<p>Wow, congrats 2 miles in advance MOWC! That is a stellar number of miles! </p>
<p>I’ll do my final “count” of miles for my year next weekend. I am not worthy of the quantity of miles that you and others complete, but will savor my own 500 miles or so. My loose goal was to average about 10 miles a week so I’ll be pretty close (without really keeping a accumulating log).</p>
<p>Speaking of an accumulating log, I always use RunKeeper and have liked it. But what is the program/app some of you use that will self accumulate the miles and set Mr. Pace Bunny??? I’d like to consider this for 2015. </p>
<p>Another question: had a family discussion about spinning yesterday. Was thinking about trying something new for the new year and my D was interested in trying it too. Good idea or bad idea to combine pavement miles by foot with spinning miles? How will it enhance or hurt??? I’d probably only do it once or twice a week. </p>
<p>I don’t run, but I take indoor cycle classes. It’s great cardio work; I imagine it would help with running, but I’m sure M&K and Idad can weigh in on this.</p>
<p>Shorts with a lot of padding for the bum is a must have fitness fashion item!! I would love to do spinning, but I can’t do anything that involves abuse of my tailbone that I broke many moons ago! </p>
<p>I have a good bit of LL Bean bucks sitting in my account. I think they have some padded shorts. Will keep that in mind if/when I try a couple of classes and if I think I’ll stick with it. </p>
<p>The spinning classes I have taken were pretty pretty high intensity - lots of sprints, high resistance intervals, etc. A lot of it was up on the pedals and not sitting on the seat. FWIW I never found padded shorts to be necessary, although I use them when road biking.</p>
<p>I think spinning is a great workout and I would recommend it. BUT- as Michael will confirm, it is highly dependent on the instructor. Some of the instructors at gyms are basically aerobics instructors on wheels, and there is a lot of useless jumping up and down out of the saddle. It should be run like a cycling workout, in my opinion. It is easy to adjust the tension to your own skill level, which is important to do. It is also important to have the bike adjusted properly for you, which the instructor should help with. A spin studio or a gym with really trained cycling instructors makes a huge difference. Take water and a towel. You get REALLY sweaty.</p>
<p>Abasket- <a href=“http://www.runningahead.com”>www.runningahead.com</a> I highly, highly recommend it. It’s free, although most of us make an annual donation because we are part of the community (know the site founder etc) and that takes away the ads, which aren’t annoying anyway. There are great general interest forums and specialty forums (like our LLR -Ladies Locker Room) on the site. The log is excellent and you can customize it however your want. You can add the pace bunny, weekly totals etc. It also will log all your sports and activities. I was SO impressed a few years ago by my friend who was on the US National Team for the 24 hour world championships. He logged hundreds and hundreds of miles, of course, but also was logging all this “swimming”. Turned out that was his beer drinking. You also can enter all your shoes, what you paid, when you started wearing them, etc., and it will keep track of them for you. Every day you either download your Garmin onto RunningAhead or manually enter your exercise and you tell the log what shoes you wore.</p>
<p>I never used padded shorts. It’s only an hour and I don’t think it’s that uncomfortable. The first time you go to class, you need to go early and have the instructor help you with your settings on the bike. That makes a difference in comfort during the session.</p>
<p>I think having cycling shoes is really important too. If you’re going to take the classes on a regular basis, buy the cycling shoes that snap into the bike. Huge difference in the ride. Also, try different classes. The instructor and the music make a big difference. Bring lots of water and be prepared to sweat.</p>
<p>Wow, that sounds sweet MOWC - I’ll definitely check it out. </p>
<p>Abasket doing workout ALWAYS = sweaty! I’ll let you all know if I attempt. Will have to secure a schedule to see if classes can work out for my work/home schedule.</p>
<p>I like spin class, fwiw. MOWC - why is the hovering bad? The one I (occasionally) go to does do some of the hovering. Kills those quads! </p>
<p>My Corepower is having a blow-out sale of $19 tops/$14 pants (or maybe it’s the other way around). They don’t sell lulu but they have Lucy, Beyond Yoga and other nice brands. I just spent $175 and have a HUGE bag of cute new stuff to motivate me! </p>
<p>Love spinning and just got back from a class. Try it and see what you think. You can control the intensity, which is a big plus. All fitness levels can enjoy it. I see it as a good complement to running. </p>
<p>Annoyedmom, I hear you on the special diets. I am living with that now. </p>
<p>Some hovering is OK, but the “jumpy” classes bear no resemblance to real cycling. It depends what you want to get out of it. You can kill your quads enough doing more realistic workouts that resemble cycling and use those skills. There will be plenty of out of the saddle work without bouncing up and down like a jumping jack. I was spoiled because my spin teachers in Dallas were former world champion track racers, and the workouts were REALLY good. The right teacher- just like with any workout or sport- can motivate you, advance your skills and give you an appropriate workout for your ability level.</p>
<p>I need to think of something goal oriented for 2015. I want to get faster and strengthen my core. I am going pescatarian for January to see if I can do it. Just trying to think of something to work towards.</p>
I would love to do spinning, but I can’t do anything that involves abuse of my tailbone that I broke many moons ago! </p>