A New Spin On Spinning

Recently I have had to change some of my physical activities to see if reducing the weight bearing exercises will reduce the pain in my left knee. I was told by one doctor that I need another scope of my left knee, but my second opinion was not convinced that I would be any better, and encouraged me to change my activities and see if this helped. No more walking, Zumba or any dance classes or any exercise that included impact on my leg. What a challenge. I turned my attention to yoga, swimming and spinning.

Spinning, for those of you who are not gym rats, is cycling on a stationary bicycle. The twist is you do it in a class, with about 30 other sweaty bodies, to music. With the help of an instuctor you work much harder and longer than you would on your own. The result is a great workout. Today I had more fun spinning than I ever have before.

Saturday morning at Y was my 4th spinning class since I started on the new exercise program. The instructor was Tom. I was a little surprised that right before the class he was drawing a map on the chalkboard at the front of the room. The reason? Every one of his classes is also a geography class. Today the 55 minute spinning class included a fantastic workout that took us through the rolling hills, forests, and prairies of Minnesota, but also taught me everything I ever wanted to know about Minnesota, and then some. I turned to the woman on the bike next to me after about 15 minutes and asked her if he did this every week. She said yes, that he was now doing the 48 states, and that then he would be teaching us about another continent. The time flew by and I worked harder than I thought possible. I learned so much about Minnesota, too. Did you know that they're the healthiest state in the country, less illness than any other state? They produce more sugar beets and iron ore than any other state. They are surrounded by 7 other states (actually 6 states and Canada), they have more bike paths than any other state, and the greatest range in temperature of any state. There are only about 5.5 million Minnesotans, but they are first in a lot of things. The most common ancestry of those from Minnesota is Norway, then Germany. Boy, I learned a lot.

I don't know what Tom does for his day job, but he should be a geography teacher. I can't wait until next Saturday. Another great workout and another geography lesson. Definitely a new spin on spinning.