For the love of Spinning!

After the excesses of Christmas I took up the challenge and went back to the gym despite the fact that I have never been someone who likes the gym. I struggle to find “the right type of exercise”. In dance and aerobic classes I always slink to the back and try to hide my incompetency, trying so so hard not to catch a glance at myself in the bank of mirrors which would reveal the truth of how bad I am... I am not very co-ordinated, have no sense of left or right and I am quite self conscious so I tend to bump into people, ruin dance routines and generally struggle. Just as I have learnt a routine and begin to feel confident the instructor will change everything so the competent people don’t get bored. It is an endless battle for me. Being an ex-rower I can go into the gym at least, but to be honest the rowing machine and the running machine just make me miss the scenery. Running and rowing are so much better outside! Music and dance DVD’s just don’t distract me. So this last year also being a cyclist I thought I would give Spin classes a go. I had reservations as I’ve cycled pretty big swathes of the world and didn’t think I would like spinning - again the same problem as the rowing: no scenery. My first class I didn’t enjoy; the instructress just shouted at us all, made me feel lazy and pushed my knees to the point I thought they would burst by insisting I needed to constantly turn up the gradient. Not to be defeated I joined another group and I discovered my current class. Now I am in heaven! I firmly believe exercise is for the mind body and soul and this class has it all! I now look forward to it and come out buzzing feeling so rejuvenated.  So why is this one different? It’s down to Issac the instructor. He makes me forget I am on a static bike, he paints pictures in my head; sometimes he makes me visualise being in the mountains, climbing through beautiful scenery or rushing through valleys. In this way he took me back to journeys I have taken in Scotland, Italy, Turkey or Syria. Other days he takes me to a world of yesterdays.... His choice of music is amazing and he has me reliving my past with smiles. He revives memories and he makes me dance. He rides punching his fist into the air smiling and is lost in the music as are we. He has played so many tracks and made me feel the rhythm so much so that I wasn’t aware I was cycling anymore! For example last week I was lost in London club land, taken back to the days when I could dance till dawn, I was 20 years old without a care in the world and thought of nothing except where to spend my free time. The week before that, he had me whirling around an old village hall, dancing with my childhood friends and laughing at my parents dancing to Tina Turner “Nutbush city limits” and Gloria Gaynor “I will survive”. Each week is an adventure where I truly get lost in the joy of music and riding. I finish the class physically exhausted and full of endorphins having had truly “one of the rides of my life” and now I am a total convert to the Gym!