Today I just wasn't feeling it.....

I've been going to the gym regularly since September after being pretty much sedentary and I'm surprised at how much I've been enjoying getting fit. I never knew the instant gratification of working out and I love my gym..the group classes, sweating in the wonderful steam room and/or sauna after, it feels like a purification each time I go and I feel that it's helped with depression too..plus, one can hardly focus on life's problems when you're trying to make it through to the end of the class/workout.

But today I just felt whiny. I took my second spinning class ever and when the muscles started to burn, you know, normal muscle fatigue and tiredness and I just didn't want to push through it. During some of the standing portions of the class, I was sitting, my thighs burned and I didn't want to do it. I even thought of quitting early, but I made it.

What do you do when you're getting tired to keep going when the muscles are aching? I need some motivation, some techniques you pros use to finish that last set, last a few more minutes when your body wants you to give up.

I'm no pro, but when I'm running I think, "Alright, just till the end of this song", and then put on another fast song and do pretty much the same thing. Fast music makes me want to move, to run, so it motivates me.

When doing weights I think, "Ok, just one more." When I finish that one, "Alright, you can do another, you're not that tired." I just keep repeating it until my muscles just can't.

I think of it as tricking myself into challenging my body. My mind is challenging my muscles, and I want to prove to my mind I can do it.

Wow, that sounds absolutely insane, but it's what works for me, so I guess it's alright. xD

I got out a full-length mirror ... oooooo .....
Are there mirrors in your class room?

I'm another one for tricking myself. I tell myself just a few more minutes and then keep telling myself that until I'm done.

Spin classes are HARD at the beginning....they get easier...just keep on plugging...I find the "cleaner" (whole foods) I eat the easier the workout.

Are you giving yourself rest days? I give myself one cardio rest day a week (all I do is walk the dog - he's old...so not much of a heart rate boost for me). Knowing that a rest day is coming helps me push harder when I am working out. As for weight training - you should be allowing for 72 hours of recovery after a workout. I work front muscles one day and back muscles another for a total of 4 days of weight training a week.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will be using them.

Chick, now that I think about it, this is the first time in a long time that I've been able to do cardio classes four times in the week. Wednesday was my rest day, but I was probably tired. I just felt a little slackerish and kept thinking, "this huuuurts, wanna stop", I mean I could hear the whining in my head, and everyone was standing and I was sitting. It is a hard class, but my butt doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did even from last week.

My weight program is seriously lacking at this point, but it's good to know that I need to recover from that as well.

And I'll try the whole foods too. About a month ago I actually had McDonald's, burger, fries the whole deal and went to a step class a few hours later and felt horrible, duh. I knew right away what it was. This new lifestyle is really teaching me to learn my body for the first time.

The same thing happened to me today. I just didn't want to do the workout (40 min of cardio plus 20 min of weight training) and seriously thought about quitting the cardio early. I've been working out since August and I haven't quit early yet and I didn't want to break my track record because I feel like if I do it one time, it will be easier to do it again, so I just stuck with it and then tacked on another couple of minutes to prove to myself that I could keep going.

I also think about the fattest part of my body (my belly) and picture what the fat must look like under my skin (yellow, ripply, gross) and imagine how the exercise is "burning" it up. I also think about how good I will feel when the exercise is over and I did a full workout, and how I have never said to myself afterwards, "Darn it, Pam, why did you keep going and work so hard. You should have quit."

Pam

Ditto that.

Spinning puts stresses on your body that no other cardio workout does. It's especially tough for newbies. It took a LONG time for my legs to get strong enough to get through a run 'out of the saddle'.

I also can't spin without being well-fueled, and well-hydrated.

I'm working with a trainer now, and typically by day 4, I'm kind of 'whiny' and 'wiped out'...he adjusts the workout accordingly, and I've made a point to make sure I'm well nourished all through the week.

ETA
Make sure your bike is adjusted correctly, too. If it's not it can dramatically affect your ability to spin more comfortably. Your body has to move in an awkward way...

I also prefer to spin in spin shoes - not sneakers.