The alarm went off at 4:35am. I was a bit tired but it was good that I taped idol and made myself get into bed at 9:15am. It didn't take Karel too long to get into bed and hit the sack. I use to think it was pathetic that we went to bed so early but I think sleep is so important to training that is should never be overlooked. Ok, so maybe 9:15pm is a bit early but usually I'm in bed before 10pm. I got myself ready for my spin class while my coffee was warming and I was out the door at 4:55am. My spin class was phenomenol today..not because of me teaching it but because my students were absolutely on fire today. We were sweating by warm-up and even with the two fans going we looked like we had just biked outside in mid-afternoon..we were toasted! After a 5-6 minute warm-up of spinning the legs and getting out of the saddle for some running in position 2 (hands on the bar right in front of you with your body over the saddle, position three hands on the side handlebars with chest over the front of the bike) we were ready for our main set. I give my class a main set and we do the same set for 5 weeks straight. The only thing is that we add anothe interval. I don't treat my class like an "aerobic type" class. I treat them like athletes. Since we only have 45 minutes I give them plenty of intervals to keep the heart rate up. Since most of the people have taken my class for over the past year and everyone in there is usually a regular, there are so suprises when I give them the main sets. I do get a few looks before (crazy looks) and many tongues hanging out after (exhausted) but other than that it is a quality workout that goes by very quickly. The main set is a sprint set. I don't like to sprint for a long time (anything more than 45 seconds) on a spin bike because I think people tend to lose form and if the resistance is too low (the bike should have a little resistance with sprinting) people tend to bounce with their hips or point their toes. I don't want any injuries so I try to break up the sprinting sets. We start with 5 sets of intervals for the first time we do something and the build to 10. It is fun to see people suffer on the first week of a new interval set because it is hard to imagine doing the same set, with 10 intervals. However, it is all about training and I like my students to see themselves progressing and that they CAN improve their cardio endurance. So we are on 7 (3rd week) intervals right now and the set goes like this: 25 seconds sprinting sitting down, 3-4 turns to the right (increase resistance) and up out of the saddle to position three and sprint climb. I won't let my students touch the knob when they are up and climbing so I tell them it is tough luck if they turned too much. Of course they see me smiling and I am not mean to my class but I like them to see that they CAN get out of their comfort zone. Of course at 5:30 in the morning I am energetic, talkative and ready to push my class hard...and because of it I get a really good workout. We only rest for 15-20 seconds between intervals so that is where the heart rate starts to really climb. We do a 2 minute recovery after the sprint set and then we are ready for the next set. I like to do jumps (quick up and down on the saddle with hands in position 2) and climbs but I always do sets and nothing lasts more than 2 minutes. We may do a set which takes 10 minutes but I give my class time to recover even if it is 5-10 seconds. Same with triathlon training, if you give yourself a little recovery, you get that "umph" to push hard again without feeling exausted after only a few minutes. The body can only handle so much hard intensity at one time. After the sprint set we did the following 4 times: 20 seconds of quick jumps (barely sit down or stand up, I call them 2 and 2's), then sit down, turn the knob 3-5 times and climb for 20 sec. Then turn the knob to the left to go downhill (yes, I talk like we are on real bikes, we race, we climb, we see finish lines, we go aero and we do rollers). We descend for 10 sec. and then do another seated climb with 3-5 turns for another 20 seconds. We rested for 15 seconds by running out of the saddle in position 2 before doing the jumps again. We had about 5 min left before the warm-down so we did some push-ups while pedaling and then hoovering (holding the upper body still and pedal just with the hips down) in position two.
The class looked beat at the end and so was I. I even got a cramp in the middle of the class which has never happened before. I finished my 20 ounce water bottle and I couldn't even think straight. I had my class there with me and everyone had a really good workout. I'm so lucky to have such great athletes in there..even if they don't do races.
