Spinning My Wheels: The Hills Mix

Get outta the way! Cyclist comin’ through!!!

Today my friend & spin instructor, Lori, allowed me the honor of mixing up a batch of tuneage to get rollin’ through some imaginary hills. In order to prep, she gave me a sheet with the exact times that each stage of the class was gonna take. I came up with this hour or so of stuff to keep me motivated. Dunno about anyone else, but I thought it was pretty awesome and I got a good workout out of it!

Warmup (5:10): Richard Ashcroft – “On A Beach”

Speed (6:00): Metro Station – “Shake It”
James – “How Was It For You”

Hill #1 (4:47): Steve Miller Band – “Fly Like An Eagle”

Downhill (3:09): The Beatles – “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”

Speed (7:30): New Young Pony Club – “Ice Cream”
Adam Lambert – “For Your Entertainment”
Green Day – “Coming Clean”

Hill #2 (7:30): Don Henley – “Who Owns This Place”
The Diamonds 0 “The Stroll”

Downhill (4:00): Sonique – “It Feels So Good”

Speed (7:45): Aesop Rock – “None Shall Pass”
Barenaked Ladies – “Falling For The First Time”

Cooldown (8:00): Blue October – “Overweight”
Train – “Hey, Soul Sister”

Use it if you feel so inclined! And happy spinning!!!

Spinning My Wheels: The Strength Mix

So my friend Lori, who is also one of my wife’s best friends, asked me to put together a mix for her spinning class that she teaches every Thursday. So I did…and it was pretty damn good if I might say so myself! Here it is…check it out and see if THIS doesn’t get your blood pumpin’…

1. The Raconteurs – “Salute Your Solution”
2. Michael & Janet Jackson – “Scream”
3. Paramore – “Brick By Boring Brick”
4. MuteMath – “The Nerve”
5. Britney Spears – “3″
6. BT – “Never Gonna Come Back Down”
7. Pearl Jam – “Supersonic”
8. The Darkness – “Is It Just Me?”
9. Rob Thomas – “Give Me The Meltdown”
10. Black Eyed Peas – “I Gotta Feeling”
11. Under The Influence Of Giants – “Against All Odds”
12. Marc Broussard – “Hard Knocks”

If anything…it IS an interesting combo of music…LOL

Spinning My Wheels: @#$^@!…196.7…!*@&#%???

Stick a pint of Graeter’s in there and you got me pretty much every night…

So I went spinning today for the first time in over 3 weeks. I have been very busy working and haven’t had time to go. And I have admittedly been bad about getting my butt to the hotel gym also. When I’ve been working 2 games a day and traveling and getting up at odd hours and working until odd hours, it tends to sap my energy to go workout. And that is the excuse I’m sticking with.

Then today I went and stood on the scale. So can I tell you that at one point last summer, I was feelin’ all good about myself and got my weight down from 201 to 189! I was very proud of myself…eating salads, spinning, lifting weights, doing all the good stuff. And then football season hit and I went back up to 192. Not terrible. Then the holidays hit and I went up to 194.5. Then we roll into basketball tournament time and now I’m up to 196.7?!? Holy motherf$#%^ crap!!!

Needless to say, I am NOT happy with myself. This is gonna stop right here. I have GOT to start watching what I eat. In the past 2 weeks alone, I have had endless pizza, a couple of buffets, Graeters Ice Cream before bed, Skyline chili, mexican, indian, you name it. AND I sit on my butt all day and eat snacks and candy! It’s TERRIBLE!

So today was my wake up call. Gonna start hittin’ the weights again and going to the gym on as much of a regular basis as I can. Wish me luck everyone! But I do have ONE word of advice for my spin instructor who picked out the music for today…

“It’s Raining Men” is NOT gonna make me move any faster!!! Dammit…

Spinning My Wheels: Stop YELLING At Me!

First off, I am making “Spinning My Wheels” a new category because, quite frankly, I come up wth a lot of blog ideas when I spin…so it’s only fair that I give my exercise routine (if that’s what you want to call it) an even break. I’m not always gonna blog about how well I do (875 calories burned today? I think my heart-rate thingie has got to be broken…) or what kind of shape I’m in (not good. Gained 5 pounds this winter so far. GAH!). But I will blog about things that happen during my spin and my instructors and the music they play and HOW LOUD THEY ARE!

