Just spin to get slim

Bored of the same moves in your gym? Well, if you are searching for some fun ways to reduce/maintain/tone-up then you are surely going to be excited about what we are going to introduce to you for the first time. Have you heard about Spinning? No? Spinning doesn’t have to do anything with rides but it is a form of exercise done on cycles.

Even we had no clue about it before we met Sarah Dhar. Sarah is a Spinning trainer who takes the clients along with her on a beautiful journey where they take their negative emotions out and make themselves positive. In conversation with Sarah, we got to know that spinning involves road bikes specially designed for indoor training purpose and for all those who loves to cycle but then cannot go out in winters.

Spin Studio at Zehen

“We have developed a class where I take the clients on a journey along with me and music. The faster the music the more you have to push yourself because you are climbing a mountain and the slower the music you would ride back to the plain roads. The class is an hour long usually and the fun lies when you get the technique right and when you can be in your comfort zone.”

The feeling of spinning is just like climbing the mountains, riding through terrains, jumping but you also change position in every two to three minutes. You can work on your arm while riding, do push-ups and sit-ups and while riding your feet are in the air. There is a resistance knob where you can set levels according to your strength, which means the higher the resistance the higher the strength.

Spin Studio at Zehen

Sarah takes classes in Zehan- a wellness centre, where when she takes her class, the room is completely dark with just candle lights and loud music to keep the clients away from their lives. The idea is to give the clients a feeling of personal space to work out and just concentrate on oneself without getting distracted with the surroundings.

Would you recommend Spinning to a particular age group?

Sarah: The wonderful thing about spinning is that it can be done by anyone and everyone from 15years/16 years (due to body length) to 80ties-90ties depending on the health, but if you are on pace-maker we would not recommend you to join our class because at a point our heart rate can go upto 170-180. At Zehan your body is analyzed and even I take care of the fact that whatever problems you have are addressed, I give you a workout depending on that. I would keep my eye on you and make your journey joyful rather than painful.

How have you taken care of the Music, as that seems to be an important factor in your class?

Well, I have around 7000 songs in my playlist for now and every playlist is different. I make sure I never repeat any of it twice or thrice in a month until unless I am in love with the song. For now due to lack of knowledge, I haven’t kept Bollywood songs but my clients are welcome to share the songs they like through email and I will be very happy to play them. For now, my music is very contemporary and has a lot of beats, rhythm and soul.

Spin Studio at Zehen

How similar or different are Meditation and Spinning?

Even though you are meditating you have to keep yourself concentrated and have to be in the present moment. In spinning we do meditate but we meditate about roads, mountains, people around us and very often when we are riding on high resistance, I tell my clients to concentrate on the bike. I can tell them if they are spacing out and at such moments I walk to them, speak to them in a soft tone and get them back on track. I do that because I don’t want them to lose time which is completely theirs, they may not pay me for the class if they don’t like it but their satisfaction is most important over all.

Tell me about how you divide time for rest and for sprints?

High resistance/ race-up: 30 sec- 40 sec because in this short span your body uses fats to produce energy and beyond this your body would start killing muscles which is highly not recommended. Sprint, back-off and repeat this several times. Rest time is for 45 sec.

Spin Studio at Zehen

Do you recommend eating before the workout?

Absolutely, eat some protein like papaya with oat meal an hour before you turn up for workout. Seasonal foods are very much recommended, stay out of wheat – not good for joints and are empty in nutritional value. Opt for something which would nourish your body like a banana with almond butter, oatmeal, breads, almonds etc. Replenish after an hour of your workout.

Keep yourself hydrated all the time, you might feel hungry but sometimes your body just signals you for water intake. Eat after one hour of exercise because if you indulge yourself in work and skip meals, then by the time you would have food, you would end up eating much more than required.

Spin Studio at Zehen

What about diet?

There are a number of alternatives available in market nowadays. For those who are addicted to rice, switch to brown or red rice; have spilt chapatti to substitute for cravings but in a healthy way.

Can cycling worsen your knees and back?

We take our weight off the knees, you aren’t riding leaning on the bar, so the weight concentrates on the core. I do have clients whose knees and back is weak but now after a couple of spinning classes they have overcome their weakness and are doing really well.

Spin Studio at Zehen

Are cheat meals allowed?

Do it in a way that you do not feel guilty about the food you had last night, we are human we cannot always think about healthy food and I do not believe in curbing your binging. So even if you eat, it is alright because we would work on it and get you back to where you were. Nothing is impossible and eating unhealthy doesn’t mean the end of the world. Stop being so hard on yourself, even I do the same.

What does fitness mean to you?

It is just like your brain or muscle; you got to use it no matter what. It is my way of life and I love it. Even my kids embrace fitness like I do. It makes you confident about yourself and that’s really important in life.

Any message for our readers?

Be happy, make workout a part of your life, if want to eat unhealthy things go ahead but also workout, even a simple walk would be fine. Be happy with yourself and its okay to have some weight on you because you don’t want to look hungry all the time.