A Spinning Success!

So I did it. I taught my very first spin class. And I must say, it was awesome. I had so much fun teaching. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and am pretty sure the people in my class enjoyed themselves and had their asses kicked all at the same time. That was the plan after all.

Leading up to the big day I was a ball of nerves. I even practiced my routine last week at work with two of my co-workers/friends. It went really well with them and they gave me some feedback which allowed me to make some tweaks in the routine and gave me the confidence I needed for the one I taught today.

For my first spin teaching gig I subbed for another teacher's regular Saturday morning (55 min) class at a local gym. (Unfortch SoulCycle and Flywheel are full-time positions so I couldn't even audition for them at this point in my life. But who knows...maybe one day. But that's a whole other story.) I was especially nervous because when a class really likes their teacher and someone new comes in, it can be dicey. Everyone has their own teaching style and what one person likes, another one might not and vice versa, so I may not be everyone's cup of tea which is fine. But others might like me more than the regular instructor. It's always a gamble. But one I most def was ready to tackle.


I had taken the regular instructor's class two weeks ago to get a feel for her teaching style and to get a feel for what the gym and equipment was like. This helped ease my anxiety and up my comfort level. She didn't teach from the bike either which seems to be pretty normal but I felt I wanted to teach from the bike so I could pedal along with the class. I ended up being on the bike about half the time and walking around half. It was a good mix though. My energetic and loud presence also helped set the tone of the class. (I think my experience as a school teacher and being in front of a class of teenagers was most def a very helpful factor in this being so successful too.)

I created what I thought was the perfect playlist. Music is suuuuuper important to a spin class. I feel someone could be an amazing teacher but if their music sucks, their class will not be up to par. I think I have ridiculously good taste in workout music so I think I really nailed that part. (See for yourself on my playlist on the left!) For spin, it can be tricky to put together the "perfect" playlist too because you want slow songs with good beats for hills and fast ones for sprints and ups and downs. Along with an interesting array of genres and artists. It's a science really. One that I really take a lot of pride in and feel I am pretty damn good at. I noticed some people even singing along to themselves and nodding to the beat which I often do when I take classes too. It's always a good sign the music is appreciated. After class, one girl even came up to me to ask me to email her my playlist. This put a HUGE smile on my face and was an enormous compliment in my book. 

Additionally, after class, about six people came up to me to ask where else and when I teach. It was then that I told those people it was my first spin teaching experience ever. Their mouths dropped. They thought I meant first time at that gym, but had to clarify first class ever taught. Ever. They couldn't believe it which made me feel great and give me such a sense of relief. I told them to tell the manager they enjoyed the class so much so maybe they can put me on full time or something. Can't hurt, right?

Totally cute and badass, right?

Another woman came up and asked where I got the shirt I was wearing. It was a rather new purchase that I thought gave me a slight edge and was adorable all the same time. She wanted to order it for her daughter.

My biggest fear did happen during class though: Someone walked out in the middle. About ten minutes into class, this walked out once to take a phone call. Rude. But then came back and seemed really into the class. Then about twenty minutes later, she packed up and left. It was odd. She had a smile on her face and thanked me. Either she had to be somewhere or she just wasn't feeling it. As I stated above, maybe I just wasn't her cup of tea. Imagine that? It actually didn't bother me at all because it seemed that so many people were into the class and working their butts off. And that's really what its all about.

All in all, my first gig was a success in my book and I cannot wait to do it again. It was so great pushing people to their limits and getting the best out of them. The main reason I want to teach spin is for people to get all the benefits of a kick-ass workout without even realizing they pushed themselves to their limits. And I want them coming back for more. That's what makes a great workout: You are having so much fun and don't even care you are dripping in sweat and huffing and puffing. When someone leaves my class, I want them to leave utterly exhausted but with a big smile on their face! Then I will have known I did my job.