Friday, February 6, 2009

Classic Rock Love Songs: Spin Profile #3

Every spin class that I've taught so far has been fun. However, today's class was the best class ever. I started doing a themed class and held a little competition for the Women's Rowing Team. Five points to whomever guessed the theme. One point for the name of the song. One point for the artist. I also gave out points for energy, form, and pace. First place got a Gatorade and Kashi Bar; second place got a Kashi Bar. The ladies were psyched for the challenge. One woman even remembered that I had announced last week that there would be a theme and came into class already excited about it!

Theme #1: Classic Rock Love Songs

Going into class, I wasn't sure if the college ladies would be familiar with this genre. They've enjoyed all my beats so far, so I figured my judgement was sound. Boy was I right! This was the most high energy class. Everyone was singing--even to songs they hadn't heard before! Oh, ok, there were songs that people were so out of breath that they couldn't sing anymore, but the spirit was still there.

Goals:
The main focus of this class is endurance; second goal is stamina. This means lots of cadence work and lots of running; get on that fast pace and hold there regardless of small changes in resistance. I wanted to keep the heart rate up for as long as possible (almost the whole time, I gave two short recoveries). You want to get yourself into that uncomfortable place where you don't think you can hold on that much longer--and I make you go longer than you think you can. Whenever I brought resistance up during a song, I brought it immediately down in the next song, brought the tempo back up, and then adjusted resistance again. The songs that I did have heavy resistance on, I kept the pace and resistance steady for the entire song. Feel the burn and hold it there! Endurance!

1. More Than A Feeling by Boston (4:45)
Warm up; Flat Road (5)
The women had a great reaction to the song. Most people knew it right off the bat and were singing along.

2. Brown-Eyed Girl by Van Morrison (3:00)
Standing Run @ 6
Everyone got a point on this song :) The energy in the room was incredible. EVERYONE was singing and smiling. So great.

3. Make Me Smile by Chicago (4:28)
Cadence on verses; Sprints on chorus (and extra sprint at end to finish; seated) @ 6
NB. We played this song in the marching band in high school (yes I was a band dork, but I think I gain some cool points because a I was/am a drummer...). Shawn Hildonen played this song on drums and had an awesome solo. I took the more swingy Chicago song "Does Anyone Know What Time It Is?" This was actually the first song I ever played in front of people on the full drum set. Good times!!! None of the women had heard this song before, BUT someone did guess that it was Chicago. I was very impressed! By the end of the song, everyone was singing along to the chorus. "Makes me happy!...Makes me Smile!" Great energy.

4. Layla by Derek and the Dominoes (7:03)
~3min of standing run @ 7; 4 minutes standing climb (position 3) @ 8
Don't let your heart rate fall on second half of song. It may have a slower feel, but you have to keep the resistance up and steady pace for 4 minutes. Focus on form; drive through the glutes!

5. Crazy On You by Heart (4:53)
Cadence on verses; sprint on chorus (seated) @ 7 (acoustic intro~gave 30 sec break; flat road; grab water). These are sprints with resistance. Burn, baby, burn!

6. Any Way You Want It by Journey (3:22)
Standing Run @ 7. No breaks! Get people up quick. Again, people had a blast singing and rocking out to the chorus. It was a great way to get people re-energized.

7. D'yer Mak'er by Led Zeppelin (4:22)
[Fast] Jumps. Counts of 4 the whole song!

8. Paradise By The Dashboard Light by Meatloaf (8:29)
This song is a bit complicated with many changes in tempo, but it mostly stays pretty up beat.
Here are my approximate notes on timing (numbers refer to the clocked time):
Start at a level 6.
0-57: Verse 1; Standing Run
57-1:11: "I can see by the dashboard light", music slows, out to position 3, standing climb, half a turn up
1:11-2:30 "Ain't no doubt about it" interlude then verse 2 ; standing run
2:30-3:18 "I can see paradise" tempo slows again, position 3, half a turn up (should be at 7 or 7.5); last 16 sec of this gets faster again; speed up but stay in pos 3
3:18-4:25 "We're gonna go all the way tonight" and radio talk- seated SPRINT, hand pos 2
4:25 "Stop Right There" Ease Off
4:30 "Will you love me forever" standing run
5:30 "Let Me Think On It...will you" man and woman back and forth; seated SPRINT
6:00 Talking; Ease it off, cadence
6:20 "Let Me Sleep On It" Standing Run
6:50 Drums build up + "Love You Til The End Of Time" seated SPRINT
7:30ish "Now I'm Praying For the end of time" back off then standing RUN
Run to the end or 30 sec of running then 30 sec seated sprint. Either way, race it to the finish!

This song is all about keeping the pace up for an entire 8.5 min = pushing your comfort zone. It's more about cadence and less about having heavy resistance. I didn't go higher than a 7.5. Option would be to keep it at a six. Regardless of resistance level, heart rate should be up the entire song. Pace is fast! All about endurance and stamina! They did actually guess Meat Loaf, but not til half way through the song when Ellen Foley's voice came in. The team didn't know the song in the beginning, but after 7 min everyone was singing along (in between huffs that is).

9. Love Stinks by The J Geils Band (3:46)
Standing climb. Level 9. Pos 3. Keep the butt back as far as you can for the entire song. Make sure every one's resistance is up high enough so they're either on the beat or behind it. Drive it through the glutes! Again, resistance up, but this is about getting on a pace and sticking to it = endurance and stamina! You should feel uncomfortable the entire song!

10. I'm A Believer by The Monkees (2:51)
Standing Run. Start @ 7; half way through back off to 6, but pick up the pace. I threw in a couple of seated sprints during the choruses, especially the last one. Race to the finish line! I personally felt sick at the end and my heart was going crazy...this should be the goal. This is it so give it everything you have. More pace! The women loved this song. Everyone singing again--except at the end. I don't think anyone had any breath left :)

11. Somebody To Love by Queen (4:57)
We made it! 2.5 minutes flat road; then take resistance all off; on-bike stretches

12. Lay, Lady, Lay by Bob Dylan (3:17)
Off bike stretches; prizes! Every song was guessed correctly! Wow, very impressive. The points for form, energy, and pace worked very well too. Just about everyone in the class had great form.

I told the Team that in two weeks time we'd have a form contest. Special prizes again! That got cheers all around.

Positive, positive energy!

1 comment:

  1. Btw, when did 60's, 70's, and possibly, gasp, 80's become "Oldies"???? When guessing the theme, the ladies guessed "Oldies." I made a 'you're crazy" face and exclaimed, "What!? No. NO. Come on. You know of Chicago."

    Later they explained that what I call "classic rock" from 60's and 70's can now be considered Oldies. I was blown away. I told them that 'when I was growing up' (geesh) Oldies were 50's and 60's (but not really classic rock). You know, the Golden Oldies: The Four Tops, The Drifters, the early Beatles, The Four Seasons, Richie Valens, The Beach Boys...

    I told them to go to the "School of Rock" page on iTUNES for a real education; then come back and we can debate about it.

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