Spinning class: Crystal Palace loops

It's been a while since I last posted a ride profile, so I have some catching up to do! Loops bring simplicity and clarity - good for instructors to lead - but also repetition that lets the class know what will be coming up ahead, as we go round and round again. I call this one Crystal Palace, as I put this together a few years ago after riding a closed-loop circuit that has a gradual but steady climb.

As always, each rider is free to do whatever they feel is right for them but, for those that want to follow, the flat road segment may include jumps or running...or even a recovery ahead of the climb. The climb may be done entirely in the saddle or out of it but, ideally, the first two minutes would be in saddle while adding enough resistance before standing. HR also depends on individuals, whether they prefer a comfortable 70-75% or to push it to 80-85%. I suggest riders take the first loop at 70%, the second at 75%, the third at 80%, with final one at 85%.

Warm up - 3.5 mins
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Loop (repeat 4 times)
Flat road - 4.5 mins
Climb - 4.5 mins
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Cool down - 5.5 mins

Playlist:
Smell of Paradise - Sa Trincha
Only love can break your heart - Saint Etienne
Do you see the light? - Snap!
Big mistake - Natalie Imbruglia
Touch me - Rui Da Silva
Family Affair - Mary J Blige
Loneliness - Tomcraft
Galvanize - The Chemical Brothers
3rd Earth - Scott Bond vs. Solarstone
Celtic dream - Michael Flatley

Schwinn Revolution 2008 - Hemsby

Although not a big deal for our continental friends (who regularly do 12-hour continuous rides) or our cousins across the pond (who host events with thousands of bikes), this was (I believe) the first event of this magnitude in the UK: 100 bikes, 14 hour-long rides spread over a weekend and - this is the clincher - the ability to stay on the bike the whole time.

I went with Rick, a friend and fellow Spinning/Schwinn addict from Hove, who took these photos. When we arrived, after a brief stop at a roadside stall to eat the best sausage-bacon-egg baguette I've ever tasted, we were told that event would start an hour later and, apparently, everybody but the two of us knew. So we had plenty of time to choose our bikes and set up...needless to say, we both went for front row centre.

Just one problem - having fractured my shoulder blade two weeks earlier, would I be able to ride, much less push myself? I thought that I might have difficulty in holding the bars without a sling but it was worth trying, as there were only two classes that Friday evening. It took me a while to find a suitable riding position, as I could not stretch or put any weight on my shoulder. As you can see, I wasn't very comfortable but at least I was able to ride - I could always coast along and use it as an educational experience.

Well... what an education! After the initial stiffness, I loosened up gradually, the adrenaline started flowing and I was really getting into it. It helped having Mel Chambers leading the ride - when she suggests you could maybe work just that little bit harder, it's hard to disagree! Soon the pain disappeared altogether and I was able to lift myself to a higher level of effort, at or above my lactate threshold, for the two hours.

Rick said he could see I was really pushing myself, despite my totally relaxed state that might have fooled others into thinking I was taking it easy. I was certainly "in the zone", so much so that my focus was on one of the tealights in front of me and all I could see was the dancing flame - I can't remember the music, Mel's words, the pain, the effort... just the emotion and the little voice whisper "I can".

The next day was more of the same but with a variety instructors leading the rides. On the final ride on Saturday morning, I started feeling pain in my knee - quite unexpected, given my other problems, but probably related to the accident. Luckily, it was time for the lunch break, so I had time to recover... especially as Rick and I decided that 45mins was nowhere near enough for a decent lunch and we opted out of the first two rides of the afternoon session. The final two rides were relatively steady, the first being a 45-min climb and the second a low-end endurance ride.

Four more rides the next day, with best (for me) being a ride called "Feel the energy". A long climb up to Macchu Picchu, going through storms, caves, sprinting away from cannibals, working together as a team to get through the worst and using the electricity of the storm to charge us with energy, finally using it all in a final burst to the top and into the sunshine. Even while writing this, the memory of that ride gives me goosebumps... I wish I'd recorded it, so I could ride it again and again on my own!

Sigh! Roll on next year - I hope it becomes a permanent fixture on my iCal.

Why did I quit my job?

