When it comes to getting fit, Christy TaJalle says, “One cannot rely on a single routine.”
“Fitness is a lifestyle,” said TaJalle, who is now a newly certified spinning instructor at In-Shape gym on Broadway in Santa Maria. “You can be your own mad scientist.”
What exactly is spinning? It’s an exercise that involves peddling on a stationary bike at high rates of speed. The workout is usually set to the pace of music, but not always.
The workout can last 45 minutes to an hour, and TaJalle’s out of breath and drenched with sweat by the time she’s done.
After a couple of years of trying it out with different instructors, TaJalle is now the one giving classes. At 42 years old, she originally got spinning because she wanted to “look hot” again, but she realized that sentiment was only a positive side effect of feeling good and being healthy.
Earning her certification is just one of many milestones in a lifetime of fitness. She’s also actively working on other certifications. In two weeks, she’ll be a certified group weight trainer for a program called Body Pump.
In high school she played softball and she also lifted weights in college. Growing up in the heavily forested parts of Oregon, TaJalle enrolled in a forestry class where rock climbing and rappelling were just a part of the curriculum.
TaJalle spent 20 years living in the Five Cities area before moving to Santa Maria a few years ago. She participated in a roller derby team called Five Cities Roller Kitties.
She describes it as an extremely competitive sport that requires a lot of core strength. TaJalle never really came out of the stage of novice, but she nonetheless walked away with nothing but a love and respect for the game.
TaJalle describes core strength as the muscles, like the abdominal muscles, that stabilize the body. Exercises like yoga, Pilates, and spinning can develop core strength, according to TaJalle.
However, when it comes to shaping abs, that’s often done in the kitchen and it can sometimes be a real struggle.
During the spinning workout, TaJalle often falls into a zen-like experience where she is truly in the moment. It’s as if nothing else exists.
“There have been moments I’ve almost cried in spin class,” TaJalle said. “Fitness has changed my life so much.”
Interested in spinning? TaJalle’s spin class is every other Tuesday at In-Shape at 1318 S. Broadway in Santa Maria. She will also soon be instructing water aerobics every Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
This article appears in Nov 5-12, 2015.
