Because running is off of the table until late Summer at the earliest I have turned to swimming and spinning. I really enjoy my time in the pool, but swimming wall to wall can get a bit old day after day, so I have turned to gym classes to get in a good workout. My spinning classes are at the YMCA and I have experienced two instructors so far, each on very different ends of the instructing spectrum. One is not super exciting and the class itself is boring and repetitive and the other instructor becomes your best friend right away and puts on smile on your face even though you are working at 90 RPMs.

For those of you out there who don’t mind me venting and for those athletic instructors who might want to hear what their clients think, please read on…

1. As an instructor we, your spinning students, really enjoy when you are doing the workout with us, NOT hopping on and off your bike to adjust fan speed or direction, or randomly walking outside of the room to “talk to someone”, or even just standing in the middle of the room for a change of scenery.

2. Mix it up. Climbing hills over and over can get very boring, especially if you use the same routine every class. My spinning instructor last night was GREAT! She took us on a journey over the Golden Gate Bridge and tried to stay true to where the hills would be and where the straights occurred. She even had us partnered up doing some intervals by pretending we were doing time trials! BE CREATIVE!

3. Make sure you are engaging and talking to us. Silence is the worst! We don’t know how hard to push it, what we should be focusing on or when we can take a break. We also enjoy when you are friendly and work in funny stories or anecdotes to distract us from our task at hand.

4. Be friendly. Make sure you are smiling and having fun. We are not always giddy about spending and hour pedaling our buns off to end up in the same place we started, so if you act like spin class is the best thing ever we will stop watching the clock. Plus if you act like our friend then we wont be gritting our teeth as much when you tell us we have 3 more climbs ahead of us with some isolation.

Lastly, I do just want to say thank you to all spin teachers and class instructors for sharing your knowledge so that we can all be healthier 🙂 Without you I would not be able to sit on a bike for an hour and sweat like I should!