I've been asked many times lately why I left my cushy 9-to-5 desk job in central government, especially given the perks the job entails: flexible working and hours, final salary pension, and no chance of ever losing my job unless I murdered my boss (even then, probably only if it happened on government premises!). I always believed that one of four things must be present to stay in a job: good money, good prospects, good working environment (location, people, etc.), good work. Government has never been a place to make money - unless you're a consultant - and prospects were minimal given budget cuts. The environment had been steadily getting worse and the work that I loved doing (protecting the international environment) had been taken away from me.

As I was looking around for options - transfer to another post, Department, job, even country - the opportunity to take voluntary redundancy came up. They offered me just under £30K to leave. I had calculated my basic spend including mortgage payments and, with the income I was getting from my regular Spinning classes, the money would be enough to last me another ten years. Well worth the risk, given I had ten years to get my fitness business profitable before having to get another job. So they showed me the money, I took it and left without turning back. Ultimately, the choice was about my state of mind... my happiness, if you will. That has no price, in my book - I'm just lucky I had the opportunity to make a break for it and to be in a position to afford it.

After I left, I saw this video - it touched all the right buttons, as it was exactly how I was feeling every day. If you have the opportunity, don't hesitate to make that change - a life not lived is worse than no life at all.


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Light at the end of the tunnel

It's been a frustrating but illuminating fortnight.

I was in relatively bad shape after the accident and found it difficult to do the simplest of things, like sleeping, getting changed and eating. So I was pretty angry at having put in this situation through no fault of my own. That said, I consider myself lucky to have got away so lightly considering the violent impact - if I hadn't had the cyclists' instinct to sweep the back wheel and spread the force of the impact by side-swiping the car, I would've gone flying and landed fairly hard, probably with far worse injuries. A shoulder blade can heal quickly, a broken neck less so (if at all).

Those who aren't cyclists may find this shocking but, despite the fractured shoulder blade, I was able to ride a Spinning bike a few days after the accident. One-handed, though, with the other arm in a tight sling - not to be recommended if you don't have strong core muscles to keep you balanced! I found the aerobic exercise (i.e., not pushing myself too hard) improved my state of being by getting rid of toxins that had built up as a result of the accident. I guess the fresh oxygen carried around the bloodstream helped to flush away waste by-products, improve muscle tone and flexibility, and repair tissue damage. It was also good for my state of mind - I refuse to be a victim of circumstances and have to feel like I'm doing something to improve my situation.

I was still unable to put on a standard cycling jersey, though, as I was (and still am) unable to lift my arm up - only a full-zip would do. Luckily, I had gone on a planned trip to France the week after the accident, which allowed me time to rest and recuperate in the sun (I was so lucky with the weather). I can recommend sun therapy to anyone with an injury - it speeds up the healing process no end. It also gives you a great tan! I also managed to buy some full-zip jerseys out there - they're rarer than titanium here, I guess because it's a mountain climber's jersey (there are no long climbs in the UK) and it never gets warm enough here to have to open them fully!

After I came back, it was time to prepare for the Schwinn Revolution - could I ride a bike for long periods of time? I had an opportunity to find out, as I was due to teach a class before the event. I would have to ride with both arms, as riding one-handed would strain my back through over-compensation. While in France, I had done some home-made physiotherapy to improve my range of movement, so I was able to put my bad arm on the handlebars even if I could not put too much pressure on it. By adjusting my position on the bike (not my usual, ideal position) I was able to ride without needing to lean forwards or put weight on my arms. So I knew that I could at least ride the Schwinn event, even if I could not "go for it".

Did I go for it? Find out in my next post!

An eventful fortnight!

Let's start with good news. Word has spread that I'm available during the day to cover classes so I've been busy teaching at my regular clubs. I also contacted a bunch of other health clubs in the area and got positive responses from many of them - I've already been contacted to cover classes, which will hopefully build up to keep me busy with 2-3 classes a day. Enough to earn a decent basic wage...

I've also decided to develop further in the fitness profession by qualifying as a personal trainer. Taking an intensive course means I should be qualified by September, although most of the work will need to be done in the next two months. This will hopefully allow me to work not just as a personal trainer in a gym (a good steady wage) but also to train in the way I think is unbeatable - no fancy machines, weights sessions, etc. Just good old-fashioned hard work using basic principles - shuttle runs, rope skipping, medicine balls, benches, running, exercise that use nothing but gravity (press-ups, etc.) to increase conditioning... oh, and cycling, of course!!

