This post is part three of my three-part series based on the original fitness-inspired “Bend Burn Breathe” ethos – all about my passion for yoga (bend/flexibility), weight training (burn/strength training), and spinning (breathe/cardio). Together they make up what I like to call the three-legged fitness stool. You can catch up by reading my two previous posts, For the Love of Yoga and For the Love of Weight Training.
In them, I talk about my long-standing love affairs with each discipline – 30 years of yoga practice and 40 years of weight training! Now I talk about my 20-year love affair with spinning (otherwise known as indoor cycling). I love sharing this story because it demonstrates the transformational power of fitness.
The first time I stepped onto a spin bike in 2003, I was in the worst shape of my life. I worked upwards of 50-60 hours a week as the director of exhibitions for the New York City Police Museum, a meaningful, mission-driven, but very demanding role in the wake of 9/11. I had put on a lot of weight and wasn’t working out regularly; my dad was very ill, and my relationship wasn’t going smoothly. I was stressed out and depressed, and I still smoked (a detestable habit I could not thoroughly shake from my teenage years). I’ll never forget my first class at Equinox Fitness on Wall Street in New York City. I couldn’t stand up on the bike for over a few seconds. All I remember is huffing and puffing my way through to the end (I made it!) and the beet-red face that stared back at me in the mirror when class was over. I was exhausted, embarrassed, and secretly a little bit exhilarated. Maybe this was something that I could love to hate.
I made it to another class, and then another, and another as the months passed. By then, I had switched gyms to one that was a bit closer and found myself in the basement of NYSC two to three times a week, sweating away the stress and the pounds. I was extremely fortunate to have a boss who valued physical fitness, so I could pop out to the gym during the day for classes (thank you, Ninfa Segarra!). The studio room may have been small, but the energy emitted in these group classes was enormous. It wasn’t uncommon for tears to flow for no apparent reason. The sense of release was extraordinary. I “found” myself in that room – the strong, fit, determined woman I knew myself to be. Best of all, nothing hurt, including old injuries! I could be as intense as I wanted to be on the bike, and I was. I also invested in an equally inspiring personal trainer at the time. I was also thankful for this significant transformation because, within a year, my relationship and job ended. But best of all, I quit smoking for good!
After an extended but unsuccessful job hunt in the arts, inspired by my fitness transformation, personal training sessions, and collegiate bodybuilding experience, I switched gears. I became a personal trainer back at Equinox Fitness in 2005, where I now had even more access to great instructors and classes. If I thought the spin classes at NYSC were excellent, the classes at Equinox blew my mind – and Gregg Cook’s classes in particular. There was a new level of intensity and structure, with fantastic music. I was religious about attending my weekly class carved into my personal training work schedule.
Soon, boutique spin studios popped up everywhere, first with SoulCycle (then owned by Equinox), followed by Flywheel and Cyclebar (and many more) over the years. By 2013, I had been teaching group fitness for four years and took spin classes wherever I was teaching (I wasn’t earning enough money yet to afford the $25-$35 pricetag per class in boutique studios. Instead, I found the best spin teacher of my life with the legendary Brian Mahoney at LifeTime Fitness in Montvale (and he is still teaching there)! I never thought spinning to mostly rock music could be so uplifting. Brian had the secret sauce of thoroughly engaging the group and motivating them to push to new heights. His teaching was so inspiring that I decided to train under him as a spin instructor and soon was on the instructor roster, subbing classes.
You may see a pattern here; I teach what I love to do. However, in the end, I realized I loved being a spin student more than instructing. I gave up teaching group fitness (but not yoga) when I took a new workplace well-being job commuting into New York City in 2016. A year later, Cyclebar opened up in my then-hometown of Fort Lee, NJ. I love a studio where the lights go dim, the music is pumping, the instructor is motivating, and I can lose myself in the ride in a complete flow experience. This experience is precisely what Cyclebar offered, with the benefit of riding to the rhythm of the musical beat. I was practically dancing on the bike. However, it was made extra special by extraordinary cycle instructor number three, Jesse Alexander. Jesse’s classes combined an authentic mind/body experience, utilizing motivational teaching techniques and positive self-talk with fantastic choreography and music. He oozed cool (and you can now catch Jesse teaching at various LifeTime locations in NYC). Spinning so filled my life aerobically that as soon as the gyms shut down during the Pandemic, my partner and I bought a spin bike and signed up for the Peloton app – a total lifesaver! But as a “social sweater,” group classes are the way to go for me.
If you’ve never been to a spin class, I encourage you to try it, especially if you have had injuries that sideline or curtail other aerobic activities. I am hypermobile and have softer connective tissue than average, making regular exercise tricky. I have had tendonitis in nearly all of my major joints at one point! Yet, despite that and a few orthopedic surgeries and degenerative lower back issues, I have always and thankfully always been able to ride. It’s a great low-impact exercise choice. Check out some of the benefits here.
I’d love to hear your spin stories!
Cover image by Александр Вальков from Pixabay.
bendburnbreathe.com 