A little over a month ago, I took my first spin class at the Rec Center on campus.
After spending years daydreaming about what it would be like to have the confidence to go to workout classes, I finally put my fears aside at the end of February. I signed myself up for a 7:00 class and spent the days leading up to it anxiously waiting. When the time finally approached, I walked over to the Rec, and ended up being very early (thank you, anxiety). I met the instructor and told her it was my first time. She introduced herself and told me a little bit about the class and what to expect out of the 45-minute session. More relaxed now, I got assistance with my bike, and after I was all set up I waited for the rest of the class to arrive.
The first 20 minutes of class I had realized a few things: one, this is not as scary as I thought it was gonna be (unless a bomb drops in the next 25 minutes), and two, I feel… good. Like, really good. Actually, I felt so moved emotionally and physically that I started to cry in the middle of class. Not because my quads were on fire or my glutes were burning, but because I knew that I needed this.
When I was younger, I was a lot more quiet, reserved, and shy than I am now. There was one main reason for this, and it was because I struggled with low self-confidence for most of my life. I used to take dance classes on and off throughout middle and high school and I also did competitive cheer in 7th grade. But I didn’t stick with any of it because I never felt like I fit in. Dealing with body image issues as a young girl made me feel like I was too big to be a dancer or a cheerleader, or an athlete of any kind for that matter. Because of that, I pretty much gave up on sports and workout classes altogether for the rest of my academic career. Until now, of course.
As the music blared through the speakers in the studio and the spin instructor’s voice echoed, I was there, in the back row, cycling and crying at the same time. I felt so proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and not only trying something new but trying something I was scared to try for so long. Within the first half of my first spin class I knew I had been missing out and that this is something I really enjoy.
By the end of the class, I was sweaty, out of breath, and redder than I would like to admit. We wound down by stretching our legs and arms, cleaning our bikes, and putting them away. I left the class feeling the best I’ve felt in a long time. I called my mom on my walk back to my dorm, and I told her everything: from my experience, to what I was thinking about, my reminiscing of my childhood years, and how I was feeling. I cried on the phone with her as we talked and she told me how proud of me she was for doing that for myself.
The following week, I came back for my second spin class. As I’m checking in, I hear the spin instructor say, “Hey, I didn’t scare you away!” and I turned around to see her smiling. I shook my head. “Nope, I had so much fun,” I replied, smiling. “Good!” She replied, and from there, I put away my things, grabbed a bike, and waited for the class to begin.
I’ve been going to spin class every week since.
No matter how well you think you can perform at a certain activity/sport, try it anyways. You never know what you might discover about yourself.
