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06.10.2008

Well, I finally realized that improved fitness might help me on the special stages, and certainly will help me with my every day wellness.

Got a membership to a local gym and convinced a trainer with a great Scandinavian name to torture me periodically! :-)

So, have only been going sporadically, but due to a change in work schedule, have been going more often the last couple of weeks.

Thought I'd share my experience from RPM class tonight. Started the day with a Body Combat class, and then decided to be brave and try the RPM class for the first time tonight.

Armed with my settings for the bike given to me earlier by my trainer(who teaches this particular class as well), I showed up early to make sure I got a bike. Apparently people enjoy the torture he dishes out in class as well.

Not wanting to be on the bike for the first time when class was full, I hopped on and tried to clip my cycling shoe into the pedal. I've had the shoes for awhile, but haven't used the clips on the mountain bike. Up on the bike I go, then tried to clip in-no joy. I get off the bike and take my shoe off and get down where I can see how everything meshes. Clip the shoe in, and then.....can't remove it.

One shoe on, one shoe off. Not wanting to look like more of an imbecile than I am, I take the other shoe off and head out to the main gym area and hope that Scott(said trainer) will show up a bit early and help me rescue my shoe, and my dignity.

Of course he laughs at my plight, then asks which bike I was set up on-then he replies, "Oh yeah, the one with the shoe hanging off of it." He's very supportive! ;-)

Scott gets me set up and class is about to begin. I had brought some padded gloves with me due to my carpal tunnel. I had bought them at Dick's Sporting Goods last year, and with my luck, they were two right hand gloves! Thinking they were my replacement gloves(which were anatomically correct for a person with one each of left and right hand), I brought the, "special gloves."

Strike two. This wasn't looking good! ;-) So, class begins and I'm muddling my way through, spinning the tension knob on the bike when Scott tells us too. More tension, less tension. He really can't seem to make up his mind. Why are my thighs and ass on fire?!

Get to the end of the 60 minutes and we're done. Some stretching on the bike and my right quad starts to cramp. Visions of my leg locking up and me dangling from my clipped in shoes appear in my head. Cramp passes. Scott tells us we can get off the bike when we're ready and do some stretching.

Oh yeah, don't know how to unclip, but have a vague idea. Spin for a bit more, trying to look like I'm just cooling down-wondering if I'll be spending the night on the back of a Lemond gym bike. Twist my ankles outward and the clips release. Thank the big guy!

Stretching and we're done. Scott asks how the class was and I tell him it was long....little does he know! :-)

As I've gotten a bit older, um, wiser, I've come to appreciate these types of experiences and find the humor in them. I'm feeling stronger and feeling fitter, but there's plenty of work to do yet. Year's of working out with my two trainers, Ben and Jerry, have given Scott lots to work with!

Cheers! John

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