According to statistics from Harris Interactive, about 20% of New Year’s Resolutions are about weight loss/getting in shape. That’s a lot of people when you think about how there are over 300 million people in the country and half of them make resolutions.
While my New Year Resolution this year wasn’t about losing weight, one of my goals year after year is to stay in shape and keep challenging my body in different ways. Since it is too cold to still run outside and Group Fitness didn’t start for the first two weeks that I was back in Boston, I signed up for 20 classes at Cyc Fitness. I was particularly drawn to Cyc because I wanted to contribute to their new program: Calories for a Cause that I had heard about. Calories for a Cause is a partnership with the Challenged Athletes Foundation where athletes of the foundation will be in every class through January and Febuary, sharing their stories. In addition, $1 will be donated to the Challenged Athletes Foundation every time a person rides.
Therefore, after my first day of co-op I braved the E line to go to my very first Cyc class. It’s conveniently located right by the Arlington T stop in the David Barton Gym (which is also a really cool gym that has a beautiful locker room that made me feel super posh although I’m definitely not). I struggled a bit with getting my spinning shoes locked in, because I am always bad at that, but my fellow spinners were nice enough to help me out. This wasn’t my first spin class at all, but I had never experienced anything like it. At Cyc, cyclists pedal to the beat of the music, so the vibe was a lot like dancing in a nightclub, except you were actually burning tons of calories at a spin class. The instructors also mix up normal spin routines (jumps, intervals, hovering) with weighted segments where you “kickbox,” “play basketball,” or do “volleyball sets.” In addition, the lights are glow in the dark and you can feel the energy of everyone in the room bouncing off of the walls. My favorite class so far was a themed class called “Bieber v. Beyonce” led by ‘cycologist’ Jonathan that had all Justin Bieber and Beyonce playlist. It was awesome. After four classes, I can definitely say I LOVE IT.
If you are looking into exercising more, you should definitely check out Cyc. While more expensive, the classes pushed me a lot more than the ones at Marino. I always come out of class feeling really energized and I enjoy how the cycologists have you set a goal at the finale of the class because I honestly go about achieving it as I go forth in my day. It may sound corny, but I feel so happy and prepared for everything I have going on in the rest of my life after each class.
Here’s info on how to sign up for Cyc in time to donate to Calories for a Cause as well! They have student discounts and many different types of packages so you can test out whether spinning is for you. What’s better than starting of the new year by helping your health and helping the health of others?