Oh…I know…it’s all about GETTING ME GEARED UP FOR THE RIDE! You know…DON’T WANT ANYBODY SLACKING OFF! So today is NOT MY…oops…sorry…

So today is not my normal spin day. Usually I go on Tuesday & Thursday. But yesterday Steph had a meeting and I kinda forgot about it…so I decided I would go today. No big deal…right? So my instructor today is a yeller. I’ve been in her class before…but it’s been a while. So imagine my surprise when she STARTS YELLING AT EVERYONE IN THE ROOM! C’MON!!! PUSH YOURSELF!!! YOU GUYS SUCK!!! YOU ARE WEAK, LITTLE PEOPLE WITH NO BACKBONE!!! PUT YOUR GLUTS INTO IT!!! RIDE, RIDE, RIDE!!! DAMN YOU SONS A BITCHES!!! GET OFF YOUR FUC%$#ING ASSES AND POUND THAT PAVEMENT!!!!

Ok…maybe it wasn’t THAT obnoxious. But it was starting to get on my nerves already! And then she has Elvis and 2 George Thorogood songs in her mix? Now, don’t get me wrong…I like Elvis & George. Nothing wrong with either of them. But not for spinning. That being said, I also don’t like hearing Britney or Lynyrd Skynyrd when I spin either! Gimme something a little less obnoxious (Britney) and something a little newer (Skynyrd) and I’ll bust my ass for ya. But, just so ya know, ANYTHING from the 60’s is out for me. On Tuesday the instructor played “Leader Of The Pack”. Really? Because there are 4 decades of music out there that I could have played that would have motivated me better than THAT crappy song.

Oh well.

So she’s barking and yelling and I think I might have peed myself one time when she was walking around the room and she snuck up behind me a decided to yell right as she walked past me. It’s all very disconcerting and somewhat scary. I’m not used to having someone yelling at me! Well…unless it’s over headsets and we’re 3 seconds from going on air and I can’t get the lineups to work. Yeah…that always sucks…

So…as of right now, I am WIDE awake and ready to start my day! I burned off 2 meals already and I’m all set to tackle a room full of 6-year olds hyped up on Valentine’s Day candy & treats!

Hmmmm…maybe my instructor didn’t do such a bad job after all. I’m thinking Friday’s might just have to be added to my spinning routine…

Spinning My Wheels: 1.5 Months, 5 Pounds & 1 Gadget

Yep…that’s pretty much what I ate!

The holidays are always difficult when trying to lose weight. With Thinksgiving and Christmas and my birthday and my wife’s birthday…there was ample opportunities for me to eat. So I did. And it showed! I gained 5 pounds back from the 10 or so that I originally lost. So its back to eating salads and spinning for me. And that’s a good thing. And for Christmas Santa brought me a heart rate monitor to wear while spinning…which is great! So today I went to the gym, hopped on my bike and managed to get my heart rate up to 98% and lost  657 calories.

Of course…it wasn’t until AFTER the fact that my instructor informs me that I shouldn’t have let my heart rate get over 92%. Whatever THAT means. I thought I was supposed to go as hard as I can for 40 minutes? Who is making up the “spinning rules”? And why didn’t I get a copy of the handbook?

I have 4 months before swim season and have to lose some poundage…don’t give me this “only go to 92%” baloney! But I have missed my twice weekly regimen of spinning and look forward to getting back to it as soon as I get past this month. So for now, it’s whenever I can get there and use the hotel gyms. Oh…and drink lots of water and walk as much as possible. Any other words of encouragement would be great! Thanks!

-Alan

Not me but it feels like it…

Spinning My Wheels: Instructor Irritation

Trust me when I tell you…THIS is NOT my instructor!

