After a flurry of recommendations I managed to plan out a detailed agenda for the trip to New York City. SoulCycle came highly recommended by Clarissa Chun and Jen Sinkler. This didn't really give me any idea of what I was letting myself in for - a wrestler and a rugby player/fitness guru (yes you're a guru). I had a quick look on their very swish website and found a studio near me on .... When I tried to book a spot in the class and it said bike 56 I had to a double take. How big is this peleton?
All I knew was that it would involve cycling, music and good vibes. So within an hour of landing in NYC I was sprinting across Central Park to the class. What I found was a nicely laid out space with great light and great people all getting ready to go. They have made excellent use of space and their branding is excellent. Nice article on that can be found here.
It was nice to see the interaction between members, staff and instructors - lots of spandex and smiles. I got my cycling shoes on (provided by reception) and realised they were too small - and I thought, I'm not going to make a rookie mistake here and got one of the crew to change it for me. I thought I must know more than I thought about this. Pride comes before a fall :)
The Soul Staff were all super nice (see I am in America now I can say super) and very helpful. There was a long waiting list but they managed to squeeze me in to the studio just beside the exit on an extra bike. Somebody kindly adjusted my bike for me and strapped my shoes in - there was no escape now. The lights went down and the Exit sign glared in red above me.
A few things dawned on me very quickly. 1) There were not too many guys. Maybe 5 out of 50 or more people. 2) I needed to adjust my bike but couldn't. 3) Instructor Amanda Max was like a little box of dynamite and was not going to give me an easy time of it! 4) I chose the wrong shorts for this class.
The tunes were pumping, the heart rate was too. As well as the cycling there were exercises and movements added in to the music. These included some work for abs, legs and stretching. I was struggling a little (ok a lot!) due to the settings of the bike - reaching out to the handlebars to do the movements was not something I was used to. Nor was wearing cycling shoes either - I did try to launch myself a few times when I forgot I was strapped! Excuses, excuses...
I was reaching around behind the saddle to try and adjust it and found two tiny weights. What are those for? Do they stop people like me launching the bike? They seemed very small. Far too small to anchor the bike.
Anyway, I had bigger problems. I was sure I heard Amanda ask if I was feeling the burn. I was. I mean really feeling it - chaffing had me now. I decided there was nothing to do but just go for it. I looked at the Exit sign. Again. But I stuck with it. There was no escape.
I put my head down and pedalled and let the music take over. Then things picked up with a series of exercises getting everyone up out of the saddle, and back down, and up, and back down, and up... I tried. I failed. A girl in front of me was so fast at this. I tried to keep up. I nearly put the saddle where the sun don't shine. I took it a little easier.
I was having flashbacks of dance classes - tango to be precise - where I would try and follow the teacher at the front of the room. In my mind I was perfectly replicating the movements. The mirror and my wife's eyes said differently - I looked so disjointed.
In my head I had christened our explosive instructor Amandown. I was A Man Down. "Hey, we've got a man down over here!". I wondered how often that happened in this studio. Just some of the rambling pedalling through my mind!
The sweat was pouring out of me. I cursed the name of Clarissa Chun. I should have known a wrestler would love this - just a normal day cutting weight for her. The burn was getting worse all the time.
Then in the dark, the burn, the sweat something happened. First Amandown told us all to imagine our first ride. I cracked up inside - it was also dark, sweaty and a little uncomfortable too. That made me smile, laugh and keep going.
The other thing that happened was that the beat changed and we went in to more side to side movements. This I could do. All of a sudden I was dancing (that's what I call it) on my bike. This, this I could enjoy.
But Amandown wasn't happy with me enjoying myself, so we all picked up our tiny dumbells. Hilarious I thought. That didn't last long. Just some light exercises but high reps, intensity and non stop. It was definitely a Lift Weights Faster moment - the faster your legs, the faster you lift.
Then we were winding down towards a light stretch. Phew. I was banjaxed. But happy. There was so much good energy in the room and around the studio. Everyone felt good and we had all done that together.
Another point of note that was welcome after all that sweat - very clean and well stocked bathroom with towels, nice shampoo and skin products. It's the little things that count.So, if you have the opportunity, do check out Soul Cycle. You won't regret it. Unless you wear the wrong shorts.
No comments:
Post a Comment