Why I Love Spin Class, Yoga, and My Personal Trainer

I first started spin class at a local Y before my first daughter was born. I went religiously each week for about a year. Once I became pregnant, I cancelled my Y membership and didn't look back. Fast forward several years and two children later. I was feeling kind of blah and tired of just using my home elliptical machine. I joined a gym that had an emphasis on health versus fitness. I knew I wanted to take spin classes and I purposely joined this particular gym because of the large amount of classes they offered. The days and times were so varied too. My first spin class was a year and a half ago. I was surprised that I managed to keep up with the instructor for an hour. I spent the summer of 2016 trying out spin classes with different teachers. I settled on Mary, whose class is extremely challenging. She also plays the best music. I started off going once a week then twice a week. By the early winter I was down a pants size. Spin class is an hour long and it involves sitting, standing, sprinting, intervals, and arm exercises. Men and women go to class and the ages range from early twenties to mid seventies. I also tried a new class at my gym, HIIT spin. This is high intensity interval training. It was only a half hour class. I really didn't find it challenging and I hated the music. As you can tell, music while spinning is very important to me. I went back to regular spin class, only attending Mary's class. This summer I missed a few weeks for various reasons. The first two weeks back I was so sore the following day. It does take awhile to get used to. I notice that when I spin I feel energized. To me, it's genuinely a fun activity. It's really hard work if you have a challenging instructor, especially for an hour. It's such a great sense of accomplishment when I complete a class. Spin is a great boost to your self-esteem. Exercise is proven to release endorphins. It helps with your mental health too. I try to go weekly and I schedule it in my phone like an appointment. If I miss a few classes I feel very lethargic. I feel that when I'm energized I'm a better mom to my kids. I even took my pregnant sister-in-law to a class. She really enjoyed it and was able to keep up. I would check with your doctor first if you are pregnant or have any medical conditions. I highly recommend trying a spin class!

I started yoga a few months ago for the first time. I wanted to try it for meditation purposes and for exercise. My gym offered a ton of classes but most were advanced ones. I settled on a yoga lite class. The instructor is very knowledgeable. The people in class ranged in age from teenagers to their seventies. I loved my first class and went back weekly. It's an hour long, mostly of stretching with time at the end for meditation. There are also standard poses like both warrior ones, tree pose, bridge, and child's pose. I even started practicing at home. I found it on TV too with all different length programs. I find yoga to be relaxing but even with simple poses, I am sore the next day.

My gym has a feature that a personal trainer can reassess you every six to eight weeks for free. It's an hour long session. After a few tries I found a trainer that I really like. An hour was too much for me so I do a half hour session. I also learned how to use gym equipment that I never glanced at before. I'm really sore after working out with Dan but in the best possible way. We also chat during work outs so I gained some nutrition tips too. I make sure to schedule a new training session in my phone calendar before I leave the gym each time. I really wish I could afford even group training sessions on a more frequent basis, but it's so expensive. I enjoy the free sessions and take full advantage of them. I highly recommend trying at least one of my three favorite forms of exercise.