I’ve been spinning now since the middle of the summer and have gotten used to going about twice a week. As I’ve gone along, I’ve found that I have some pet peeves about the women (as I have yet to have a male instructor) who are my instructors. Not that these are really any of their own faults. It’s just that some of the things they do drive me a little nuts. If you’ve never been spinning, it’s basically stationary bike riding except you have someone leading you who tells you when to adjust the speed and the amount of hill adjustment of your bike. On your bike there is a knob that you turn to adjust the hill (turning it makes it harder or easier to pedal). From there, it’s just a matter of cranking your legs! But that isn’t all there is. Here are MY personal instructor pet peeves…

1. The music is ESSENTIAL. If you’ve been reading my blog, you KNOW I love music! So when I hear 3 Nickelback songs in 45 minutes, I wanna pull my hair out! Or a slow song while I’m trying to ride up a big hill? C’MON! I need some ROCK to get me over that hump dammit! Today’s mix? Freefallin’ (decent start), Stairway To Heavan (too long), Some kind of AC/DC-Bon Jovi dance mix (which sucked), a rap song I didn’t know, 2 Motley Crue songs, Evanescence and Fergie to wind it up. Yeeeech…TERRIBLE mix! Here’s my IPod…put it on random and you’ll get a better mix than THAT!
2. Don’t go yelling at me to CRANK THE KNOB and then you don’t do it also! It pisses me off having someone telling me to go faster up a hill and they are just spinning along like they’re going downhill. If you’re gonna make me do it, then you gotta do it. It should be in the instructor handbook!
3. Tell me what we’re doing. Don’t surprise me by saying we’re gonna be riding on a flat for 2 minutes and then 30 seconds later we’re cranking up another hill or doing “jumps” (when you leave your seat to pedal). I HATE that! I want to know what the hell I’m doing at least 5 seconds before we do it.
4. Oh yeah…I HATE 2 second jumps. They are stupid and I get nothing out of them except for a sore ass.

And that’s it. Just a few minor irritations. Nothing that can’t be fixed! Thanks!

2 Topics For The Price Of 1: I Hate It/Spinning My Wheels…Intervals

I know, I know…I said I wasn’t gonna write about spinning anymore, but something happened to me today that I had to write about because…well…it’s the way I am. Plus you get a 2-for-1 deal…so shut it and enjoy!

So today I went spinning. Typical Thursday. On Thursday the instructor is my friend Lori and usually with Lori spinning can be fun and challenging at the same time. She usually plays music I like to work out too (except for that damn Pussycat Dolls song which freakin’ SUCKS!) and I get a good sweat out of it.

This morning I hopped on the bike, not really feeling my best but ready to give it a go. Lori arrived and announced that today was gonna be intervals. I hate intervals. Strike one. Then we get moving. Going pretty good until the Pussycat Dolls song came on and I don’t know if I added too much road or what (when you want the bike to be a little more difficult to pedal it’s called adding road) but my legs got tired really fast.

In the past, I’ve blogged about “The Wall“. I’ve been fairly lucky with dealing with this obstacle. I am pretty good about seeing it and pushing past it. But today I don’t know where it came from but I must have not been looking because as I was pedaling faster (as I was being told), ”The Wall” walked up and smacked me upside the head with a 2×4. Didn’t see it coming at all. Just pedaling away and then BAM! I was done. And we were only 15 minutes into the class!

So then I had to pedal on…grinding away as Lori is yelling “Faster! Keep going FASTER!” and the music just wasn’t moving me and I started getting even more tired.  Then I got disgusted with myself and even though I kept going…I had quit in my head.

By the end of the class I was all pissed off at myself. I should have eaten something prior to going to class. Apparently a cup of coffee wasn’t the best breakfast for an intervals class! So now I know…and next time (next Tuesday) I’ll have to come better prepared. So today I’m tired and bitter and not feeling my best. And I have a work to get done and a concert to go to. Hopefully I can get out of this rut I’m in today. I figure a couple of beers and Kid Rock should help it…but it ain’t gonna help my gut…that’s for sure! 

Spinning My Wheels: The First Drop

This will be the last of my “Spinning My Wheels” series. First off, not everyone wants to hear about spinning and it’s becoming a good routine for me now, so you know it and that’s enough of that. Secondly, there’s only so much good material I can get out of sitting on a stationary bike and spinning in place for an hour…so you see where I’m going with this. Anyway, I’m gonna squeeze one more story out of this whole experience and it is the most important one for anyone out there who is about to embark on an exercise program or is making an attempt to better themselves in any way. It’s my way of “Pumping You Up”!