Now for the bad news - on Thursday, I was on my way to a class I'd agreed to cover and riding my moped on a clear, dry day. While riding along on a main road, a car pulled out from a side turning right in front of me, leaving me with only two options: brake sharply and skid into the back of the car or dodge to the right and overtake (the opposite lane was empty, fortunately). At this point the woman driving decided to make a sharp right turn in front of me without looking, indicating only as she made her turn. It's difficult to describe how it feels in a split second to realise I had nowhere to go at this point, that a collision was inevitable, realise my best option was to avoid going over the car by sliding into it sideways, then feeling the jarring as my shoulder took the brunt of the impact, landing on the ground in agony.

I managed to stay conscious throughout - unfortunately - and have to give credit to the bystanders, the police and ambulance crew for getting there so quickly. I managed to thank all those involved, despite the pain... and thank scientists for inventing anaesthetic - it made the unimaginable pain more bearable, although I did feel like everything was happening in a distant dimension! On Thursday night I was so drugged up on morphine that I got fed up of the noise in the ward and went into the toilets, where I promptly fell asleep in a chair for four hours - I was found by the nurses at 6am after they searched for me, fearing I was wandering around the hospital like a zombie!

Anyway, diagnosis was a fractured scapula (shoulder blade) and thumb, as well as the usual cuts and bruises. I was determined to be discharged the next day - I had a Spinning weekend workshop to attend! - so I refused the pain killers and spent most of my day working on my mobility. The risk was that I might need surgery but I could not spend another night/day in that bed without getting cabin fever. The surgeon finally saw me and was impressed that I managed to regain about 40% mobility in my arm/shoulder, so he discharged me in time to get a decent night's rest before going to the workshop the following day. I also got rid of the thumb splint, so I could use it despite the fracture. Funny thing is that the shoulder is not the source of my main problem - it's the muscles in my arm cramping up whenever I try to engage them. It means I can ride a spinning bike one-handed but not be able to tie my shoe-laces!

So, an eventful few weeks. Luckily, I only have one class tomorrow evening and another two on Tuesday before heading off for a week's holiday in France. No cycling, unfortunately, but it'll do me good. When I come back I'll be ready to head off to the Schwinn Revolution event - a weekend of spinning classes, in my case two rides on Friday, eight on Saturday and five on Sunday. I'm not going to let a measly fractured shoulder stop me from riding!

Oh, the best part is that the surgeon wants to see me the week after to check on my progress... wait till I tell him what I've been up to! Hehehehehehe

The BadAss Wombles of Central Park!

Yo! Wombles in the 'hood!

I've just seen this campaign on this morning's BBC News and it's the best laugh I've had in ages.

The problem is that only 1% of new children's programmes are made in the UK and that naturally impacts onto our language and culture. As a way of illustrating this, PACT (the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television) produced this gem to a launch their new campaign.


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The only thing I would add, to show how much our language has already been influenced by imported TV, is to correct Great Uncle Bulgaria - they're called "children", not "kids"!

And what IS a "fannypack"? Sounds like a box of Kotex/Allways Ultra...

Post-exercise sauna

Exposure to heat is widely used as a traditional therapy in many different cultures but does it really have the benefits we would associate with it (improved circulation, stronger heart, etc.)? I recently came across some old (2001, 2004 and 2006) medical papers on the benefits of saunas - the first looked at the benefits to patients with coronary risk factors, the second at how regular sauna use reduces stress factors and the third at the effect of post-exercise sauna bathing on the endurance performance of athletes.

In the first study, 25 men with at least one coronary risk factor and 10 healthy men without coronary risk factors were enrolled. Patients in the risk group were treated with a dry sauna for 15 min and then kept in a bed covered with blankets for 30 min once a day for two weeks. They found that the repeated sauna treatment improves impaired vascular endothelial function in the setting of coronary risk factors, suggesting a therapeutic role for sauna treatment in patients with risk factors for atherosclerosis.

For the second paper, 28 subjects with at least one coronary risk factor participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to either the sauna group or the non-sauna group. As in the first study, subjects in the sauna group were placed supine in a dry sauna for 15 minutes. After the sauna, they rested on a bed with a blanket for 30 minutes. This occurred once a day for two weeks. Subjects in the non-sauna group were placed in supine position at room temperature for 45 minutes a day for two weeks.

The coronary risk factors measured were body weight, heart rate, blood pressure, hematocrit, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, fasting plama glucose and urinary 8-Epi-Prostaglandin F2a (a marker of oxidative stress). All subjects were admitted to the same hospital and ate the same meals throughout the two-week study period. On admission and after two weeks, urine samples were taken after an overnight fast.

