What I’ve learned about writing from my spin class

I’ve never been a runner, I’ve never been much into cycling outdoors, but for whatever reason I really vibe with spin classes. Turn out the lights, turn up the music, and let’s pedal to nowhere!

After a year of consistently attending classes in my new hometown of Pasadena, I am by no means winning an indoor Tour de France, but I’ve hit some personal milestones that feel pretty good and it made me reflect on how I got there.

Pair that with recently finishing a novel, and, well, here comes the blog post. Thanks for indulging me.

Stay within yourself

When I first started taking in-person classes (after a few years of obligatory Peloton time during the height of the pandemic), I got crazy on adrenaline and tried to crush every challenge right from the start.

Needless to say, I hit walls very fast. I would be pretty much wrecked for the rest of class and my overall distance would be dismal.

Through time, I’ve learned to stay within my limits, aim for a relatively consistent pace, quicken my recoveries, and dial back when I’m nearing a wall. It’s amazing how much farther you can ride over the course of 45 minutes by just working within yourself.

As a writer, editor, and well, pretty much everything else, I’m prone to pushing myself too hard and running through walls until I’ve completely overextended myself. I struggle to admit my limits to myself.

The class has helped me see–with literal metrics–the positive effect of not trying to break through every barrier.

Once a week isn’t enough, but you need recovery time too

Much like writing, it’s really hard to be in top form if you attend too sporadically, but you also need rest as well. You have to find a way to calibrate what works best for you.

I personally could never be the kind of person who writes every day because my brain needs some time to tease out problems. (More power to those who do).

I find it more helpful to strike the right balance. And for both cycling and writing, that’s usually about twice a week.

You need a place you can go mentally when things get tough

Dissociating gets a bad wrap these days! And sure, I’m not advocating being so disconnected from yourself that you push through pain in an unsafe way, or being unsafe in any way for that matter, but I’ve found it extremely helpful to have a place I can go when I’m nearing a place of physical or mental exhaustion.

Without spoiling anything, mine is a very, very large hill from my most recent novel. I picture myself climbing it just like my protagonist does (because I forced him to). Somehow it takes me out of myself enough to power through and be in a different world for a little bit.

A safe space can be physical or mental, but having one you can retreat to can get you through some really difficult things.

Exercise matters so much

One of my classes is on Wednesdays at the end of my writing days at the Huntington, and I can’t tell you how many ideas have come to me on that stationary bike.

I find exercise so completely integral to the writing process. Even if it’s just a walk, getting the blood flowing can unlock an immense amount of creativity.

So there you have it. It’s not just biking to nowhere! (Okay, yes it is).

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Art: Bicycle race scene by Calvert Lithographic Co.