I don’t know a lot of things. I’ll be the first to admit that. Yes, I did graduate from high school and college. Yes, I have had a job a majority of my adult life. Yes, I have managed to succeed at what I do. Yes, I do have a pretty good life. But the one thing that has often eluded me is my ability to get past “the wall”.

The thing about working out is that it’s entirely up to me to do what is right for me. I’ve never liked jogging because it hurts my knees. So I don’t jog. I’ve never enjoyed weightlifting because it makes my joints sore for days (which is bad when you have to type for a living!). So I do very little weightlifting. But I’ve found something in spinning that I never thought I would find in any other sport besides basketball…a will to do the best I can.

When I’m spinning, I have to take it one wheel turn at a time. Like I’ve mentioned in past writings…it’s not necessarily difficult, but it takes a bit of mental work to add weight on and to keep my legs moving. And really that’s all that I can do. No one is sitting there telling me what to do. No one is there to bark at me from the sidelines or to slap me on the butt and tell me to keep on movin’. It’s all on me!

I hate the wall. It comes at me at high speed and I see it from a distance. Usually, in the past, I would slow down and turn around. I don’t like the wall. But my perspective is changing on how to deal with that situation. I see it, but I close my eyes and think of something positive and then I look down. The first step I have for getting past that wall is a single bead of sweat. It takes me about 8 minutes to work up a good sweat when spinning. I hear the music. I get into a groove. And then it builds and I feel my body getting hot. The best way to get past that wall is to watch the first drop of sweat hit the floor. The second that happens, I know it’s gonna be all good. And I know I can get it done! Just like that…I’m past the wall and moving ahead.

I don’t know what you are trying to accomplish. Maybe you are trying to lose weight. Maybe you are trying for a new job. Maybe trying to quit smoking. Maybe you are a stay at home parent trying to get past the yelling and screaming and needy children. Whatever your situation, look at it from this perspetive…the more sweat that hits the ground, the better off you’ll feel once you get past that wall. And make no mistake…every situation has it’s version of “the wall”. You can stop and turn around, or you can face it and press on. There’s really no other option.

I know because I am trying to get past it every day! Trust me…if I can do it…so can you. Good luck! And remember to watch for that first drop. It’s all downhill after that! 

Top 10 Reasons I Like Spinning

For the last few weeks, I’ve been going to a spinning class a couple times a week. I started out hating it. Now I am looking forward to it everytime I go. Why is that? Well…here are the Top 10 reasons why…

10. It’s not jogging.
I HATE jogging. It’s boring and it hurts my knees. Plus, I’m all by myself. I’ve always been more of a competitive person. So to not have someone there pushing me does’t help me one bit.

9. The music.
It’s fun to hear the mixes that the trainers put together. On one hand, I have my friend, Lori, who puts together a pretty good alt/pop mix. On the other hand, I have a trainer who likes all classic rock and Billy Joel (his greatest hits was on Tuesday! Which is fine until “Only A Woman” comes on in the middle of a hill. That sucked…).

8. I get alone time…without being alone.
I have liked all the people I’ve met so far in my classes that I attend and everyone is friendly and supportive. But once we start spinning, it’s me all by myself.

7. It gives me time to think.
I can’t tell you how many thoughts I have interrupted by the phone ringing or the kids crying or the dog whimpering. It’s very hard to concentrate on anything at home and with spinning I can formulate a gameplan in my head (or come up with new ideas for blogs! Like this one!).

6. It really makes me sweat!
Once it’s over, you would have sworn I just ran 4 miles! I haven’t figured out how many calories I burn per class, but I’m thinking after my workout today I got rid of the 2 slices of pizza and a beer that I had for dinner last night (Bad Alan! Bad!).

5. It doesn’t take up too much of my day.
I’m a father of 2 and work a lot, so it is imparative that whatever workout plan I eventually settle into (and I want to start mixing in some strength exercises here soon), it has to be an hour or so. I don’t have time to spend 2  or 3 hours at the gym. So spinning is perfect for me!

