My First Class at Flywheel

I've eaten so, so much in the past 48 hours. Turkey, pie, stuffing, hot chocolate, you name it. And I've loved every bite. But today, it was time to pay penance for my eating sins.

All the bloggers seem to be gaga over Flywheel, so when Katie invited me to try a class, I said YOLO. Flywheel is like a spin class on speed. It's in a tiny room, stadium style, with like 40 bikes in there. The gym provides shoes and towels, and classes range from 45 to 60 minutes.
Other than that, I had no idea what to expect. Katie warned me that it was intense. But I'm Ironbitch, how bad could it be?


Bad. Like jello legs, jello arms, kind of light headed bad.

Let's start at the beginning. I opened an account online and reserved my bike. By the time I checked in on a laptop at the studio, my shoes were waiting in a cubby that corresponded with my bike. Despite being tiny, the Highland Park location is quite posh. I saddled up and adjusted my bike, then embraced whatever came next.The instructor turned off the lights and I noticed my bike had a computer that measured torque, RPM, current power rate and overall power rate. There was also a screen overhead that periodically ranked us based on power output.

This class was challenging, but it is what you make of it. You adjust the resistance and pedal as fast as the instructor says, or not. The music was loud and awesome, the instructor really pushed you and my legs felt unstable by the end. There was also a brief arm workout thrown in there using weights that were attached to the bike. When it was all over, I was red faced and soaked. Because you log in when you show up, your stats are saved and you can check it out after the class. According to this, I burned more than 1,200 calories. Not sure if I believe that, because I worked hard, but that seems really high.

I'm glad for it, though, because Katie and I went out for breakfast afterward at Once Upon a Bagel, which was adorable and delicious. I got a garden egg white omelet with an onion bagel and light chive cream cheese. It was amazing, but I was still snacky when I got home.

Sadly my eating needs to be reigned in regardless of how hard I bust it in the gym if I want to get Ironman ready this spring. Details, details .... can't wait to see how sore I am tomorrow!