January 25th: Back in the Saddle

As it sometimes happens in life, three days went by without taking a single class. So when Monday arrived, I new that I had to grab the bull by the horns and get back in the saddle (literally). The saddle turned out to be a bicycle seat and the horns, handlebars. I took Chantal's early morning indoor cycling class and rounded out my day with another one of Olga's high energy dance-based classes.

I am going to be completely honest with you. I was avoiding our indoor cycling classes. It was not something I was looking forward to but something I was determined to include as a part of this 30-day challenge. I was hoping that my schedule would work out so that I could take the cycle class on day number 30. It would be my crowning achievement! Well, not so much. On Sunday night, I realized that unless I sat down and scheduled the remainder of my classes, I was not going to be able to make my goal. It just so happened that I was going to have to take some early morning classes. And what classes start at the crack of dawn? You got it...indoor cycling!

I learned a lot about myself and cycling in Chantal's class. If you are attending this class for the first time, pay very close attention to my advice. You will thank me for it later.

First, think long and hard about your apparel. Wear as little as possible as you will sweat a lot. Also, think about padding. Yes, padding. Both for your seat and for your...well, seat. I discovered (after the fact) that nearly every person in the room came prepared with either a gel seat cover (that you can purchase at most big box or cycle stores for about $15) or a pair of padded britches. These are bicycle shorts with cushions built into the tush. Trust me when you say you will need these things. Knowing nothing about what to wear, I wore a ten-year-old pair of Nike swimtrunks. Big mistake. Fortunately, I had a pair of sweatpants with me. I balled them up and tried sitting on them like a pillow. Sadly, as soon as I stood up to ride the bike in a standing posture, the sweat pants fell off and I had to return to sitting on a seat that felt like a rock. Pardon the frank language, but my butt hurt for three days. Of course, I'm sure this sort of soreness is not typical, but seeing as I am planning to go to another cycle class, I wasted no time in purchasing a gel seat. The padded shorts will have to wait. I find it ironic that I have to buy padded shorts that make my butt look bigger when truthfully taking these classes is hopefully in an effort to make my butt look smaller. Just something to think about.

The class turned out to be quite fun. Chantal did a great job getting me set up on my bike, explaining how to adjust things as necessary. She had a good repport with her class participants and made sure to let us know that we could work at our own pace as necessary. For the most part, I felt like I was able to keep up. That was due primarily to the fact that the bikes allow you to adjust the tension on the bike as you see fit or as your instructor indicates. Indoor cycle classes mirror an outdoor ride with uphill stretches (more bike tension) or flat or downhill stretches (less tension). I would highly recommend that you don't go crazy with the tension knob during your first class. I kept the tension pretty low throughout and it was still a challenging workout.

The three basic cycle postures are sitting, standing, and leaning (think Lance Armstrong). While it was definitely a challenge, being able to rotate between the three made it much easier. Chantal did a good job of letting us know what was coming next so we felt prepared and ready for the next transition.

Later the same evening, I took yet another class with my friend Olga over at the Thornton Y. This is my third class with Olga. As I may have said before there is a certain spontaneity that I like about Olga's class. She seems neither unprepared or overplanned. She strikes a good balance of having her choreography in mind but she is flexible depending on what the music or the energy of the class calls for. This class was strictly Latin Dance and Olga was clearly in her element. She is a gifted dancer but she makes the moves accessible to everyone giving guidance but allowing everyone to just do their own thing and have fun. It's very hard to feel self-concious in the class. Only about half of the people in the room have any kind of rhythm but nobody really cares because the class is just about having fun. The exercise seems as if it is more of a side effect than anything. Throughout the class Olga dances around the space interacting with people and encouraging them to move around the room (no easy feat as the class is always pretty full). Class participants move around or stand in place improvising from time to time when Olga instructs class to "do their own thing" at the end of some songs.

After class I spent some time talking to Olga. She teaches almost everything (except step) and I'm sure I will make my way to those classes at some point. For now, if you are new to group excercise and want to start off with a fun and low-pressure (not to mention low-lighting) class, I suggest Olga's Latin Dance class. If you want a harder workout, all you have to do is try and keep up with Olga's energy and you'll get what you came for.

Chantal teaches indoor cycling at the Dickenson YMCA on Mondays from 5:30am-6:30am. She teaches additional classes at Dickenson and South Neighborhood YMCA's. For more information visit www.ymcatulsa.org.

Olga teaches a variety of classes at Thornton YMCA. For information on classes taught by Olga, please see my earlier postings or visit www.ymcatulsa.org. Latin Dance is taught on Mondays at Thornton from 5:30pm-6:25pm.