Latest Spinning Class Profiles & Playlists

I told my class I would post the playlist last week, I spaced it, so now I am posting 3 of the past playlists I have used in class. 

Monday, May 7 - Endurance training class

Friday, May 4 - Climbing Repeats - this was a tough class

Monday, April 27 - Long hard climbing with MuscleTension Intervals courtesy of Carmichael’s book. Thank goodness for good music.

Well there you have it, 3 great Spinning Classes, such good times over at Crossroads Fitness. 

Who, What, Where:

Night before race:

We made it to Moab, and Gearheads right before the packet pick-up closed so we didn’t have to wake up so early on race day. The salad my wife made was awesome for dinner that night. The hostel definitely had character…a dingy little house with a bunch of smelly granola guys and gals watching some show on a 15 inch TV by a wall full of VHS cassettes.

Only 3 of us went down for the race, and according to the guy at the front desk, that was lucky because our cabin only had 3 beds even though we paid for a 4-bed cabin. Well it was a bunk with decent mattresses and the worst, I mean worst spring mattress I have ever slept on. I tried sleeping for 30 minutes and had some of the worst back pains and lightning strikes down the leg in a long time. Finally I went to get another room but no one was at the front desk, but Glen said he would swap me - thanks Glen, I honestly don’t know how you got any sleep.

Morning of race:

Ate a 1/2 bagel with my home-made almond butter (best batch ever!), but I think I should have refrained from eating (gut was messed up after race for several hours). I chugged down a 5-hour energy right as we pulled into the dirt parking lot up Kane Creek road, not sure this was a good idea, but oh well. The weather was perfect race morning, slightly cloudy, but 1.5 miles into it the sun broke through and a small breeze kept things cool. 

The race:

The first mile was super fast, I pushed way too hard and the lead group screaming fast. I soon fell behind them and lost site of Glen, and Dale was close behind me. I remember the first 3 miles of climbing over dirt and slickrock being challenging - my memory was correct. I walked up the steeper ledgy areas, and ran as much as I could. The view at the top before the aid station was amazing, better than I remember. 

What I didn’t remember very well was how much climbing there was from mile 4 to 7 - it was brutal, but the scenery and diversity of the trail kept the mind off it. I also don’t remember how exposed the back side of the race is. I missed a turn at 6.5 miles causing me to lose almost 2 minutes having to backtrack, that’s part of the fun though.

Around mile 7 there is a section where you run on a 4 foot path with a massive cliff to the left overlooking the Colorado river. I felt strong all the way to the end which was a huge difference from last year. Gratefully the river crossing was non-existent (see photo).

Overall it was an extremely awesome race and it was full of character, adventure, and good laughs which we’ll remember forever. 

Lactate Threshold 101

Bicycling.com provides an excellent overview of LT training, it’s definitely something any active person needs to understand in order to boost his or her performance and fitness level.

Lactate threshold is the glass ceiling of cycling performance-it’s an invisible barrier that keeps you down. When you do crack through, the rewards are sweet.

Ice Baths Help Recover - It's painful, but worth it!

According to research, ice baths can be helpful — at least in comparison to doing nothing. In a new report in The Cochrane Library, researchers at the University of Ulster in Ireland pooled data from 17 studies involving 366 people, many of whom sat in ice baths for several minutes after cycling, running or lifting weights. Compared with passive rest after exercise, a short bout of cold therapy reduced soreness by 20 percent, the researchers found.

I have seen good results from ice bathing, especially last year when I was suffering from severe IT band syndrome. I don’t recommend staying in the water for very long, generally 7-10 minutes seems to be effective for me. 

Another benefit I noticed from taking ice baths last year was that my tolerance for cold water swim training for triathlons were much better, specifically Bear Lake which is typically very cold, felt much warmer.

Another more subtle benefit from it I feel, greater mental toughness.

As the NY Times article states, there isn’t a ton of research on all the benefits nor side effects, but from my personal experience I have seen great results. 

Happy shivering!

Preserving Muscle As You Age

Looks like consistent weight training and running will stay on my fitness agenda for a long time.

Skiing with the kids at Wolf Mountain last Saturday - such a good time!

Progressive Cadence Spinning Class

This profile focuses on a progressive transition from a lower cadence of 65 RPM up to 90 RPMs, and repeats 3 times. Throughout the class I asked them to focus on one thing at a time such as relaxing the shoulders, using the hamstrings to pull through the bottom of the pedal stroke, etc. 

Details

  • 18 songs
  • Length: 76 minutes
Progressive Cadence Spinning Class - Profile.pdf
Uploaded with Skitch!

Profile and song details on Google Docs

Playlist on Grooveshark

Credits: I took a variation of this concept from a similar class created by Lisa Mueller

ToGrooveShark = brilliance!

This is a brilliant site that allows you to copy over music playlists from Spotify.

Spinning Class - Feb. 15, 2012

Here is the playlist I used last week in a few spinning classes I taught. We spent most of the time focused on aerobic base-building but we did jump into some strength building and high intensity intervals.

  1. Warm-up
  2. Increased cadence, continuation of warm-up
  3. Steep, out of saddle, short climb
  4. Long endurance set
  5. Intervals
  6. Full recovery
  7. 2nd long endurance set
  8. Fast flat recovery
  9. Climb, part 1
  10. Climb, part 2
  11. Fast descent
  12. Cool down

http://grooveshark.com/playlist/Spinning+2+15+12/67393818

Interval Training for Overall Health - NY Times