The Athletic Club: Zenergy Cycle

So, of course after ranting about how much I don't like spinning, I went and did it again.  I was perusing the list of group fitness activities on The Athletic Club's program page, and was feeling particularly weak (more on that later), when I spotted the Zenergy Cycle class, described as a spinning class in a dark, candle-lit room, with soothing music playing so that "you don't even know you're working out".  I figured that was exactly what I needed. After all, I like my cycling like I like eating my desserts- in the dark. LOLSOFUNNYOKTHANKYOU

Anyway, I got to the class expecting to hear Enya or at least pan pipes, but what I realized was this class is exactly like any other spinning class in terms of intensity, but, as advertised, it was in the dark. One flameless candle illuminated our imaginary paths, but the music was super fast and hardcore, so honestly, I don't know what was supposed to really be "zen" about it. Oh, we also did a bit of arm work with a set of dumbells. Everyone was all "Yeah I'm a big deal, I'll go with the 5lbs" and I was like "Whatever, I'm sticking with the 2s" and then people were all "ouch ouch I can't do it" and I was like "YEEEEEEEEAAHHHHHHH!!"

Gone are the days of:

I am dumbell victorious! Well, almost. Needless to say, I had a great time! I pushed myself as much as I could, and didn't stop once (!!) and the hour went by pretty slowly, but in the end, I felt a very wonderful kind of pain in my legs. You know, the kind that's like "You done good, have a cupcake."

The Athletic Club: Cycling

For as long as I can remember, I've hated biking. I just really don't enjoy the pulling on my knee muscles, the very little reward for all that spinning (unless you're going down a mountain, but then you're just going to fly into a rock and die probably), and the fact that my mom was in a really bad biking accident when I was seven. All of those factors contribute to my general feeling of non merci.  So, of course, having that fantastic 30 day pass to the Athletic Club, I figured I might as well do something I really hate doing, just to see if maybe my mind can be changed with a great instructor.  Currently, I'd say my cycling expertise is as such:

So, given that, I picked a bike at the very back of the classroom. However, only 6 people showed up that day, so the instructor made sure to give me plenty of attention.  She was one of those really, really happy people who genuinely enjoy fitness. I briefly thought about how we could be friends, but then she mentioned that earlier that day she had turned down a donut (and not just any donut but a Suzy Q donut), so all thoughts of friendship were squashed. 
She was a really great instructor though, despite her lack of pastry-eating. Energetic and positive to the point of making me think that spinning is actually tolerable.  We climbed imaginary hills, sped through imaginary races, took twenty second breaks between songs, and pushed ourselves to varying degress of our abilities. That was one of my favorite things: "Go to your 70%" she would say, and we could decide what 70% looked like for us. For me, it looked like a sweaty 30-degrees-outside-and-I-forgot-my-water-bottle beast. But still, this beast did the full class and no slower than anyone else, might I add.  I wouldn't say there's anything special about the Athletic Club's "spin" (SOMEBODY STOP ME) on a cycling class, so if you're a regular devotee of cycling, give it a whirl. Personally, I was hoping for disco lights and glitter raining out of the vents (look I'm still in Zumba mode, minus the glitter, that's just a personal dream of mine), but it was pretty functional, instead: just a room full of stationary bikes and a medium-sized fan at the front.    All in all, did it make me like cycling? Not at all. Did I feel the burn? Yes. And sometimes, to feel the burn, you have to do things that you don't like doing. Maybe that could be my new motivation...?