Y'all! I have found a new way to workout and let me tell you, it is FANTASTIC. It is fast paced, easy to catch on, sweat-filled, and SO much fun. Let me introduce y'all to.....
Here's a video to give you an idea of what I am talking about.
These two different classes are based around the same concept that indoor cycling should be mixed with dancing, upper body strength, great remixes, and crazy instructors. Although we don't have a SoulCycle or Cyc studio in Lubbock (sigh), I got to experience my first Cyc class in Austin a couple weekends ago. I AM HOOKED. Thankfully I am moving to Austin for graduate school and will be able to go to Cyc a lot!
Let me break down how the class works for you...
For starters, research the different indoor cycling studios in your area. If you have SoulCycle, find the studio closest to you, buy a class, reserve a bike, and BAM you are all ready to go. If there is a Cyc studio in your area, do the same exact thing!
After, drink lots of water, eat, get sleep, get rid of those nervous jitters which I had, and get ready for the best workout of your life!
The day of your spin class, arrive 15 minutes early. MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS. The sweet people at the front desk will give you some general information, a pair of cycling shoes, and will have you sign a liability form (when I saw this I knew it was going to be a hard workout). They will help you find your bike in the spin room and will help you adjust it. I'm sure it is the same at every SoulCycle or Cyc studio but my gosh the lady who helped me was great! This kind of service makes you feel right at home.
After you get settled on your bike, which comes with a towel and hand weights, the super peppy and fit instructor comes in front and center to the head bike. My instructor at Cyc Austin was amazing. She called out the newbies (timid me had to raise my hand) and had the regulars cheer us on for coming to try it out. It was great. Then.....it was time to get down to business.
The first five minutes of class were for a very intense warm-up to a crazy remix of some dub-step music. Keep in mind that the lights are off for the entire class, unless the instructor turns the dim one on over the bike, and the towels all glow in neon. I was having so much fun just in the warm-up! We did a mixture of jumps, speeds, resistances, and bike positions. All I kept on thinking was, "This is only the warm-up?!" My legs were on fire.
Each song after this was dedicated to a different area of muscles on the body. There were songs where you cranked up the resistance and used the arm weights (talk about OW) and then there were songs that turned down the resistance to focus on sprinting. Of course we did more bike jumps, which work your booty, and did a few heavy resistance songs with no hands on the bike to work on the quads. By the end of the 45 minute class, I was drenched in sweat, or as the instructor said, "drenched in sparkles". It was fabulous and I felt great. I have a good heart monitor and I should've worn it (dang for always running late and forgetting things) because I bet I burned around 600 calories in the 45 minutes.
Here are some pros to trying one of these dance-inspired cycling classes:
- Total body workout, not just legs like in some cycling classes
- Your booty will FEEL it let me tell you!
- The studio has secure lockers to hold your belongings
- Most offer complimentary cycling shoes to use
- Each instructor is certified to teach SoulCycle and/ or Cyc
- Cyc offers cool social media interaction to get to know people in your classes (yay for new friends to encourage you to work out!)
- All of the staff in the studios are knowledgeable, friendly, and SWEET
- You will be hooked
I said it before and I'm going to say it again.... TRY THIS KIND OF CYCLING. It is life changing. The amount of fun you can have in a vigorous and hard spin class is insane. I felt like Beyoncé after this class and who doesn't want to feel like her?!
Hope y'all have a great Friday! Here is a good mid-day pick me up playlist that can make your Friday that much better! We just started our spring break here at Tech and I am off to PCB for the week for some fun in the sun! Thank you for reading!!
**Disclaimer: I was not compensated for providing a review of SoulCycle and Cyc classes. All opinions expressed are my own.**