Results of the study showed that repeated sauna therapy significantly reduces levels of urinary 8-Epi-Prostaglandin F2a, a marker of oxidative stress, or destruction caused by free radicals, which may lead to diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, according to recent research. Systolic blood pressure in the sauna group had also decreased significantly after two weeks and it was significantly lower than that of the non-sauna group. The authors suggested a combination of diet, exercise and repeated sauna therapy as the best method for preventing lifestyle-related diseases, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes mellitus. The good news is that repeated sauna therapy can be used even for patients who are unable to exercise, e.g., due to injury.

I then wondered whether these beneficial effects could be used for improving athletic performance, which led me to find the third study (good old Google!). They performed a cross-over study in which six male distance runners completed three weeks of post-training sauna bathing and 3 weeks of control training, with a 3-week washout. During the sauna period, subjects sat in a humid sauna immediately post-exercise for 30 mins. The performance test was a 15-min treadmill run to exhaustion at the runner's current best speed over 5 km. The test was performed on the 1st and 2nd day following completion of the sauna and control periods, and the times were averaged.

Plasma, red-cell and total blood volume were measured immediately prior to the first run to exhaustion for each period. Relative to control, sauna bathing increased run time to exhaustion by 32%, which is equivalent to an enhancement of 1.9% in an endurance time trial. Plasma and red-cell volumes increased by 7.1% and 3.5% respectively, after sauna relative to control. Change in performance had high correlations with change in plasma volume and total blood volume, although the correlation with change in red-cell volume was unclear. They concluded that the physiological adaptations to 3 weeks of post-exercise sauna bathing produced a worthwhile enhancement of endurance running performance, probably by increasing blood volume.

So which is better - dry or humid sauna? Dry is where infrared rays are used to induce heat, whereas a humid sauna is either a hot steam room or the Finnish-style sauna where water is added to hot rocks to create a mist.

So I tracked down the results of yet another study, which compared changes in hemodynamic and thermoregulatory functions during 10 mins of humid sauna bathing and those in a dry sauna. Subjects were 7 healthy young men. Blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature at chest, forearm, thigh, and leg, skin blood flow at forearm, and sweat rate were measured at 1-min intervals throughout the experiment. Total sweating and change of hematocrit were also measured for dehydration analysis.

Blood pressure and heart rate were higher and total sweating greater in dry bathing than humid. Mean skin temperature in dry bathing was higher than that in mist bathing, i.e., you feel the heat more on the skin than "in your bones". This suggests that the heat stress of the dry sauna may be stronger than that of the mist sauna, leading to dehydration by sweating. On the other hand, changes in skin blood flow and sweat rate during the mist sauna were increased much more than those during dry sauna. The mist sauna may thus be safer physiologically and provide more effective vascular dilation and sweating than the dry sauna.

In short, if you want decrease your risk of coronary disease, improve your athletic performance, your endurance and stamina or if you just want a good sauna - (a) it's good for you and (b) head for the humid kind (I must admit to never having seen the dry kind...)

References:

Repeated thermal therapy improves impaired vascular endothelial function in patients with coronary risk factors
Masakazu Imamura, Sadatoshi Biro, Takashi Kihara, Shiro Yoshifuku, Kunitsugu Takasaki, Yutaka Otsuji, Shinichi Minagoe, Yoshifumi Toyama and Chuwa Tei
J Am Coll Cardiol, 2001; 38:1083-1088

Repeated Sauna Therapy Reduces Urinary 8-Epi-Prostaglandin F2a
Akinori Masuda, Masaaki Miyata, Takashi Kihara, Shinichi Minagoe and Chuwa Tei
Japanese Heart Journal, 2004, Vol. 45, pp. 297-303.

Effect of post-exercise sauna bathing on the endurance performance of competitive male runners
Guy S.M. Scoona, William G. Hopkinsb, Simon Mayhewb and James D. Cottera
J Science and Medicine in Sport; Vol 10, Iss 4, Aug 2007, 259-262

Effects on changes in hemodynamic and thermoregulatory functions during mist and dry sauna bathing
Kawahara Yuko, Nagata Mayumi, Niimi Yuki, Miwa Chihiro, Iwase Satoshi
Autonomic Nervous System Journal, 2002, Vol 39, No 4, pp 402-408