Doing things we hate…

…to be better at the things we love.

This month, our Lifetime Fitness finally opened around the corner. One of the biggest draws to this gym, for me, was the incredible spinning room. Now, I hate spinning. Riding a bike in a room for fitness is not high on my list of fun activities, but spinning does have one very real benefit…it makes you a stronger rider. There are many days that I can not get out on a ride that I can get to the gym and spin. These off days were normally spent unproductive, and the weekend ride would suffer due to this weekday laziness.

I am now looking forward to spinning to make my riding stronger. What will I do to keep it from getting too boring?

1. iPod Shuffle – This little, light device holds more songs than I would ever need during a spin session. The hard rock blasting through my head makes the time go by much faster, and as a bonus, it gets the adrenaline pumping enough to really push myself.
2. Imagination – Remember that thing you used to have as a kid that made you see things in far off lands? I am pulling from my childhood roots to help break the spinning monotony. When I picture riding down some of my favorite North Carolina singletrack, it is almost like I am there. I try to close my eyes and really focus on each turn.
3. Focus – When all else fails, I use pure focus to push through. I start to stare at the mirror in front of me like a Tour racer reeling in his next victim. This really helps push through that final leg before cooling down.

Sometimes we bear through the hard training to increase the pleasure of the things we love. In this case, I’ll take riding stationary in a room if it means that climb on the weekend is just going to go all that much better. Which training methods do you use to better your ride?

What do you think?

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