Tag Archives: spin class

Building Momentum (or Remembering High School Science)

Posted on November 14, 2013 | Comments Off on Building Momentum (or Remembering High School Science)

Think back to high school science for a minute. Do you remember Newton’s first law of motion? In case you don’t, here’s basically what it is. An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion.

First of all, Mom and Dad, aren’t you proud that I remember something from high school science? Secondly, I’ve been trying to use this principle in my life a lot lately.

I’m not just talking about the obvious movement of my body with the workouts I’ve been doing lately. But yes, I am having an easier time working out the more I do it and I’m able to push myself a lot more than I used to.

But I’m also noticing that some things that have been very tough for me to deal with in the past are getting easier (and fun) once I start doing them. I don’t know if it’s because of my panic disorder or my touch of OCD, but I have an issue with change. I’ve mentioned this before when I couldn’t bring myself to buy a new alarm clock (I still haven’t been able to do that). But recently, my e-reader died and I had to get a new one. I used to have one by Sony, but I switched to the Kindle because there are more books available on Amazon than Sony. But the change was tough. I did have some minor panic attacks about the new e-reader, but now that I’ve had it for almost a week, I really love my new Kindle.

I’ve also talked about my issues with getting rid of clothes. But I’ve made some serious steps there as well. I’ve got one bag of old clothes in my closet that I will be taking over to Goodwill soon and I’m going to work today on getting rid of more clothes.

And I’ve even been able to get rid of other things in my life I don’t really use anymore. I had a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit that I used to love to use (now that I’m more into spinning and my 5Ks I haven’t used it in a while). Well, did you know that Amazon allows you to sell them your old electronics? You just submit the items online that you want to sell, they give you an estimated price and free shipping label, and after everything is reviewed, they credit your Amazon account so you can use that money on a future purchase. I sold Amazon my Wii, Wii Fit, and some old DVDs and got enough to pay for half of my Kindle! And just yesterday I sent Amazon another 25 DVDs that I don’t watch anymore!

While I’m decluttering, I’m also trying to be careful and not too over zealous. At some point while I was living at my last apartment, I accidentally got rid of a box that had all the pictures I took in high school and college (I didn’t own a digital camera until my senior semester of college). I don’t know how I got rid of it, but I’m thinking it might have been misplaced when I moved to my house.

I don’t want to get rid of memories like that again. So while I am staying in motion right now, I’m also trying to stop and make sure that I’m not doing something I’ll regret later.

But I do have to say that I’m really loving having extra room in my closet and dresser and it’s nice to also not have as many DVDs on display in my living room.

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Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff, Saving

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A Smile In Spin Class (or Sometimes The Little Things Are Big)

Posted on October 17, 2013 | 1 comment

Since I’m not working right now, I’m trying spin classes at times other than those that I usually go to. When I’m working, I’m pretty limited in when I can go. And I see the same instructors each time (who I love so that’s ok). So I wanted to check out some new instructors to see who else I like. Hopefully one day I’ll have a day job that allows me to go to other classes and I like knowing which instructors I want to go to.

When I’m working, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to the 8:30am class with Laura. This class is early enough so I can go home to shower and change before work. While there are showers at spin class, I prefer going home so I don’t have sweaty clothes in my car all day (and then I don’t have to lug a bunch of stuff with me). But this week on Tuesday, I tried the 10:30 class with Charlee. I’ve never had a class with her before, so I was a little nervous (I still can’t do all the standing up stuff and I don’t like to be called out for it).

I got my usual bike in the corner that I like so I was out-of-the-way but still had a good view of the instructor bike. And it wasn’t a fully packed class which was nice too. When Charlee came in, she started greeting people, and I assumed that those were people who had taken her class before.

We started class with a run on the bike (pedaling as fast as you can go while standing up). I did it sitting, but going really fast. And then Charlee shouted out “Way to go, Jen!” while looking right at me.

I hadn’t introduced myself to her before class so I was a bit confused. Then I realized that she knew everyone’s name in the room. Even people who were at their very first class ever. Charlee must had looked at the sign up list and had learned the names of everyone in class!

That’s so amazing! It made this class feel much more like one of my regular ones instead of a new instructor. And I have to say that I loved Charlee’s class (I’m hoping to make it to her class again today). Sadly, once I’m back at work next week I don’t know when I can be in her class unless I have a random day off (or shower there and race to work). But it’s nice to have another instructor who’s class I really enjoy.

