Spinning and winning
So this morning I go to my first ever spinning class. As I take a good look at my fellow spinners it seems the room is bursting with seasoned pros.
And what do I do? I blurt out :
“This is my first time, please don’t leave me crippled.”
Not my most elegant start. Brushing that I aside I think positive. Hell, I run twice a week so sitting on a bike pushing the pedals round and round has got to be a breeze…
Well fifteen minutes in and I’m already an attractive shade of red. Sweat is quite literally falling off me cartoon style. I’m told to go faster, harder, stand up, sit down, freeze in an assault of commands. The only thing that keeps me going is the guy chanting ‘dig, dig’ in a rhythmic fashion my legs somehow just seem to get.
Now it is all over it’s pretty clear to me that if I’d been in that room on my own for 45 mins the time might have been spent a little differently. Lets face it – hopping off the bike to grab a glass of water or pausing for a beat or two would have definitely been an option. As for putting up resistance to 80% – well who’s looking?
Call it what you like – peer pressure, visibility, madness – but it worked!
The poundage took a hit and my body hurt in ways I did not think were possible.
It got me thinking what would happen if we had that level of intensity and transparency in our careers. Where would we be? If, when resistance was at its most intense we had a crowd of people with us all digging in with rhythmic determination, what career mountains would we climb?
I dig in with career progression by publicly committing to things that completely freak me out because wimping out is not an option. What makes you dig, dig, dig when you’re pedalling your career?
Are you the spinner pro all Lycra’d up giving it full throttle taking the crowd with you?