The lights go down, the tempo of the music is building, and I am pedaling furiously. Spinning is so very cool. All those daily core workouts are paying off. I am feeling solid and strong. I breathe through my nose, making sure that the air travels all the way down below my belly button, filling the lower lobes of my lungs. It is no easy task, especially since I am also keeping my core tight and my upper body relaxed. It took me a while to be able to get all the pieces in place. You see, I have an educated hunch that the deep breathing will kick my endurance into super-turbo mode - it has to do with my parasympathetic nervous system. As a woman, I have an advantage over the guys — us girls have higher parasympathetic control over our heart rates. That's probably why we as a group live longer. I expect that continuously engaging this system will greatly improve endurance. In simple terms, I am decreasing my heart rate, lowering my blood pressure, engaging energy conservation and lowering my need for oxygen. Pretty slick, huh?

Matt's on my right, giving it his all. It's his first spin class. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see his mouth open, already out of breath. We still have 50 minutes to go... poor guy. He is not alone, though; soon, huffing and puffing can be heard from all corners of the room. Covered in a layer of sweat and completely exhausted, he hangs in there. He is a weightlifting guy, not much into running or cycling (unless he's being chased). The class is not for beginners – the 20-something, superfit instructor keeps us off the seats the whole time, resistance up and intensity high. After the class, impressed with his fortitude, she asks cheerily, "Are you coming tomorrow?" "Hells no!" he replies cheekily.

The Effect of Age and Gender on Heart Rate Variability after Endurance Training

HEART RATE VARIABILITY

Dehydrated and constipated, I de-plane and head for the luggage carousels. It happens to me every time I travel – I'm groggy from the takeoff nap (it puts me out every time) and I look and feel like crap. I am here with my three guys to spend Christmas in St. Pete Beach, Florida. I know, it sounds good – warm and relaxing with barbecues, sunsets and lots of time on the beach. We come here every December to find a bit of sun and sanity. This year, however, there is a cold front sweeping the east coast. Twelve inches of snow in New York, a tornado watch in West Palm Beach and chilly rain falling here in Tampa Bay. Oh well, at least we have our health...

After dropping the bags at the condo, we head over to the "health food" store (don't you love that real food has to have a special label?) to get us through the next few days. We hit the local gym right after. As usual, Bodynamics is running a holiday special — 35 bucks per month! As we fill out the paperwork, I catch the cute girl behind the counter curiously eyeing my lips. What is that about? She can't seem to avoid looking at me... Oh shit! The cold sore! Yes, that's right — I have a humongous growth on my lower lip that resembles an aging raspberry. This is how she will remember me, but who cares? I am in Florida and the first spin class is at 6am tomorrow!

Lactic pain is not gain! This is what I have noticed: I have no lactic pain on the days where I get up and out without hesitation. It really doesn't matter how hard I work out or what I do; there's just no lactic pain. Then there are the days where I can barely peel my eyes open, and when I do, I try to avoid the mirror because I am intimately familiar with the disaster that will gaze back at me. These days usually follow nights when Matt and I stay out past respectable hours (say, after 3am), during which time consumption of wine or dirty martinis has occurred. Actually, the dirty martinis are just me. Matt's drink is vodka. Okay, martinis are vodka, too, but I see them as a whole different animal, probably because of the pretty glass and the blue cheese stuffed olives. Matt and I are also fond of getting a burger on the way home. You see where I am going with this...

Anyway, the lactic pain from that day's workout (you thought I was going to say hangover) is bad and lasts for days. I find it neither helpful, nor proof of progress. It just gives me an excuse to do less. Lighter weight, shorter run, taking it easy on the heavy bag — screws my whole week up.

Here's what I'm thinking.

Dehydrated, overly toxic body with overworked filters (liver, kidneys) = lactic pain. Even my use of proteolytic enzymes as a preventative measure fails (I take three before every workout to speed healing of torn muscle tissue). I'm gonna try something new and see if it works better — making sure I am well hydrated before I hit the gym (the stats are that up to 70% of athletes start their workouts dehydrated), and taking plenty of ionized minerals to replenish my elecrolyte balance. I'll let you know how it works out...

Woo-hoo! We were timed on 100 meters in swim class last night. I shaved 20 seconds off my time! Okay, I'm not exactly fast to begin with, so most of you will not be impressed with my 2:24 finish. But I am! My swimming was strong, my breathing was steady, and my form was good through the whole thing. And, I was not the last one in! I am improving...