<p>Google is your friend, BCE</p>
<p>Week 3 for newbie here:
First spinning class ever. Hid in the back of the very full room.
Easily the slowest spinner there by a mile BUT found it satisfying and peaceful (dark room) even with the loud invigorating music.</p>
<p>Most challenging cardio I’ve done in years…but I did finish the 50 min session and am proud!</p>
<p>good for you, musicmom!</p>
<p>I sometimes find overly loud music annoying. I have very good ears still (didn’t go to rock concerts) and it can be painful for me while fun for everyone else. So…it’s the little exercycle in the basement for me!</p>
<p>Good for you music mom ! I find the spinning classes very demanding. Anyone who can make it through the hour spinning classes is in the warrior category.</p>
<p>Spinning is a GREAT and hard workout. Just make sure to keep your cadence up and reduce the tension as much as you need to for that to happen. You will be as fast as everyone else, and it is better for your knees and for a cardio workout to really be “spinning” instead of pushing on the pedals (except when they tell you to to climb hills etc). Good job!</p>
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<p>I believe that would mean five pound party time wouldn 't it? 
I love a good five pound party…</p>
<p>BC:</p>
<p>You see people wearing the craziest stuff around here. The other day when it was 32 degrees, snowing, and freezing rain (just raw outside), I saw a guy in shorts and a t-shirt. Not running. Walking into the grocery store. What we he thinking?</p>
<p>Then you see the opposite. Sweat pants and a hoodie and a scarf would be way too hot for running at 36 degrees. At that temp, I hike in a thin long-sleeve tech shirt and a very light nylon ripstop windshirt at that temperature. Softshell hiking pants with no insulation and no long johns.</p>
<p>For running at 36 degrees, a short sleeve tech shirt under a long sleeve tech shirt would probably be fine. The main thing you might need to hunt for is a nice pair of comfy running pants. Those can be worn alone or over light long johns if it is really cold. The runners seem to like tights, but that’s not really my “look”. The ones I have are slightly stretchy, but looser, not like tights. On the other hand, they are lighter, softer, and stretchier than “warm-up pants”. Very comfortable for walking, running, weight lifting, crawling around on an exercise mat, etc. Get the right layer on your legs and the tops are easy just by layering shirts and light windbreaker jackets.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the encouragement! I need it, this is really a big change for me, both exercise and diet. But I am trying to not go crazy and get injured or discouraged.</p>
<p>MOWC- thanks for the tip… if I venture to another class, I will use it.
My goal was to finish the class, even if I was not keeping up with the Joneses.
No problem for me to remember to reduce the tension! I had it quite low the entire time and could just barely keep going, my heartrate was definately up there.
Luckily my knees are still good. My hearing is NOT, so maybe that’s what lets me tolerate the music.</p>
<p>I’ll stick to the elliptical for my everday cardio but it IS nice to know I can do this!</p>
<p>musicmom, I think spinning is the hardest thing I ever tried. So I don’t do it anymore :)</p>
<p>20 minutes on the elliptical for a warmup, then weights today. I’m having to really lighten the weights I use because of my elbow and leg pain. I can’t do split squats right now, so just regular squats, romanian deadlifts and calf raises for legs. Pushups are out, so just light weights for a few upper body weight routines. </p>
<p>I always wondered why nobody made a zero drop shoe with more cushioning. I think that would be the perfect shoe.</p>
<p>“I believe that would mean five pound party time wouldn 't it? I love a good five pound party…”</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Musicmom, very nice.</p>
<p>The Altras that are already out do have cushioning, which is great. They are very different from Vibrams, NB Minimus etc. I like the Intuition and the Provisioness. This new shoe is going to have excess cushioning, which might be good for geezer legs.</p>
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<p>Good job, MM. Spinning is tough. I’ve been spinning for three years and I still find it challenging. If you find that you want to continue with spinning, one thing that will make a big difference is shoes. I held out for a long time thinking that indoor bike shoes wouldn’t make a difference, but they really do. It’s so much better riding with proper shoes. The shoes come in all price points. I’ve had the same pair now for two years and they’re holding up well. I try to spin once or twice a week.</p>
<p>Yes, I do see that dedicated shoes are recommended. I will consider if I find myself
hooked. Waaay too early to tell.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip though, Bromfield. Good to hear from an experienced spinner…
I’d like to think I can become one also but it was very difficult for me. Happy I didn’t have to bow out in the middle but can’t say that I’m looking forward to the ‘next time’.
Maybe once a week at my fitness level doesn’t sound so intimidating, I’ll see.</p>
<p>3.1 miles, 11.56 to go. Forgot - weights too.</p>
<p>I had to use the new treadmill tonight. All of the others were taken. It was surprisingly nice as far as comfort goes.</p>
<p>Tennis tomorrow with my regular guy that took off playing sets for the last nine months. He played sets yesterday against the 4.5-5.0 player that I’ve been hitting against this year and did pretty well.</p>
<p>Epic fail. </p>
<p>Airdyne 1
Ol’ (formerly) fat guy 0</p>
<p>So, I saddled up for some 1/2 mile Airdyne intervals, but I got greedy. The fastest I did one the last time was an average pedal RPM of 70.8 and a max of 75. Trying to be a hero, I did the first 1/2 mile interval at an average of 76.5 RPM and a max of 85 RPM. I felt like I was going to hurl. It may not sound like much, but the energy on the Airdyne increases with the square of the pedal speed, so even small increases in speed make big differences. That would be a solid 1/4 mile pace for me, but I slammed into the wall trying to do a half mile at that pace.</p>
<p>I paid the price on the second interval. I got 3/10ths of a mile and came flying off the bike, stumbling around trying to catch my breath. The bear definitely got me.</p>
<p>Not wanting to be a complete wimp, I stopped the clock, caught my breath, and climbed back on for one more (slightly slower) half mile interval.</p>
<p>Was at the health club tonight with my son. After doing my speed intervals, I got to thinking about dstarks/idad and broad jumping, so I saw my son finishing his workout and challenged him to a little broad jump competition.
Wished you guys would have discussed the landing part!</p>
<p>Doing broad jumps can be murder on the knees. That’s what I thought about when they were having the discussion.</p>
<p>Ohiopublic, lol.</p>
<p>Interesteddad, :).</p>
<p>I had a terrible workout today. I slowed things down. I used the treadmill today, and really took it easy. 1 minute run, 2 minute walk and did it slower than before.</p>
<p>I liked MomofWildChild’s tip on the cadence. </p>
<p>Christmas will be a good day for me. Can’t go to the gym. It will be closed. :)</p>
<p>You could probably find a place that’s open and get a one-day free pass.</p>
<p>I can always work out at the office unless they’re resurfacing the floors which they do a few times a year over the weekend.</p>
<p>At our age one of the keys with the broad jump is not sticking the landing. :)</p>
<p>I can hop over 4 feet with my good leg. My legs are too sore for the broad jump. :)</p>
<p>I have an [Airex</a> exercise mat](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/AIREX-AR-180RB-Premium-4-Inch-Exercise/dp/B0000AJ09H]Airex”>http://www.amazon.com/AIREX-AR-180RB-Premium-4-Inch-Exercise/dp/B0000AJ09H). It’s dense foam, nearly a half inch thick. I do most of my jumping stuff (like burpees) on it for a little cushioning and I set it up to be the landing zone for my “broad jumps”.</p>
<p>Now, keep in mind that I wasn’t exactly jumping very far! I landed with two feet and usually took a little step forward with one foot. Nothing very eventful.</p>