4. It ain’t really all that hard.
Do I sweat buckets? Yes. Do my legs ache a little after? Yes. But once it’s over, I feel rejuvanated! I’m not saying it isn’t hard because there is a mental hill that you need to get over at times, but in comparison to some of the workouts that I have tried to endure, this one seems more built for me. There isn’t as much pain that comes after I do it.

3. The women are hot…and sweaty!
Doesn’t matter the ages, all of the women in my classes are hot! Even the older women are in great shape and that keeps me motivated! Don’t want to look like a…uh…wuss in front of all these women, now do I?

2. My wife respects what I am trying to do.
Steph is not a spinner. She likes weights. However she sees me working on making myself better and she appreciates that.

1. I respect what I am trying to do.
I let myself go for too long and all it got me was a bad back and a big belly. It was time to do something about it. And now that my kids don’t need constant attention 24 hours a day, it is a little easier to slip out of the house for an hour, get a good workout in, and then get back to daddy mode without them feeling neglected. I am feeling much better about myself…and that is what it is all about!

Spinning My Wheels: Part III (Cussing Class)

You can shove this bike up your A@#!!! You motherf&%^%#!!! I LOVE IT!!!

Today was my 3rd spinning class. No, I’m not going to continue blogging about each class. That would be torture for you and reliving something I’d rather not relive for me! However I’m finding things out and getting ideas and so I like to put them down on…computer?

So I’ve been spinning. Doing pretty good. Sweating a lot. I went to a class today that was not being instructed by my friend, Lori. So there was a little added pressure there. Not knowing the instructor puts me at a disadvantage. I don’t want them to look at me like some slouch, so I hit it pretty hard, considering it was only my 3rd class (have I mentioned that enough already? Good!). About 35 minutes in my body decides it’s had enough. It wants me to slow down or get off the bike. I disagreed with it, so it let me have it. My breathing became erratic, my legs started aching, my shoulders started to hurt. All I wanted to do was swear like a sailor and keep pushing myself, but I’m not allowed.

I work in the television industry. 2 things you need to know about that…anyone who does what I do for a living is a work whore. I would drive 6 hours and work for 20 hours straight if I knew I could make good bank. The 2nd thing is…I can cuss like no one you’ve ever heard. It’s a part of the industry! I think I might have even taken a class at Ohio U. that involved how to say motherf&*#^$ without offending anyone. I cuss so much at work because I always have. Is it okay? Probably not. But I’m not the only one doing it, so it has never been a problem.

I also cuss a lot whenever I play sports. I cuss at myself mostly, but I have been known to talk a little smack from time to time. So when I am working my ass off trying to get through a little pain on a stationary bike, I want to cuss! And I want to do it out loud! I don’t want to whisper under my breath or think about cussing…I want to scream at the instructor! I want to call him/her a bastard and tell him where he/she can shove that extra boost that he/she keeps screaming at me for. And then afterwards I want to go shake his/her hand and say thank you for a wonderful spin.

So seriously, if I’m gonna keep doing this, I have to find some way to release all of these naughty words that my mother would find so offensive. It’s just something I gotta do! Maybe I can start my own class…Spinning With Smack? I bet there is a class like that somewhere! Now…we have to get one here in Kentucky. Hmmmm…

Spinning My Wheels: Part II (A Letter To My Brother)

So this morning was the 2nd time that I’ve been spinning this week and I went with what knowledge I had from Thursday. I went yesterday and picked up some biking shorts that had padding in the crotch (which basically amounts to me wearing an ultra thick maxi-pad…not that I would know what that feels like but I am assuming here…), bought some new athletic shoes (not the strictly spinning shoes with the clip though. Too expensive for my tastes) and I got a water bottle. So I was all set when I got up and headed out the door this morning.

Got to the gym about a half hour early and went up to the basketball courts to shoot around for a little warm-up. Thought working up a sweat would benefit me before the class! But both courts were already full with guys playing fullcourt hoops. I started stretching and was feeling all ready to go spin when a guy asked me if I wanted to play the next game.

