Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Benefits of Spinning...why I just can't stop

I usually consider myself lazy when it comes to physical work. I can spend hours on the internet or watching TV but even the thought of getting up to do something sweaty makes me feel tired.
I am not exactly sure when I became lazy because I was very active in sports when I was going to school. I remember playing small goal in the street for hours. We played half court basketball from morning until we couldn't see the ball in our hands. I even used to breakdance and every party was the opportunity to start a burnout. I used to sweat and enjoy it.
I can remember a sports day in secondary school when I took part in the 100, 200, 400 and 800 and I came home afterwards and catch cramp in my whole body. I couldn't stand up...I couldn't lie down... cramp in my legs, cramp in my belly, cramp in my arms... I had to drink a whole glass of salt water and wait for it to pass.
Fast forward some years later, I graduate from UWI, get married, have a child, building my career and suddenly I become a fat boy.
I even start to think a big belly good for my career. It make me look older and more like a manager because I in charge of people older than me and they resent the fact that a young boy in a more senior position. Working Point Lisas at the time didn't help because after 6 or 7 in the evening all it have is KFC and every day I working late and eating dinner special.
I realise I getting real bad and I need to exercise but is how to start. One day I say I going to treat myself and I buy a real nice mountain bike because as a youth, I used to ride all over the place and I used to enjoy it. Well boy I waste that money because after a short while, bike park up against the side of the house and even start to get rusty. Meanwhile belly getting bigger and my face getting more and more round. I eating late in the night cause my wife cooking big meals and I can't stand the thought of throwing away food... after all people starving in Africa and India. Every now and then I getting a reminder of how bad it getting.
I remember a company sports day where I line up with the other men. I remembering how I used to win race in school so I feeling hopeful that I will smoke them fellas even with a big belly. Well imagine my suprise and embarrasment to pull in dead last. Another clear sign of a spiralling situation was that I constantly had to buy bigger and bigger clothes. At my worst I was at a waist 46 pants with 48 right around the corner. The final straw was bending over to tie my shoelace and having to raise back up because I get out of breath and I was only 30 years old.
Nah boy, something had to be done but what to do...
Then one day my saviour say to me that he pay for a session for me in a spin class and I better don't make him waste his money. He start to talk about how nice this spinning thing is and how I will enjoy it. I reluctantly agree and I went to the gym in Gulf City not knowing what to expect. They show me how to set up the bike and I start. Well boy that first class was pressure and I feel to done after about 10 minutes. I riding out of time and I feeling like I cannot continue this thing. I want to come off the bike and walk out. The only reason I finish the class is male ego because it have a woman with gray hair and if she eh stopping, I eh stopping. The next few days my legs hurting like mad. Pressure to walk up stairs, pressure to walk down stairs.
Anyway, I decide to go back because, other than the pain, the class was nice. Besides, the pain pass after about 3 days so I sign up again for the next class. That went a little better and I decide I will go at least once a week. After the first month, I feeling more fit and being an ambitious guy, I say I going twice a week. One month later I was going three times a week and I was feeling really good about myself.
I start to weigh myself everyday and I was losing 2 to 3lbs every week. I make up a diet I call my cucumber diet. I started to eat cucumber instead of rice and I eating any amount of cucumber and lettuce and plenty meat. I was eating a half a chicken at times but I cut out the carbs. No more macaroni pie, no more huge butter bread sandwiches, no more pot spoons of rice ...even pelau cut out.
I began my research into supplements and I bought every weight loss supplement I saw on TV. I would go into the drugstore and ask them to show me each bottle so I could read about it. I went on the internet and read all the reviews. Eventually I was bringing in the supplements myself because the drugstores did not have what I wanted.
Between the spin classes, the diet and the supplements, I lost about 42 lbs and I am now at waist 34 pants and size smedium shirts. My endurance is amazing and my abdominals are somewher around a four pack and looking better every week.
My life has changed forever and I cannot and will not stop spinning.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

What is a SpinnJumbie?



Spinning or Indoor cycling is a form of high-intensity exercise that involves using a stationary exercise bicycle in a classroom setting. A jumbie is a ghost, or spirit of the dead said to possess humans during ceremonies called jumbie dances.

A SpinnJumbie by my definition is therefore that spirit that takes over your body during a spin class.

Note that not everyone can be possessed by the spirit.

Those who are strong enough to resist the jumbie spirit tend to be found in the back row hiding from the instructor and pretending to have tension on while they slowly pedal with no effort at all.

Those people in the front row are unable to defy the spin jumbie and at full spirit possession, they are able to ignore the pain in their legs as they pedal with ridiculous speed.

Some possessed people may even smile and look like they are enjoying the music while the sadistic instructor at the front is torturing the class by inhumanely prolonging every exercise. Some crazy fanatics have even been known to do back to back classes.