So then it was time for the treadmill. Since today is the brick workout, I (for the first time) started running as soon as I hit the treadmill. No 5 min. walking for me. Oh the legs wished I was walking for the first mile. I had to make a quick stop to the bathroom (probably all the water drinking from before, during and after spin) and then I was back on the treadmill. For the brick workout I do tempo running and I was happy that I am running comfortably at 7.5 mph. Finally I am feeling like myself again. i had my medical terminology book to keep me occupied but that only lasted another mile. Then I read redbook and diabetes forecast magazines. I don't really read, just kinda flip through the pages and look up at the TV as well. Yes Jen H., I finished two magazines :) So the last 10 minutes I was really bored so I did 10 min. of intervals. I did 1 min at 8.1 mph, 30 sec at 8.8 mph and then ran for 1 min at 7.8 mph. After a few of those, I was finished with a 51 min. run and 6.2 miles. I was exhausted when I got off the treadmill. I was moving slow, covered in sweat and my face was ready. I wasn't about to complain and I am loving working hard again. I love pushing myself and seeing what my body is capable of...so early in the morning that is :) I did a bit of lifting (don't think I actually lifted). one or two sets of some arm stuff and a couple sets of abs on the ball. I was done, the shower felt great and so did the oatmeal, MOJO bar and many many many drinks of water w/ amino's in it. I had to rush out the door after my oatmeal to run some errands before class but I did get in a smoothie during lunch. Probably a bit too late and now I am really feeling it. I feel so exausted! I know I worked hard but I wish I would have had my protein powder right after the workout. I know..even I mess up! I will be sure to have some more eggs tonight so in addition to a tofu and egg sandwich for lunch, I will hopefully repair before tomorrow. I also took a 20 min. power nap today (which I hardly ever do) since i have a bit of time before my evening class, and I am feeling much better. :) I think 9pm might be the bedtime tonight..oh, I am exhausted!
The class looked beat at the end and so was I. I even got a cramp in the middle of the class which has never happened before. I finished my 20 ounce water bottle and I couldn't even think straight. I had my class there with me and everyone had a really good workout. I'm so lucky to have such great athletes in there..even if they don't do races.
So then it was time for the treadmill. Since today is the brick workout, I (for the first time) started running as soon as I hit the treadmill. No 5 min. walking for me. Oh the legs wished I was walking for the first mile. I had to make a quick stop to the bathroom (probably all the water drinking from before, during and after spin) and then I was back on the treadmill. For the brick workout I do tempo running and I was happy that I am running comfortably at 7.5 mph. Finally I am feeling like myself again. i had my medical terminology book to keep me occupied but that only lasted another mile. Then I read redbook and diabetes forecast magazines. I don't really read, just kinda flip through the pages and look up at the TV as well. Yes Jen H., I finished two magazines :) So the last 10 minutes I was really bored so I did 10 min. of intervals. I did 1 min at 8.1 mph, 30 sec at 8.8 mph and then ran for 1 min at 7.8 mph. After a few of those, I was finished with a 51 min. run and 6.2 miles. I was exhausted when I got off the treadmill. I was moving slow, covered in sweat and my face was ready. I wasn't about to complain and I am loving working hard again. I love pushing myself and seeing what my body is capable of...so early in the morning that is :) I did a bit of lifting (don't think I actually lifted). one or two sets of some arm stuff and a couple sets of abs on the ball. I was done, the shower felt great and so did the oatmeal, MOJO bar and many many many drinks of water w/ amino's in it. I had to rush out the door after my oatmeal to run some errands before class but I did get in a smoothie during lunch. Probably a bit too late and now I am really feeling it. I feel so exausted! I know I worked hard but I wish I would have had my protein powder right after the workout. I know..even I mess up! I will be sure to have some more eggs tonight so in addition to a tofu and egg sandwich for lunch, I will hopefully repair before tomorrow. I also took a 20 min. power nap today (which I hardly ever do) since i have a bit of time before my evening class, and I am feeling much better. :) I think 9pm might be the bedtime tonight..oh, I am exhausted!