Now I don’t know how well you know me…but I love to play basketball. I always have. And having this back pain and not being active for so long I have been DYING to be competitive again. I crave it. I want to play again! So when this guy came up and asked me, I would have 9 times out of 10 said “HELL YEAH!” and completely forgotten about hopping on a bike that goes nowhere. But I didn’t. I have an agenda here, and that is 2 things…get back in shape and get my brother to quit smoking. Once I get back in shape, get some core muscles in place to help my back stay in place and I’m able to get up and down the court without lagging behind, I will definately get back on the court. But until then, I’m not gonna make a fool out of myself. I have a lot of work to do before I get back in there.

And as for my brother smoking…I have only one thing to say to him. For anyone who might be sensitive to very abrasive writing and who might be offended, I suggest you skip to the bold text in the paragraph following this one because I have something to say to my brother and it ain’t nice…

Dear Frank…I am WORKING MY MOTHERF&*@#^ ASS OFF GOING TO THE F&#@^# GYM AND EATING RABBIT FOOD FOR THE PAST WEEK TRYING TO LOSE 10 POUNDS IN 3 MOTHERF^$%@^ WEEKS. IF I DO THIS AND YOU DON’T STOP SMOKING THOSE G*$^#DAMN MOTHERF&(#()@#*#&$ CANCER STICKS SO HELP ME GOD I WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE AND PLANT YOUR MOTHER^#*#$@ HEAD IN THOSE DAMN STRAWBERRY PLANTS YOU ARE SO DAMN PROUD OF AND KICK YOU IN THE ASS UNTIL MY FOOT GETS STUCK! YOU MOTHERF*#&^#$@)( ASSHOLE!!!!

P.S. I love you.

Okay…Got that out of my system. So I’ll be going for more spinning next week. Right now I have to go eat some yogurt and…I don’t know…carrots or something ’cause I’m hungry. Maybe drink some water…have a peanut. Ugh…this sucks. But on the flip side…I did 200 situps and never once stopped spinning in the entire 45 minute class! Something to be proud of, I think! So I’ll keep plugging away! And I’m sure I’ll keep filling you in on how awful it is…when actually it might be the best thing I’ve ever done for myself…

Guess we’ll see!

Spinning My Wheels

You Will Do As I Command…

I remember when I was 16 and loved riding my bike. I would bike from my house to my high school to play basketball in the summer. Then I would bike back home (about 5 miles) and then bike back that night to play basketball again at the town square. It was always fun to ride through the country hills and smell the fresh cut grass and feel the summer heat. Well, this morning I tried to get back on that bike. Actually…it was a stationary bike…and there wasn’t any cut grass to smell. But there WAS a heat…and I was sweating like the old man that I am.

Let’s get this straight…I probably wouldn’t be trying my hand at spinning if it weren’t for two things. One…my wife’s friend Lori is the “leader” of the class. And secondly…I need to lose weight. Fast. And I figured this will be the best thing for me. I hate jogging. I have no initiative to do it myself, so I thought a little 45 minute session of spinning would help me out!

Today was my first day…and I hated it. No…let me rephrase that, because I didn’t HATE it. I just didn’t enjoy myself…and that’s MY fault. Actually the class itself was an awesome workout! My legs worked harder today than they have in a couple of years and I must have sweated about 2 buckets full. And the people there were very nice and very supportive (one guy even came up and told me I did a great job!). The fact of the matter is, I’m way out of shape. And so that’s why I hated it. It made me see what a slob I’ve become.

So three things I have to do in order to make this experience better…

1. Buy the right shoes. Apparently they have clips on the bottom that will keep my feet in place on the pedal.
2. Buy a water bottle. I started cramping around 35 minutes into the class. That’s never good! Gotta keep hydrated!
3. Buy me a padded butt. Because apparently mine ain’t big enough. Seriously, if I don’t get the worse case of hemorroids I’ve ever had after maybe 3 classes, I’ll be surprised! So I guess they have these padded workout shorts you can buy. I’m DEFINATELY investing there…

So today was definately an eye-awakening experience. I have a long way to go but I feel confident that I can get this old body back in shape. Just takes a little time and effort. And besides, I doubt Lori or my wife are gonna let me quit THAT easily…

One woman I can possibly handle…but 2 riding my ass is waaaaay out of my league!