Words by: Stephanie Brodie
We may not have needed helmets, and we may not have traveled very far, but the puddles of sweat underneath our bikes, and a couple awesome blood sugars were proof that we all worked pretty hard. Intro to Spin day with other people with Type 1 diabetes is something I have envisioned for a long time in the Connected In Motion (CIM) line-up of events. CIM is a community that encourages active living, adventure, and education for Type 1 diabetics, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce a new type of activity that was a little different from what we normally do. I knew the crew is always open to new ideas and challenges, so I brought one of my biggest passions and skills to the table: Group Exercise and Fitness.
For two years now I have been teaching Les Mills RPM Spinning Classes at Goodlife Fitness. RPM classes are high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts that provide a strong cardiovascular workout and help to build strong leg muscles: all which have a profound effect on blood sugars. Not only that, but it’s fun! Believe it or not, it becomes quite addicting and fosters a social community among other participants. So I wanted to share the love and education with my CIM family by teaching an RPM class to them.
With a total of 17 participants, there was a variety of fitness levels and experience in the crowd. I had my partner in crime with me to teach, Stephanie Criscione—a fellow Fitness Instructor at Goodlife Fitness. We always have fun teaching together and she is a wealth of knowledge. We began with an explanation of the class and a bike set-up, and quickly started the workout. All in all however, people worked hard while enjoying the music, choreography, and coaching. Sweat was dripping, water was being guzzled, and the sound of heavy breathing filled the room.
Perfect.
About 50 minutes later, after cool-down and snack provided by COBS Bread, we had a talk about exercise and nutrition for diabetes. This session was led by a close friend of mine, Registered Dietition, Andrea Falcone. She spoke about fuelling your body before and after a workout, and the varying effects activity has on blood glucose levels. As we all sat and ate our bread (it was so good…), everyone was engaged by asking questions and sharing their experiences, tips, and tricks for nutrition and activity.
The event wrapped after a short two hours full of information and hard work, and as I walked away I felt a huge sense of gratitude knowing that I got to share something so important to me with others. I also felt satisfaction knowing I had kicked a few butts in the workout…the proof was in the sweat and the blood glucose levels. It’s my hope that these folks to continue to do spin and inspire others in their circle of support to try it too!
Thank you Connected In Motion, and everyone who came out to this event! The next event we may be lifting a few weights and barbells. Get ready!
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Connected in Motion would also like to give a huge shout out to Steph Brodie for putting the Intro to Spin Day event together! We’d also like to thank Animas Canada for their sponsorship of the day, COBS Bread for their donation of yummy post-workout snacks, and GoodLife Fitness Missisauga Meadowvale Town Centre for donating their space for the class.
