RPM - after 4 months of gym

Last Friday I boldly went for my second session of RPM at the gym. RPM actually stands for "Raw Power in Motion" in which you would choose a cycling device, cycle according to the instructor's pace while listening to some encouraging and loud music.

My first RPM session happened about 2 weeks ago. I was with a pal of mine and had meet up for gym session on Saturday at The Curve. Coincidentally, there was an RPM session around 30 minutes after we arrived at the gym. With only a body to offer to the RPM Goddess (The instructor) and unknowingly what kind of torture sessions is upon me, I bit the bullet and signed up !

Now if anyone whose body is unfit and tells you that RPM is an easy thing - which is just merely cycling on the darn bike then they either had never tried it or they had did it but the wrong way. For a start, the bike itself have to be adjusted to a certain height, position and cycling tension to suit your capabilities, height and your limbs's length. Failure to do so would end up yourself working out the wrong muscles or even worse - injuring yourself.

There were some information in which I had gathered from the instructor after my Friday's session. I'm sure many of us had thought that the whole session is just about cycling without taking into consideration of the main objective and our own posture during the session - and lazy or too embarrassed to ask. But okay, okay, I did the dirty job and I'm posting it here to share with you folks;

1. Adjust your seat to the correct height (ask your instructor how), too low may end up yourself exercising the wrong muscle and too high would surely cause you uncomfortable (especially if you're a guy) because the seats are not cushioned - AT ALL !
   
2. Adjust your handlebar away from your body to the correct length, too close would cause you injuring yourself as you would need to cycle while standing and your knees would knock against the handlebars. Too far would make the handlebar hard to reach - thus causing you stiff necks and shoulders
3. Before you start to paddle, strap your feet with the strap that is provided at the paddles. They're there for a reason - when you paddle too fast and you missed one of the paddle at least it wont flung around and hit you at your calf.
4. Adjust the tension control to suit your capability. Too loose would make your body bounce when you paddle too fast thus injuring your backbone. Too hard would make your paddling hard and you would feel tired/exhausted quickly or may not be interested to finish the class at all.
   
5. If your calf starts to cramp, it's ok for you to get off your bike and stretch to loosen the tighten muscle a bit (it happened to me but I foolishly continue the session - the pain was excruciating !)
6. If you walk like me (tip toe), you may find that your ankles or calf tends to sore or pain after a short session. This is due to the fact that you are cycling with your feet pointing downwards. Try to walk or cycle with your feet at an equal level.
7. If you need to get off your bike during half way of the session (maybe to adjust your seat) and continue back. Careful about sudden cramps that would hit you - as your muscles are working consistently and sudden stop would cause shocks.
   

In RPM session, I was told that there will be 9 songs that you need to go through. Each of the song have their own purposes. Here's a pointer;

Song 1: Warm up
Song 2: Climb
Song 3: Cardio
Song 4: Climb
Song 5: Cardio
Song 6: Climb
Song 7: Cardio
Song 8: Cooldown
Song 9: Get off and stretch

I'm unsure of the sequence of the Climb and Cardio and if the last Cardio would be mixed with the Cooldown session at all. Nevertheless, please check with your instructor if you want to know more about it.

Finally, what do you want to bring into the RPM studio ?

• Face towel
• Water bottle (Yes, you can bring it in !!!)
• Your heart strap (if you have one, it's very very very useful to know your limits)
• Your body to offer !

Overall, good luck and hope to see you in one of my RPM session in Wisma SPK once in a while !