I have never taken a spin class, but won a free class at a new studio ( door prize at a recent 5K). A work friend and I are going to take the class in August and I’ll see how it goes. Unless I absolutely love it I doubt I will sign up. Between running, yoga and strength I have all that I can handle.
No one mentioned Orangetheory a bit upthread. I use it in the winter to fill in when I can’t run outside due to cold/ darkness. It’s a great mix of cardio and strength training, but expensive. I buy the class packs and it works out to about $20.00 per class. In contrast I pay $999.00 for a one year unlimited yoga pass and I practice 3x/week.
I enjoy spin classes. I went to my first one way back twenty plus years ago. Some of the people I spin with are younger than that! I haven’t been to SoulCycle because we don’t have it here, but would be game to try it and see why it is so special (and expensive).
I’d like to try Orange Theory, too. I just realized we have that Class Pass thing where I live, in which you can drop in and try a bunch of different fitness classes. Maybe I should sign up.
30-min HIIT was programmed for 5 rounds of 4 exercises (rowing, wall balls, pull-ups and planks) each for 90 seconds. I got 1/2 thru Round 6, so I’m happy about that. :D/
My D used ClassPass To try different studios out before committing to anything longer term. She found that some studios were not very CP friendly - attendees were tolerated rather than welcomed/encouraged. Definitely lost her business! YMMV, of course.
Rest day today with some stretching and rolling in anticipation of a long run tomorrow. Exchanged messages with my coach yesterday and have a plan in place; 3-4 days of running, 2 days of strength using their workouts. Yoga and Pilates can be doubled up so I still have a rest day for now. Their workouts start slowly, so I’ll have to re-evaluate as things progress (or not!).
OT is super popular here. Women from my running group have stopped running because they love OT that much!
I put the power of a streak into action yesterday! After a 6-hour car ride, all I wanted to do was collapse on the couch. But I didn’t want to break my 24-day streak of alternating running and walking. So I forced myself to take a quick pre-sunset walk to the top of the hill. Yay for Day 25!
I can always count on my pups for “some” exercise - twice a day! Hope you were able to enjoy that sunset from the top of the hill.
@FrancescaBennett, good for you! My running streak has been key to my success this year. I started running daily on January 1 and haven’t missed a day, even when it meant running in place for 15 minutes in a B&B in Beirut! I know that if I hadn’t been streaking, I probably would have missed quite a lot of days this year.
Missed a strength training day yesterday, due to work, but was able to escape this morning for a 17 mile hike. Feet & thighs are sore, but brain is happy.
I won a towel and a see through cosmetics bag at my gym on Tuesday for having the lucky number. It was one of my favorite classes of Body Combat!
Of course, my pace on treadmill was faster… 9 25 for 4 miles. Did a 6.8 mile today with 9 45, which I was proud of. I am the kind of person who struggled the first mile and it was not so pretty today, but there was a guy behind me and I kept looking over my shoulder to see if he was catching up. My pace slowed down after I couldn’t find him 
Our 10 miler is November 4th, and I have the 10 week intermediate plan, but I can’t just start yet. Have been running for 16, 17 miles a week and need to run 33 miles a week by week 10!
Looking for advice to get kids involved in running! D is doing the boot camp thing which I paid $77 a month for. But DH and I tried to get her to run with us. She did running when she was younger, in HS. Now very anti running.
DH was going to hike some trails at Yosemite, now due to the situation there, he is hiking Mt Whitney now. He was on WL, and was lucky to get a spot. He and D will do a father daughter trip to SF in August. D is not into hiking either, so he goes there first and then they toured SF together.
Very easy pace 9 mile run - nothing like @SincererLove! 70 degrees, 95% humidity made it a bit of a challenge. I’m finding it difficult to keep up the mileage without a race on the horizon but it’s just not in the cards this year.
Weigh in and measurements today. Approaching this with a new attitude - a bit more realistic, I hope!
