Fit Chick in the City » spin

Kool-Aid in My Water Bottle

Jess — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:06:44 +0000

My morning started off with a 60 minute spin ride with my friend Richard at Soul-Cycle.

This is THE place to take spin classes in NYC right now. Soul Cycle is like a yoga studio filled with bikes. There are no locker rooms or showers. The lights are dim. Space is minimal. When you walk in the door you immediately feel the heat and energy from the current session. Bring on the Bikram spin! I was sweating before I even got into the actual studio.

In order to guarantee a space in any of their classes, you must book your bike 7 days in advance. The real kicker is that the classes cost $32.00!!! Yes, $32.00… infreakinsane! I was willing to shell out the big bucks to see what the buzz is all about.

The Verdict

I drank the Kool-Aid and loved it! Immediately after class I wanted to sign up for next Saturday. My endorphins almost allowed me to justify spending the money. However, 1 Soul Cycle class a week for one month is $128.00. Not gonna happen, the Kool-Aid wasn’t strong enough.

My complaint about the class itself is that it contained a few “filler moves”. Such as push-ups on the bike and right/left elbow bends (what the heck?). The energy in the studio was great, the music was great, but the price tag sucks! I could almost buy a monthly gym membership at Equinox for the price of 4 classes.

Did it measure up to my standards of what makes a good class?

Yes, the instructor scored an 8 out of 10.

What fitness trend would you like to try out that may be out of your normal price range?

I still want to try out Physique 57 at some point, but that will have to wait until next month.

A Good Class

Jess — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:58:31 +0000

This past Sunday, I took a yoga class at a yoga studio for the first time in months. I usually practice yoga at home for free. For a few weeks now I’d been craving a guided yoga flow with a community of people breathing and moving together so I indulged in a $25 class. Let’s just say that I wish I could have a refund.

The studio felt like a commercial gym not a yoga studio. I had been to this “yoga gym” a few times before but wanted to give it another chance. Boy, did I regret it. Instead of complaining about the class even more, I decided to give you guys my list of 10 things you should expect from your group class instructor.

I’ll admit that I set the bar pretty high and expect a lot out of my classes. Its especially true because part of my normal job is hiring and evaluating instructors.

10 Things you should expect from your group class instructors:

1. Class should start and end on time.

2. Instructor should ask the class if anyone has any injuries or if its their first time in the class and introduce themselves.

3. Play appropriate music at appropriate levels.

4. Offer variations of moves, asanas, etc.

5. Never make a participant feel bad about not doing something or put pressure on them to do something that is outside their limits.

6. Explain each move with verbal cues that will improve the participant’s form or help them to utilize the correct muscle groups.

7. Don’t assume everyone knows what your talking about when you say “salabhasana” or “burpee.”

8. Don’t give participants false information. I once had a yoga instructor tell me that I couldn’t stretch my hamstring if my knee was bent.

9. Thank the class for coming.

10. The class should not be the instructors workout!!!

What specific things turn you off from returning to a group class?

Sugar, Sugar

Jess — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:12:48 +0000

Thank you for all the help today! Too bad its not a spin-a-thon, cause we could spin all day with the songs you guys gave me! I’ll begin putting the play-list together tonight and will post it later in the week.

I got the opportunity to wear these this morning.

Yes, those would be knee warmers. It was a mere 56 degrees when I headed out to meet Stacey at 5:30 a.m. I also was still wearing them in July. Not normal and not acceptable. It should be possible to be knee warmer free for at least three months out of the year.

Did you see this?

Check out the NY Times article regarding this campaign that will be featured in NYC subways.

Do you think this is an effective campaign for motivating change? Personally, I think it may be so extreme that people will just ignore it. Its kinda like telling a meat eater that their stomach is a graveyard in an attempt to convert them into a vegetarian.