room and realized that Chance probably could barely hear the instructor at all.
I felt so bad and told Chance to turn down the tension and get a drink. He asked me if he could go to the bathroom and I told him that would probably be a good idea thinking it would give him a chance to bring down his heart rate. When he got back, he looked much better.
I don't know that spin class was all that fun for Chance. He liked riding the bike and the music, but he wasn't able to hear the instructions. We'll have to take him back and this time be more prepared. Chance is more familiar with how the class works now, and his brother and I would make sure to tell him each time there was a change in how we were riding. I want him to go and have a better experience the next time. I am amazed at Chance and the way he just kept riding even though it was really hard for a loooong time for him.
Chance is a little trooper.
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