Posted by Les Faber in ‘Tis the season! Yes, sad though it may be, cycling season in Canada’s Capital is coming to an end. At present the weather is crappy. No matter, there is an alternative that I have been relying on for quite a few years. Spinning. My location of choice is our local Goodlife.
I have always found that the best spinning class is one where you are not hoping for the end. All of a sudden it’s over and you are left wondering what happened during the past 50 minutes. It does happen. Now that is a great class!
My recipe for success?
In no particular order:
Take a well-ventilated room…. Add 20 or so (quality) spin bikes…. Inject a few exuberant “Spinmates”; toss in some great well-choreographed tunes (loud is good). Mix all ingredients together with a great, knowledgeable, motivating and committed instructor…. and you will get the best workout around. Your cardio will improve (my sitting heart rate is 52 bpm). You will loose weight if you are committed and work hard. At 6 foot tall, I weigh 195 lbs. (225 when I began spinning). My Mother told me when I was young that I was “big-boned”. What’s with that? You will save money as clothing that you have in your wardrobe that was out of fashion 10 years ago (and mysteriously too small for you) will fit again. Plus one can eat pretty much as much as one wants provided you Spin regularly (Can you say FUN?)
And last, but not least…. pick your instructor carefully. After all, you have to enjoy the company of the person who is going to “punish” you for almost an hour.
Lyn & Jo - My Favorite Spin Instructors
Spin on!
Aw, Les…..you are awesome! Thanks for pumpin me up, brother! Nice to see you out on Fridays, now!! Just as great as it is for you to be back in spinning, we are equally happy, if not more, to have you back – Whoohoo!
I guess this commits me to coming to class every Friday eh — in perpetuity! LOL
You better believe it! This Friday it’s hard work, next Friday maybe hard work and drinks to follow?? HA. And no cancelling this Sunday! (yeah, I did attendance!!)Funny how you and Helen BOTH didn’t make it….hmmmm…. I am your personal slave driver! HA.
I have been spinning for four years now…. and I agree good SPIN instructors do make a difference. My all time favourite class to date was the one Lyn & Jo taught together (it was a new release class).
Keep doing what you are doing girls. You make such a BIG difference in the health and well-being of the spinners in your class
I agree with you 100% Les! Jo & Lyn rock. Hope to make it out on a Friday night although I’ve been booked up as of late. Mondays with Lyn have been working however and I’m lovin’ it once again. Makes transitioning into fall not so bad!
Tomorrow @ 4:30 — Be there or be ……
Funny. I did my first spin class last night at the Goodlife near Costco. In one word…”sweaty”. Hope the above is true. Would love to meet new people and learn from their cycling experiences. And weight loss wouldn’t hurt either. Is one location/class better than the next?
We used to Spin at HC. I found the bikes were often in disrepair. We prefer Strandheard. It’s good for us as we live in Stonebridge. I highly recommend attending either Lynda or Jo’s classes. Especially if you are just starting. They are both very good in terms of coaching and encouragement. Helen & I are there often. You could book Friday @ 4:30 PM. We’ll be there. That’s Jo’s very popular class. Also look at Monday’s @ 5:30 with Lynda. Book early — seats fill up fast. And drop by and say to Helen & I. Most people know who we are.
Would love to see you come out and try spinning with either Jo or myself! We love having new people in our classes.
Like Les said, you can try me on Mondays at 5:30pm at the Strandherd location.
With Jo you have more options:
Sunday 10am Strandherd
Monday noon Hunt Club
Wed noon Queensview
Friday 4:30 Strandherd
Good luck and remember: RPM = Raw Power in Motion !!
Les! Thanks again for this ‘ad’.
I have to insist however that if you’re going to be a regular in Jo’s Friday class to *end* your week, then attendance at my Monday class is mandatory to *start* your week!
Honestly it’s members like you, Helen and Renza that keep us on top of our teaching game – we love having you just as much as you love coming!
You better believe it, baby!
Hey Les, Helen or Renza, maybe you guys should be our agents–HA. Still putting my playlist together for tomorrow….should be FUN!:) whoohooo!
I agree, spinning is a lot of fun. I spin at Huntclub, which is a Goodlife place. As the bike season winds down, spin and weight training for me will wind up.
I did a few Sat 1:30 classes with my friend Supriya at the Queensview Gym but always felt years behind in effort/skill level. It was like everyone around me was on pro road bikes and I was on a tricycle.
But the instructor was great. I think it was the one above on the left. I will have to give it another try but hide in the corner again.
Ya I hear you. I was the same at the start. Funny shorts, not sure what I was doing.
Go to any Spin class and you will find nice helpful Instructors and Students.
BTW Joanne does a Wednesday noon class at Queensview. Lynda’s 4:30 Strandheard class is also very popular.
It takes 3-4 classes to feel comfortable — you are sore and grumbling to yourself at the start.
The effort is worth it. Commit to 3 classes a week and work hard in each one. You will feel great and look forward to class.
Come on out!
Hi C – You’ve definitely already done a class with me! I’m friends with Supriya and she never missed my Sat afternoon class. I miss seeing her now that that class doesn’t run anymore.
I watch everyone really closely and believe me I do not remember seeing anyone years behind on skill or effort. Just *being* there counts for a lot!
Hope to see you out again, and let me know who you are!
=)
Lynda
I’ll be the bald chubby guy in the back row.
Okay Les, that’s enough now!! Everyone will be going to Jo and Lynda’s classes and we’ll be fighting for spaces. This should have been our little secret only!
Hi guys,
Quick question on the spin bikes at Strandherd. Are you able to request a setup with clipless pedals, i.e. Look compatible?
Thanks-
From what I have seen at Goodlife, all the pedals on the bikes come equipped with SPDs on one side and Rat Traps on the other. In the past I have seen some hardcore cyclists come in with a wrench and their own pedals. But not lately. 4 or 5 years ago the bikes only had the Rat Traps. Hence the need for a wrench and your own pedals if you wanted to get a proper workout.
Where do you spin normally?
Thanks Les – spun in the past at Cyclelogik. Great group as well, mostly triathletes and hardcore cyclists.
I use spinning in the winter as an alternative to cross country skiing and especially when the weather is bad (like today). I’ve not been having much luck with some of the spin classes given at the local City of Ottawa rec centre. I usually can’t wait for the end and yesterday walked out 15 minutes before the end because I was bored silly and totally unmotivated by the instructor (or maybe I would have been if I could have understood what he was saying!). Any suggestions in the city or in the east end for spin studios? I’d rather not have to sign up for a membership at a gym just to take a class 2-3 times a month
Hi Lisa – Thanks for your comment. No suggestions on a spot in the East end. We are members at Goodlife. But I spin 3-4 times per week. So it’s worth it for me.
Thanks for your reply Les. I’ll keep looking and asking around.
Want to have an amazing super hard workout before work? You have to try instructor (Andrew) – he teaches on Fridays at 7am at the GoodLife Queensview location – follow him on TWITTER: rpmwithandrew