Apr 17

Apr 17 A winter of spinning does not a spring runner make

A chat with coach Chris McMahon on why the two cardio workouts are different.

The backstory

My main sweat escape during the pandemic has been 2-3x a week on our Soul bike, tapping it back and doing a quick-fire shimmy like it’s the 20s. When it comes to spinning, I need a beat to keep me motivated and an average ride usually gets my heart rate in the 150-180 range. Some rides I go harder and some rides I opt to stay in the saddle, but after a winter of consistent cardio, you’d think I’d be well conditioned to hit the literal ground running with these warmer temps, right? Nope.

There’s a 3.7 mi. loop I like to do in our neighborhood. It essentially takes me south to the Bell Museum and back. Last summer, I was able to keep a sensible 8:30/mi pace, sometimes faster, and felt really strong in my stride. Nowadays, I’ve been lacing up the Hoka’s about once a week to see where my pace is at and it’s just a mess. My stride feels wonky, its hard to go any faster than a 9-minute-mile and my heart rate barely breaks 150 - and that feels like 180 on the bike. What’s happening?!

To get a better understanding and debunk my myth that all cardio is equal, I reached out to my friend Chris who is a professional trainer and nutrition coach. I asked, “I’ve been spinning. Why is running so hard?”

Listen to what he said below. It put me at ease. He gave me peace of mind and most importantly patience with where I am with my movement. Also...the way he describes running as just “controlled falling” makes me really rethink what I’m doing. 🤣