First Day of School: Spin

Yesterday was the first day of YTri 2012! I started off the season with a 6am Tri Spin class. Since the newbies are assigned to specific classes based on their swim/run times, this class was basically all veterans of the program which meant it was the first time many of us had seen each other in a while... hence "first day of school". Though it was crazy early and we were all still adjusting to our new alarm clock settings, the beginning of class was filled with overly enthusiastic hey's and how are you's. An unexpected perk of joining the tri team is becoming part of this great community!

Our coach Elisa is just perky enough and loves to blast her great play list, which to me is much needed for motivation in a dark spin room pre-dawn. We are currently focused on base building so most of the class was focused on aerobic exercises: keeping up the speed and some slow climbing low hills... building consistency. While we were peddling away, Elisa took the time to come around and readjust our bikes and tweak our positioning. One of the easiest ways to get injured or overwork yourself is to be on a poorly fitted bike. This means you need to know what a good fit feels like. Best tips I can give you:

• When your pedal is all the way down you should have a slight bend at the knee (adjust the height of your seat)
• When your pedal is at 3 o'clock your knee should be directly over your ankle (adjust your seat forward and backward)
• Your arms should be extended but be aware not to lock your elbows and keep your shoulders relaxed (adjust the height of your handle bars)

Another tip that is easy to forget is that in a spin room things heat up much faster then when you are out on the open road. You sweat a good amount and without the wind to whisk it away, it sits right on your pores causing your body to continue to produce a high amount of sweat. My point: don't forget to hydrate! Both before and during the class. Every down second between sets grab a sip of water.

This is a 45 min (turned 50 min cause Elisa is stubborn like that ;) ) spin class that will be my main spin for the week.