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Kicking Butt (or Feeling Extra Tough In Spin Class)

Posted on August 5, 2013 | Comments Off on Kicking Butt (or Feeling Extra Tough In Spin Class)

I typically don’t go to spin classes on Sundays. The spin studio is very close to my work, and since Sundays are my day off, I’d rather not have to drive that way. Also, since the studio is a block from the beach, the parking structure is horribly crowded.

But I went yesterday because SoulCycle is running a special right now. I can bring a friend for free on Sundays for the 4pm, 5pm, or 6pm classes (if anyone wants to come with me, let me know!). A co-worker of mine has been wanting to try it, so we decided to go for the 4pm class yesterday.

First of all, this class was with an instructor who was new to me. This always makes me nervous because I’m not sure if I’ll like the class or not and if they will point out that I’m not doing all the standing up work. Fortunately, Patrick who was the instructor, was awesome! I’m going to have to see if I can fit his classes into my schedule (maybe when I’m unemployed again?).

So the co-worker of mine who came with me is a super fit person. She does 3-6 miles every day. So I’m not sure if she thought that the workout would be easy or not, but I felt like I was proving to her how tough I am. I had a similar situation when I used to work out with Richard Simmons on a regular basis. My dad decided to try the class with me, and I think he thought it wouldn’t be too hard before he tried it. And he was proven wrong (my dad is planning on trying spinning with me in the fall and he’s seen some videos on how tough it is).

My co-worker after the class was almost speechless. She was shocked that I do the class on a fairly regular basis (I’m trying for 2 classes each week but I want to push it to 3). I love shocking people with my strength in workout classes. Because of my size, people don’t think I’m that strong. But think about it for a minute. I’m carrying a lot more weight than most people on a daily basis. So my legs have to be strong. As far as my arms being strong, that’s from the weights part of spin classes.

I don’t know if my co-worker will be coming back to the class with me. She sent me a text afterwards saying how wrecked she was. But I liked being able to prove to someone that I may look the way I look right now, but I’m getting tougher and stronger every day.

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Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff, Health

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More Cute Workout Clothes (or Why Can’t More Companies Be Like Old Navy?)

Posted on July 22, 2013 | 1 comment

I’ve mentioned my love for Old Navy clothes in the past. For a while, I’ve worn Old Navy workout capris and tank tops to various exercise events. The clothes fit me, they aren’t too expensive, and sometimes I find something awesome like this shirt.

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But most of the tops I’ve been wearing to workout in were not designed to be workout clothes. They get stretched out and don’t wick away any sweat (so I leave class feeling like my shirt was shrink-wrapped onto me).

Many of the women in spin class wear cute tops from stores like Lululemon. I’ve looked on their website, and most of their shirts don’t come bigger than a size 12. I won’t be wearing a size 12 anytime soon, and even when I do, I don’t know if I want to support a clothing company that doesn’t celebrate women of all shapes and sizes that workout.

So I’ve been on the hunt for real workout tops that come in my size. And guess where I found them?

Yup. At Old Navy.

(I’m seriously not paid by Old Navy to say any of this. But if they want to give me a gift card to support my shopping habit at their store, I wouldn’t turn it down)

In their Active section, they now carry tops that remind me of things I saw at Lululemon and other fancy stores like that. I purchased two different tops, both which had shelf bras in them. And I got them recently delivered to my house.

My review: I love these tops! The shelf bra isn’t the most supportive for someone like me, but it’s nice to have. I could see myself wearing these for walks without having to wear a sports bra underneath. I’m not sure about wearing them alone to spin class, but I might be gutsy enough to try it out this week.

I feel like it’s important to feel comfortable and beautiful while working out. And you don’t have to dress up to feel beautiful. I have friends who feel amazing when they workout in tank tops and sweat pants and that’s great! It’s just not me. I want to feel cute and stylish (but I’m not so crazy that I want to do my hair or wear any makeup when I’m working out).

I highly encourage you all to check out some of the workout clothes by Old Navy. I don’t get a kickback or anything. I just want to show support for a company that supports my body type. I am slightly peeved that they don’t carry any plus sized regular clothing in their stores (those are online only), but the largest size of the regular clothes is pretty much plus size.

If I have the courage to wear my new top to spin class, I’ll make sure to report back!

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Posted in Fitness, Fun Stuff, Shopping

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