Week 7 Spin 2 - Hard again, but not as hard

[gary_bart]

I probably need to "slow down". Today I tried to keep my power at about 150 W as consistently as possible, and at times I couldn't manage, and had to drop to just sustaining about 130 W. 100 W is probably quite close to a "walk" in effort (at least for me), and 200 W is a real grind.

This power level seems to be where my pulse rate goes up into the upper 140's, and where my sense of effort crosses the borderline between "conversation speed", and "grunting speed", and it feels quite close to the very edge of what I can currently sustain for longer periods.

One thing almost entirely absent from today's spin was a hill. There were some points where I cranked up the resistence, but I wasn't able to slog it out against this for more than say a minute at a time.

In terms of calories for the 3 25 minute spins so far, it's been 450, 360, 430 (roughly; I'm already forgetting and I don't write it down). Today's only went to 430 because I gave myself an extra 5 minutes of cool off, so that I'm less crippled when I fall off that thing at the end. I still had to walk out most of the tightness.

It's nice having some figures (however inacurate and possibly inconsistent) to use to measure the effect of what you're doing. Today that's about all I'm able to say in favour of spinning, but I'll try to like it better next time. If you're out there running, be glad of it. It's much better than being on some machine, and that's something that's not ever going to change. Relish that fresh air, relish that sky overhead, and the life going on around you. It's still the best.

[davelinks Graduate]

Well done with that, I know what you mean, it gets so boring on a static bike, must get the same on a treadmill, I may try that one day, glad I was out this morning running in the sunshine while it's here...

[gary_bart in reply to davelinks]

At least I get my dose of vicarious running by hearing what you guys have been up to. I've had some OK spins, and I need to work on actively mining for whatever enjoyment there is to be had in the spinning (I suppose at some level of fitness the occasional feeling of vigour would be there - something like how the 15 kg barbell has gone from being not so heavy to being light, when it comes to weights training).

On an utterly miserable day, I suppose a treadmill or static bike becomes almost a necessity, and it's necessary to learn how to enjoy this alternative for its own reasons, too.

[Rignold]

Do your spin classes not include tabata and interval sprints or is it all just cadence work?

[gary_bart in reply to Rignold]

I'm on the "DIY spin class", so I just get on the cycle and go. For the time being, I'm just using it to "finish c25k" in some sense, hence the naming of the "spins". Later I'll see what else I can do with it, or with the next thing.

I'm pretty sure I'm not going about things the most effective way, right now, but I'm OK with that for now. I did think in terms of doing intervals once I complete a "spinning Week 9". A brief google on tabata looks like it's something I might postpone getting into for a while. The nearer whatever I do is to running (as I've experienced it) the likelier it is that I won't have to keep at it entirely by force of will. That said, I'll now be learning all I can about this way, too.

For the immediate future, the main thing I think I need to do is avoid my desk as much as I can. If the way I'm exercising is taking too much time for normal circumstances (with all the drawbacks that that can have) it's better on the whole, given the need to avoid the desk by all means possible.

[Rignold in reply to gary_bart]

have you thought of a stand-up desk?

[gary_bart in reply to Rignold]

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. In this case, yes, actually I have. I must get on with actually doing something about it, mustn't I? I was thinking of making a kind of Heath Robinson "easle" for the computer, and just sitting down to an ordinary desk for any writing, but we're in the process of trying to sell up, after which I move to who-knows-where, so making things is ... well not more difficult (that's ridiculous) but it's easier to be lazy about it.

I actually have a one-handed chorder that I used to use in place of a keyboard. I basically wore it out, so to get that working again I must either go online, find a cheap sourced of hopefully generic keypads, and buy a supply, or I must undo the rubbish repair job I did on it. (There's also the matter of it giving me possible RSI, but that might be less of an issue now I'm stronger from gym).