By day, Lisa Dawson is the Marketing Communications Manager at Microsoft, but by night she teaches spinning encouraging hardcore desk workers to spend an hour or 2 a week in a different sort of seat. We asked Lisa to give us a little insight into the benefits of daily activity and show us just how easy it is for a flexible worker to fit exercise into their 9-5 days.
Why did you personally get in to spinning?
I have always been an exercise enthusiast, cycling, and running and have taught group exercise to music in studios [Body Attack, aerobics etc] for many years. I have to say, due to this, I was initially put off by spinning, as I like to jump around a lot. I started attending classes to get my lunchtime cardio fix, and after 45 minutes of sprints, hill and mountain climbs, I got off my bike glowing. It was the most fun and hardest workout I have ever had on a bike. I was soon addicted, to the extent that I decided to do the training course to teach it – I now love being a DJ on the bike.
What are the top benefits of spinning?
- Cardiovascular health - as your heart pumps faster and your lung capacity increases, you get fitter
- Optimises fat burning
- Work every leg muscle through each pedal stroke – your abs get a good workout too J - it is a great component to my marathon training.
- Low impact – take pressure off your joints
- Tailor workout for your fitness levels, progress at your own pace –increasing and decreasing resistance [ gears ] and speed
- Builds mental strength
- Varied workouts mean constant challenges
- Have fun whilst working hard
How easy is it to fit a spin class into your working life, and what are the benefits of doing this?
I am very lucky to work for an organisation that is such an advocate of flexible working and as such, am able to fit the 45 minute or hour classes into my day early in the morning, at lunchtimes or in the evenings. The benefits of that break in the day to workout are fantastic – you get to socialise with other people outside of your work environment, distress as you release those feel good endorphins and aside from the health benefits, come back to work feeling energised, refocused and ready for the rest of the day.
Do you use any apps or devices when spinning to track your progress?
All of the studio bikes track your pace, calorie burn and distance travelled which is a great guide. In order to track individual progress however, I also use a heart monitor and have various applications to measure my progress – there are a huge variety of fitness applications available.
A huge thank you to Lisa giving us an inside track in the world of Spinning! What do you think? Are you inspired to try?
