Spin class.Everyone nowadays is doing it, and everyone nowadays is loving it. Cycling classes have been around for years, but as companies such as SoulCycle begin to become more and more popular, spin classes have started popping up everywhere. Personally, I love cycling. I love it so much I decided to become an instructor. And as I’ve been convincing my friends to come to my classes, I have continuously been getting asked the question “well is it really all that great?”
My answer is always yes. It’s 100% worth the hype that surrounds it. Well, what makes it so great?
1 It’s a fun way to burn calories.
This first reason may seem rather obvious, but just like in any other workout class you’re going to burn calories! What makes cycling classes so different is the number of calories you’re burning so quickly. According to Harvard Health, a one-hour long ride completed at a moderate intensity and pace burns approximately 420-660 calories. When comparing those numbers to other workout classes, such as yoga, it’s rare that you will burn over 400 calories. The workouts will constantly be different from instructor to instructor, and even if you pick an instructor that you like and stick with his or her classes, the workouts will also always be different! Because of the wide variety of workouts, you will never feel bored!
2 It’s extremely individualized.
Yes, you’re in a class full of people following instructions from a cyclist in the front, but how hard you push yourself is completely up to you! Each bike has an individual resistance knob, meaning that you pick what the level of intensity means to you. If the instructor tells you to increase to a moderate level, that could be one turn or four turns- it’s your decision to make. Another aspect on cycling that I love is how focused everyone is. Everyone is focused on pushing themselves as much as they can, so no one has time to worry about what anyone around them is doing!
3 There’s music for everyone.
Personally, I love to mix up the music I play. One day I’ll play 2000s hits, the next I’ll play songs with a super strong drum and base. I often find myself playing different genres within the same day’s work out so that I know there is a song for everyone! If the exercise itself can’t pump you up, I promise that the music will!
4 It’s a community.
Within cycling classes there’s a community. It’s a community of hardworking people with their mind’s set on the same goal of giving it everything you’ve got. If you frequent the same classes, it’s pretty likely that you’ll start to make friends with the people around you. There’s just something different about the friends that you make in a workout class. It sounds cheesy, but it’s a lot easier to relate to someone when you’ve both just worked your asses off.
5 It benefits and improves your muscle and mental strength.
Obviously, you are going to gain muscular strength through cycling classes, specifically lean muscle. It’s a great core workout so get ready for that six pack! Something that many people don’t think about is the mental strength that you’re going to gain. It takes a lot to be able to push yourself to the end of your abilities, especially when you’re the one controlling your intensity. If you wanted to you could take the easy way out and do the entire workout on a light resistance and not push your pace. But it’s so much more rewarding to truly push yourself through the entire workout. If you take full advantage of these workouts, you’ll be training your body both physically and mentally.
I thoroughly encourage you to look more into cycling classes if you’re interested, but I hope these 5 reasons have sparked your interest! From me to you, I really think you’ll fall in love with spin if you just give it a shot!