Note to self: Don’t go to an indoor fitness class in a long sleeve shirt and long pants. Ever. Not even if they are both considered “dry-fit” or “moisture wicking”. You will be consumed by heat!
Note to anyone using a public shower room: Don’t sit ANYWHERE naked. For oen thing, no one wants to see the spread of your cellulite riddled ass…and for another, how do you know that 5 minutes before you sat your naked rear down, someone else wasn’t just sitting naked on the same spot? Come on, people. COME ON!
OK, now that’s out of the way! I went to All Terrain and I have to say, didn’t like it. I went in with an open mind, thinking maybe even if it’s different than what I’m used to, it’s still indoor cycling which I love and maybe it’ll be like cross-training within the same sport. The problem I had was two fold. First, I didn’t get the point. With the regular RPM that I go to, they sort of set it up from the get-go, you’re doing an outdoor ride, there are hills and flats, races against yourself and the instructor, speedwork etc. With the All Terrain, you just ride at the same resistance for up to 7 minutes at a time. Aside from the fact that it’s boring as hell, you can’t even visualize what you’re doing. With RPM you can sort of tell what’s coming by listening to the music….in All Terrain, the boring random songs just flow into one another with no apparant reference to what you’re actually doing.
The worst part about it though? The instructor doesn’t ride the class with you! She starts, then gets off the bike, stands BESIDE the bike and talks to you and wanders around the room so if you’re in the front you can’t see her. And when she is actually on the bike she’s not doing what she’s telling us to do. When we’re sitting, she just randomly stands up….so the entire class (all used to RPM) stand up and she “no-no, sit down”ed us.
I don’t know what it’s like for other people, but when I exercise alone, I pitch myself against myself. When I exercise in a group, I like to try and match the instructor (who is generally, wildly more fit than I am). I was very confused by the whole thing since I wasn’t quite alone but there wasn’t really an instructor to try and match. But, it was an hour of exercise and that means I get a check mark in the happy column.
Finally, in leaving a comment for another blogger, I realized that the number of calories that I am eating in an average day is a bit low (especially when I’m exercising) and right now in a time of stress, I need to not be starving my body. My trouble is that it is difficult to bump that up when the healthiest foods are the ones that are lower in calories. By that I mean, if you choose not to eat bread/grains, you don’t eat dairy, you don’t eat processed foods and you stay away from sugar, it can be very difficult to get your calorie count up to reasonable levels on fruits, veg, protein and good fat. I’m actually curious if the calorie count that is given as a standard when you calculate your BMR takes into consideration the foods that most North Americans eat the most of (grains, sugar, processed) and is a higher number to try to ensure nourishment even if some of the food isn’t really food? Would you actually need a lower overall number if you were eating just meat and veg?
Fitty vs Fatty 
You nailed it, the lack of bread, sugar, processed foods and …um, wine… all play a part in eating the right amount of calories, it’s a challenge sometimes to eat the right amount of calories of the right stuff because it takes more effort! And you are so RIGHT – long sleeved shirts have no place in indoor classes. For that matter, neither do sleeves!
Would it be worth mentioning to the gym (a letter to the head office) about the class being less than what you’d hoped? I know they are struggling to find qualified instructors right now but you are still paying your fees and should be able to get the workout that you have come to expect. I would mention to someone about the all-terrain class wasn’t up to snuff.
And as my standard answer to all your increase-your-calories questions – avocado. 😉