New RPM Class A Success

Sorry for the delay in posting today. I'm not sure why, but my computer must be on a 'work to rule' or some go slow form of industrial action today! It has taken me ages to get in and be able to access blogger and make this post. In any event, I am here now and have the days events to report on.

It was good start this morning. The coffee that we purchased yesterday has all been ground up for the espresso machine. My partner and I sampled it this morning espresso style, sans frothy milk and it had a nice kick. It was tasty, strong, and had a very potent smell. It was very nice, and was a great start to the day.

I left the house with plenty of time to spare today. The RPM class was supposed to start at 9:45, so I left the house at 9:00 to make sure that I had plenty of time to set up my cycle and possibly have a bit of a chat to the instructor to get the inside goss on what the class was like, and if there was anything that I should look out for. I left with plenty of time to spare, and arrived at the gym by 9:30 and was rearing to go.

The class is held in its own room at our gym. It is a small, black room with fans, air conditioning, and there are rows of cycles all pointed towards a bike on a very small stage. The view in the room was non existent, and nothing like the photo I have posted today. That is the view (well part of it) from the platinum gym that I mentioned yesterday. Inside the RPM room at my gym there were a number of stereo speakers in the room and I could tell that it was going to be loud. I had a bit of a look around and then noticed that the instructor had arrived, and as no one else was there, I asked if he could show me how to set up the bike in preparation for my first RPM class.

He took me through setting up the bike and I wont bore you with all the details except to say that there was quite a lot to take in. One thing that I wasn't too impressed with was that the bike had a resistance control on it, but you could only turn it clockwise to make it more difficult, and anti-clockwise to release the pressure on the pedals. There were no numbers, or no 'objective' way to gague how difficult the setting is - no gears if you like. Also there was no readout so there was no way to keep track of calories being burned or anything like that. I figured that wouldn't matter that much as the class has a reputation for being difficult.

After being introduced to the bike by the instructor I got ready to get underway. The class was about 80% full so getting there early will be necessary if I am to continue with it. I forgot to ask how long the class was so when we started I had no idea how long I would be riding the bike. I figured it would be less than an hour due to the time that we started at. As it turned out I was right, the class went for 45 minutes.

In essence what happens is that the music comes on and you are told to pedal fast sitting down, or slower with more resistance standing up. There were slight variations on this, but that was the guts of it. The standing up parts were an emulation of hills, while the sitting down bits were supposed to resemble racing along the flat. The bike was set up like a road racing bike in terms of the handle bars and you could lean forward and get right into it.

Overall I found the class good. The instructor had told me to take it easy as it was my first time, but I found that I could handle the pace pretty well (and consequently am not sure if I had the resistance levels right when we are asked to increase the load). However, I was puffing and sweaty when the 45 minutes was up, and only had to rest out of time once during the class. So all in all I think it was a success. I did enjoy the class, it is preferable to riding exercycles in the gym ordinarily and I will probably build this in to my routine. I will take the instructor up on her offer to go along with her as that will probably give me an idea of whether or not I am pushing myself enough or not. However, my exercise tomorrow will be back on the treadmill to see how I get on.

After the class I did some weights. I wanted to do some work on my arms as they have always been a bit weak, so I went and did a light dumbbell workout. The gym was busy today so I decided to head back home after finishing that part of the workout. I went home via Rebel Sport at Rockdale and managed to find some more gym shorts that were on special. I got them without trying them on because they were the biggest ones in the shop. I was a bit worried about them fitting, however I tried them on when I got home and was surprised to find that the XL size fit me very well. I may get some more tomorrow.

My legs hurt during the class which was a good sign, and I tested the lightfeet socks today. They were very cool, and I noticed that the pain in my knee that was present on the way to the gym subsided, and then went away. I had no trouble with my blisters, and my feet felt really good when I got home. Too early to say if the socks are good, but this is an encouraging start. Let's see how they cope with the treadmill tomorrow!