Saw the comments about indoor cycling and Soul Cycle. I applogize in advance for the snarky, opinionated comment I’m about to make. I am not a fan of Soul Cycle. Been to a number of them. There is a corporate “brand” to the style of cycling instructors are required to follow and frankly it sucks. No regard for proper form, bio-kinetics, body alignment, cycling technique. No thoughtful programming of the classes to achieve a well structured workout. And dumbbell work on a bike? LOL, if you want a real strength workout, get off the damn bike. At my studio, we have one room for cycling using cadence, wattage and other measurable performance metrics to structure the ride. You want some strength training, go into our other room where we have TRX, dumbbells, sandbags, battleropes and slamballs. You want both, take one of our 60 minute hybrid classes featuring 30 structured minutes on the bike followed by 30 minutes of strength training.The best thing I can say about Soul Cycle is that it at least it gets people involved in some form of exercise. All you have to do is join their cult. Sorry, rant done.
Dumbbell work on a bike? Lol. You are either biking poorly, doing dumbbell work wrong, or more likely, both! What is it supposed to achieve?! (Insert puzzled emoji here)
Don’t think anyone is attending SoulCycle. Mentioned in the context of the article. Thanks though!
@BunsenBurner the “theory” is that you are getting a full body workout. It’s really just a marketing strategy that is not backed by any real exercise science. And everything you said is exactly on point. But there are tons of people who love it.
As I mentioned a page back, I attended a charity event at Soul Cycle and we raised a lot of money for the charity. We got to do a session/“workout” with one of their, um, er, DJ’s. =)) You definitely sweat, but then the room was small and packed too. As I said, not for me, especially since it’s like $35-40/class. To me, it’s a fad.
My strength session today was bench press then overhead press. And the HIIT was a 1-mile run, 50 kettlebell swings followed by a 2,000 meter row. Just a hair under 18 mins. Sunday will be a run followed by GHD sit-ups. I hope. 
I wouldn’t say indoor cycling is a fad. It’s been around for 25 years and is more popular than ever. What happens, though, is that cycling studios attempt to differentiate themselves from each other oftentimes based on “gimmicks” which become fads. A studio that stays true to the fundamentals of cycling can keep itself fresh and appealing by taking advantage of changes in technology and creative developements in science based programming and by understanding the dynamics of group cycling classes.
And yes, the problem with many studios is that the “instructors” are glorified dj’s/party “motivators” who know nothing about cycling technique let alone effective and safe programming. The best studios are those where the instructors must be certified personal trainers, must have indoor cycling certifications from recognized third party providers and who get regular training, reviews and coaching from the studio’s master instructors.
@sabaray Remember, muscle weighs more than fat.
I’ve actually been looking lately for a nearby location and convenient date for another hydrostatic body fat test to measure how I’m doing compared to my last test. So far, everything is too far distance wise. I think I can beat my last test.
@MichaelNKat I just thought Soul Cycle is a fad. But definitely a lucrative one, if they can afford to lease space at the Stanford Mall.
I had to look up GHD sit-ups. Holy cow - I’m guessing that is a more advanced exercise.
https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/save-your-spine-and-forget-the-ghd-enter-the-janda-sit-up
Is that a fair depiction? I do a similar move in Pilates, although much slower. MUCH slower!
@sushiritto , it’s the same deal where I am. A Soul Cycle opened about a year ago. Clearly spent at least $1,000,000 just for the build out of the space in a neighborhood where the rents range from $65 - $125/ft. And it’s $35 for a single class. But it’s filling its classes. True Believers, one and all.
@sabaray Yes, fair depiction of the GHD. They’re tough, no doubt. But if you’re doing a lot of them, then the pace is much slower. At least my pace is slower. My goal is always to focus on proper technique first and not worry as much about speed. I’m not young anymore. Recovery from injury takes much longer as we all know. I’ll generally use the GHD on Sundays after a run. “Finishers” for the rest of the week are typically L-sits, planks, hollow rocks, V-ups, toes-to-bars, pushing or pulling sleds, etc.