Switching Gears Tonight...

Ok... So I did not get out to yoga tonight like I said I would. It turned out that I had to cover for a colleague while his group was attending a meeting. Coverage basically meant that I would also inherit all the must do's that come along with it.

When it was all said and done, I ended up leaving the office late so that meant that there would be no time to make it to the Ashtanga practise that I wanted to do. After killing time on the train with Manley and trying to decipher railroad signals, which I am now getting better at thanks to Manley, I headed home. Thankfully, we did not run over any racoons this time. Other than the two kids who decided to cross the tracks in front of the train, we made it with no incident. I had a decision to make tonight - go outside for a run, or spin on my bicycle.

I decided that I would switch gears and spin on the bike. I still had to try out my "Spinervals 101" DVD. The workouts on the Spinervals DVD series are led by Coach Troy Jacobson, a national level triathlon coach based in the US. After getting myself organised, I set up the DVD in the basement and mounted the bike. Now, for those of you wondering how I spin indoors in the winter, here is what I don't have - a stationary bike. Instead, my road bike is attached to a magnetic trainer by the rear wheel with the front wheel resting on a riser block.

After mounting the bike, I began the workout. The workout that I did on this DVD was a basic 30 minute workout with intervals designed to work on technique. Those 30 minutes were the best I've ever spent. The intervals were great. The intervals included three minutes of one-legged peddaling alternating legs, hill climbing intervals, and cadence building intervals. I really worked up a sweat doing the workout. The best part about this DVD is that there are a few chapters where Coach Troy talks about how to set up the trainer and how to determine the gearing to be used when he specifies gears to be used. Note to self - I will need a spare set of tyres because the back tyre rubbing on the roller will increase my chances of getting a flat on the road due to wear and tear.

I am now planning to work the cycling into my overall training. I do have another Spinerval DVD that I will be reviewing and I will be looking to collect more of the DVDs in the series, including some of the ones that simulate different race courses and terrain. I will also strategise with how to set up the basement so that I can have many more enjoyable experiences on the trainer.