I’m no stranger when it comes to exercising. I lift weight lifts and work out daily at the gym. Spinning, though, isn’t part of that routine. Should it be? Could it be? When this project came up in my English class, I decided it was time to find out. So with a small towel in one hand and a cold water bottle in the other, I rented an electric scooter and traveled from the University of Arizona across town to LET’S SWEAT, a popular spinning and strength-training studio downtown on 6th Avenue.
Outside the window-encased building a prominent sign reading “LET’S SWEAT” cascades around the curved wall. Inside the whole room just opens up, illuminated by the sunlight beaming in from the wall of windows. As I walked into this spacious environment I began to feel excited — not intimidated as I worried I might be, not having done a spin class before. I was immediately greeted by Devin, a smiling young woman who checked me in and then helped set me up on a stationary bike, adjusting it for my height and size.
The spin class had roughly 20 bikes available to the participants. There was mostly women but there were a few guys there as well with most of the people being young college-age folks. I would say it was a pretty full class for being on a Tuesday afternoon.
We then met our instructor, Sam, who wasted no time getting the class started. We promptly began to warm up our legs for the ride ahead of us with some light peddling, which felt like you’re riding a bike downhill. Once I got my legs nice and warmed up, Sam then told us to get ready for …
…”the real workout!”
Talking in a calm and instructive manner, Sam began to talk about the endeavors we will power through during our spin session, including “turns” and “hills” which are different positions that the rider needs to switch to while still peddling the bike.
So then the session began when the instructor started playing the ecstatic house music on the speakers that surrounded the studio. The bass beat pumping through the speakers enveloped my body and I started to cycle faster and faster.
Ten minutes into the workout, the sweat came though as promised. We increased the intensity by adding gears onto the bike. These gears, which are accessed through a red lever protruding in front of the bike, allow for more resistance on the pedals, making the strides more difficult. The more resistance I added, the “steeper” the hill I felt I was biking up became.
Over the course of this 45-minute high intensity workout, I looked around the room and saw everyone was focused on their spinning and completely soaked with sweat! It made me feel better since I wasn’t just the only one sweating buckets. The whole time, Sam motivated us with empowering words: “Push through!” “Don’t stop now, we’re almost there!”
I was really feeling the burn big time! Yeah, some pain, but it was good knowing that I was getting in a terrific workout! The spinning session flew by. At the end I was a pink ball of, yup, sweat. My legs were all Jell-O. And I’ve never felt more alive!
My “Take” on LET’S SWEAT
The best part about the whole workout was experiencing how different it was from what I’m used to doing. I expected the cardio workout would be intense, but I was surprised at how much muscle strength came into it. I lift weights at my gym and I realize I’ve got to pay more attention to my lower body now. It was great being in a “class” with others. It kept me motivated to keep going and to grind up the intensity along with the others. Devin said that you really “build relationships” with the “close knit community” at LET’S SWEAT, and I would totally agree with that because even after just one session, I can see just how much the members of LET’S SWEAT appreciate sweating with their friends around them. When the session came to an end I saw the spin class members talking with each other with sweaty faces and big smiles, which is a pretty big indication that they enjoy the thrill of spinning at LET’S SWEAT and the spinning experience all together. This was a great experience and I’m glad I did it.
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Rocco Conti is a physiology major who loves being fit both physically and mentally since the two go together.