Spinning vs. A Root Canal

February 17 --  I went to a spinning class today at the gym.  This marks the ummmm, 4th class I have ever taken in my whole life.  And they all happened in the last couple of weeks.  I really like spinning because I sweat like crazy and after an hour of moving non-stop on the bike, I feel like I have burned 1,000 calories.  I haven't, of course, but it feels like that anyway.

The funny thing about spinning is that I can see where it becomes addictive.  It's painful but healthy.  And you feel really, really good afterward.   In fact, I know people who have told me that they are, in fact, addicted to it.  I cannot help but wonder what is up with this exercise phenomenon which seems to be sweeping the nation. (Okay, I don't talk to people throughout the nation.  But I definitely get positive spinning feedback from a large number of people in my town anyway.)

A few days ago,  I was talking to an older woman in the locker room  after a particularly difficult spinning class.  I asked her if she really liked it because, even though I say I like it, I am still very much on the fence.  I like the idea that I am burning calories and riding a bike (which I have always loved to do) but I have what I call Gym Cynicism.  Whenever I join a gym, I watch the people around me and think, what did they look like before they came here?  Does this weight lifting thing really work?  Does this sweating over a bike for an hour gig really help people get in shape?  So the woman I asked about the class looked at me and laughed.  "Oh I love it," she said emphatically.  And then she added, "but it took me a year before I loved it."   A year?  I have to stick with this for a year before it's all love and roses??!

My friend Lori took the class with me today.  At the end, I reached toward her bike to give her a fist bump.  She was so focused on drinking her water, she left me hanging.  "Helloooo!"  I said.  "Don't leave me hangin' here Lori!"  She reached over, gave my knuckles a light tap and said, "I think I would rather have a root canal."   I nodded, slowly feeling that awesome adrenaline rush you get when you work out hard and know that it is over.  "But," she added with a little more strength in her voice, "I never actually had a root canal."

I have a lifelong anathema for the dentist's chair.  So for now,  I'm gonna stick with the spinning torture class led by all those skinny, tough woman who shout out..."just another 30 seconds!  A little more resistance! C'mon!!"