Wednesday 8:00 pm

Today marked my semi-triumphant return to the spinning bike. The last few days off really helped because I felt great (except towards the end, but more on that later).

First, I came to the conclusion that my cheap little Polar heart rate monitor was not going to cut it. It only cost around $35 and has the basic functions - HRM, time, and that's about it. My spin bike has no computer on it so I needed something that would help me better log my workouts. Enter my new HRM, the Polar S410. Check out the site for all the features.

I performed the Fit Test and was pleasantly surprised - I'm only 1 point away from being average. That's not great, since I'm below average, but after so many years of not working out, I expected to be in the poor category. I'm going to do this test every 2 weeks to see the changes.

I put on my Creative MP3 player, turned on the Dodger game (they lost... again), and began to spin.

So here's what I did today:
32 mins.
157 avg HR
183 max HR
456 calories lost

I felt good with the last minute being the exception. I had to cut my workout short from my 40 minute goal because I decided to raise the resistance to max and do a sprint. I've read that you should not sprint for more than 10 seconds and I now know why. I lept out of the saddle and started to pump hard! I felt great until a little after 15 seconds when a twitch in my right calf turned into a small knot and then a full blown cramp. I was clipped into my pedals so I quickly turned my ankle to release and the pain just exploded through my calf. My leg looked like I was wearing high heals because I could not bring my foot forward. I stayed on the bike until the pain subsided and then got on the floor and did a little stretching and massaging.

So, overall a good workout. I hope my calf doesn't feel sore tomorrow because I'm really excited about my new heart rate monitor and plan to use every feature available.