Ernie asked me if I’d post some video of me on the new 1UP USA trainer so here it is. I’m still working on the full review because I’d like to use it for week or so to give me a better feel for how it works in the long run.

This morning I woke up and went to my spinning class. Frankly, it wasn’t great. Even with missing PowerPump yesterday (dinner obligations with out of town guests), my muscles were sore from Tueseday’s famed class. When your legs feel like they may collapse out from under you at any moment, and you’ve got that sort of nauseous feeling because its only 6am… its really hard to stand up on the bike and sprint, or sit down and sprint. Or do anything for that matter.

So there I am on my bike, kind of half assing my way through class… listening to the music, checking out the other riders, gazing about in general. As I am day dreaming, I take some the time to notice myself in the mirror.

Damn. My shoulders look hot.

We did some crazy moves in Tuesday’s PowerPump that I am now sure gave me almost instant results. I think for a second it might be the low lighting in the spinning room…. So I contort my body all around to make sure I’m not viewing some fake out “shadow muscles”…then I get all jazzed because I realize … no shadows… just looking good.

So even though my legs were killing me, I made it through class…. Gazing about and all. Then I decided, just for good measure, I was going to go to some of those shoulder lifting moves so on Monday I can do some more admiring of myself in the mirror.

Imagine my horror and surprise when I walk out to the main gym and see the essentially the entire spinning class doing some extended work. I realized pretty quickly this is their normal routine: every one stays after to lift!

Seriously?! They are not just hard core, they are S-E-R-I-O-U-S about their fitness.

One lady was doing the ab machine. Another guy was doing curls. Two chicks were executing walking lunges with 10 pound weights in each hand…. And then there was somebody doing dead lifts! I just stood there with my mouth open.

Typically, I leave right after class. I’m all sweaty and beat and I want to get into my own shower. Apparently I didn’t get the memo: spinning is just the first hour of work out. For every one whos any one at the Ballys in Fairview… well, hour two is pump it up time.

Dang! I’m gonna have to do more than just some shoulder presses….

Yesterday I was not hard core enough to wake up at 5:30 am and get to the gym in time for the early morning spinning class. Truly a shame. The AM spinning class is nothing short of intense. Not only do all attendees wear Pearl Izumi shorts for comfort, you are pretty much required to have toe clips to keep up.

As well as sporting the gear, the early morning spinning class has style. There is a certain sense of camaraderie that comes in the morning, and with such an intense workout. You will often hear members of the class shout out “Push! Push”, which is answered by a chorus of “Pull! Pull”. There will be a number of outbursts like “Get it Done!” and when we really start climbing just the quick, “Whew!”.

An all time highlight for the morning class came Wednesday. We had just finished a pretty intense climb and were looking towards doing some speed work. Suddenly, the theme to “DIrty Dancing” starts playing. And you got it, we were all having “The Time of Our Lives”. One of the regular attendees, Darnell started us off by singing:

“Now I’ve had the time of my life
No I never felt like this before
Yes I swear it’s the truth
and I owe it all to you”

I of course was obliged to answer with:

“‘Cause I’ve had the time of my life
and I owe it all to you”

Well, real soon the entire class “felt the urgency” and joined in the chorus:

“I’ve had the time of my life
No I never felt this way before
Yes I swear it’s the truth
And I owe it all to you
‘Cause I’ve had the time of my life
And I’ve searched through every open door
‘Til I found the truth
And I owe it all to you”

So, that was Wednesday. Friday I missed spinning. In fact, I missed working out altogether. I decided to set my alarm for the first time in my adult life on a Saturday morning, and got my butt to the 8:15 am spinning class. Unfortunately the participants and the music selection was not quite the same. Our class soundtrack included a Beastie Boys song, a true St Louis tribute with an old Nelly album, and the Baha Boys’ one hit wonder, “Who Let The Dogs” out.

The big finale was the theme from “Friends”. I won’t miss my regular class again… those are all the “friends” I need in spinning.