Sunday, February 19, 2012

Potential Vacation Spot

So we change our mind about vacations all the time. We are serious vacationers, and really like going to cool places.

Here is our idea for this year (as of yesterday):

Photos of Maho Bay Camps, Virgin Islands National Park
This photo of Maho Bay Camps is courtesy of TripAdvisor


Maho Bay Campground ... in ST. JOHN'S!!!


More to come!!

Spin Class Number 2

I'm so excited to be teaching spin. It is killer to wake up at 4:30, but I am usually so nervous about it going well that I am awake anyways! This is the week 2 playlist for the class.

On a side note, these playlists are usually just about 60 minutes long. 

(1) Warm Up: Sound of Sunshine by Michael Franti - you warm up to it, duh. (3:44)

(2) Positions 2 & 3: Stereo Love by Edward Maya featuring Vika Jigulina (4:07). Turn the resistance to an 8, and stand up. Keep the pace of the music, after the music build at about a minute and a half, move to position 3. At about 2:18, turn up the resistance to a 9 and go back to position 2. Finally, for the last minute of the song, work at position 3. 

(3) Hill #1: Uprising by Muse (5:05). Start on a 6 for resistance, when the singing starts, turn it up to a 7. After the chorus, bring it to an 8, for the next chorus a 9, at the pause - make it a 10. Back to the chorus, back to a 9, and at the second pause, finish the song on an 8 for resistance. 

(4) Jump #1: Get Your Freak On by Missy Elliot (3:31). Count down from 8 to 1, 7 to 1, 6 to 1, until you get to 2-1, then reverse, having students stay up for the first 8 counts, down the for second, up for the 7 counts, down for 7 counts. You should be able to do this twice. 

(5) Pace with class member resistance adjustments: Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinad (3:57). As the song goes, have class members turn up their resistance, after starting on a 6. They can turn up a 1/4, a 1/2, etc. They should work as hard as they want to work while keeping up the pace of the music. 


(6) Heavy pace with long jumps: International Love by Pitbull (3:57). Turn the resistance to an 7 and have everyone keep up with the pace of the music. When you get to the chorus, have everyone stand and go as fast as they can. After the first chorus, turn the resistance to an 8, and do the same thing. 


(7) Johnny G's: Someone Like You by SafetySuit (3:58). Start at a 6, at the start of the chorus, crank it up 4 turns, stand up, and push through that 10 with all you got! 


(8) Hover: London Bridge (Edited) by Fergie (3:45). Resistance up to an 8, stand at position 2, and freeze everything but your legs. At the chorus, resume regular position 2, then change to position 3 and freeze everything but your legs. At the chorus, resume position 2, and repeat. 


(9) Jog/Sprint: Misery Business by Paramore (3:31). Continue on the resistance of 8 and being at position 2. Have everyone go at 85%, and on the chorus, go all out!


(10) Hill #2: Shake It Out by Florence and the Machine (4:38). Turn the resistance down to a 6, and pick it up on the chorus. 


(11) Special Jump: Sail by AWolnation (4:19). Have everyone go up on the first "sail," then down on the next, and so on and so forth. 


(12) Standing Hill: Crawl by Kings of Leon (4:06). Start at a 7, everyone standing, and crawl your way to a standing 10. 


(13) Pace Run: B.O.B. by OutKast (4:19). Have everyone keep up with the pace of the music .... wowzers! 


(14) Cool Down: Miracle Worker by SuperHeavy. Cool it down you know!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

The First Time

So here is playlist 1. I had a minor failure with one song - but hey, there always has to be a first time.

(1) Warm-up: Waka Waka by Shakira. You know, typical warm up stuff - gentle bike ride, deep breathes in, some shoulder rolls, stretch up with interlaced fingers and to the sides, and some single leg riding.

(2) Seated pace run with a sprint: Let's See How Far We've Come by Matchbox 20. I like to keep this at low resistance, have everyone keep with the pace of the music, and sprint full out on the chorus.

(3) First Hill of the Class: Home by Marc Broussard. Find the pace of the music, start a low resistance, and gradually make your way the hill til you're at a standing hill.

(4) Coming down the hill: Jai Ho by Ar Rahmand. Stay up on that standing hill and gradually make your way down.

(5) Jumps: Till the World Ends by Britney. Make sure you are on a good resistance, and have everyone standing. Then . . . if you are super human, do a 4 count jump and a 2 count on the chorus. Since this was a first time thing, I was a little over-zealous.

(6) Weighted Surges: Super Bass by Nicki Minaj. Turn the resistance to an "8" (feels like your going throw mud), and go for it on the chorus. When the chorus is over, turn up the resistance, and repeat until the end!

(7) Position 2 and 3: American Boy by Estelle. Stay on a position 2 until the end of the chorus, then position 3, and repeat until the end.

(8) Johnny G's: Numb by Linkin Park. Start on a 6 and turn up that resistance to a 10 for the chorus.

(9) Pace Run: Bang bang by K'naan & Adam Levine. Low resistance and keep the pace of the music, the whole song!

(10) Standing Hill: Jump on my Shoulders by Awolnation. Turn the resistance to 8 and up you go. Follow the rhythm to make your way up to a 10 and back down to the 8.

(11) Pace with resistance: Lisztomania by Phoenix. Turn down the resistance and have your class turn the resistance as much as they want, but when you say. Keep up the pace though!

(12) Hover: Goodies by Ciara. Turn the resistance up to 8 and stand up. When the moment is right, freeze everything but your legs. On the chorus, unfreeze, and move to position 3 and freeze.

(13) Last Seated Sprint: Beat It Cover by Fall Out Boy. Sprint on the chorus but keep up the pace in the middle.

(14) Standing jog with a sprint: Shake It by Metro Station. Stand up and turn up the heat and go all out on the chorus.

(15) Cool down: Valerie by Amy Winehouse. Time to breathe again!!


That's #1, and when I have more time, the rest will appear too!! Happy Spinning!

So I think I'm a SPIN instructor

What to do next?


I always thought that would be an easy question to answer. I graduated from college, got married, got a good job, went to Europe, got another REALLY good job, and graduated from my Masters degree program. Naturally one would assume my next step would be children. However, it seems that we'll be waiting for those plans to come to fruition.

So, what next?

My friend Katie and I are taking crochet, which we both need wine to double crochet properly. I've worked on scrapbooking my European adventures. I'm thinking about teaching a course at Essex Community College but right now, the cover letter is holding me back.

I do, however, have my certification in cycling instruction. I've only been at it for a month or so, which means creating playlists can be very time-consuming. So I thought I would help people like myself and write up my "spin" playlists to share the love.