It's been four months since I've attended one of Dino's indoor cycling classes. I called El Camino Y to make sure that he was teaching that night. I was told that not only was class still on, but Dino was making it a TWO HOUR SPECIAL!
Completely insane, I know, but why the heck not? As I was setting up my bike, a guy next to me asked Dino whether class was really going to be two hours long. Yes, but it was going to be : 1-1/2 hours spinning, 10 minutes cool down, 10 minutes stretching and 10 minutes abs.
Dino played primarily dance music. My favorite! I could tell that he put a lot of thought into class structure because he had organized songs around endurance, sprints, intervals, and jumps (seated & standing). I was familiar with his cueing for hand positions and intensity levels so that worked well. Dino would tell us what rpm we should aim for (we did a 15 second count). When I got tired and felt myself slowing down, I would look up and try to match my leg speed with his. He also gave us form pointers throughout the workout:
- Relax the shoulders
- Upper body is quiet
- Don't bounce side-to-side
- Slight bend in the elbows
- Keep knees straight
- Keep wrists straight
- Light pressure on the handlebars (no death grip or excess pressure on the hands)
Class was awesome. For once, I didn't have a sore butt at all! I think it's because I made a special effort to sit properly in the saddle: I kept on reminding myself to hinge from the hips and not hunch over and bend my upper back. As a result, I pushed my rear backwards so I sat on my sit bones and thus didn't squish my soft tissue. If you're somebody who doesn't cycle because it hurts - try it out!
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