Over the holiday weekend, the wife and I went and checked
out Studio 14 Cycling and Yoga studio.
We decided to try it out for a few reasons:
1)
We went to high school with the owner of the
studio and wanted to show him some support since he has recently opened the
studio
2)
We needed to figure out a time/place where we
could both work out in a certain window with Riley sleeping and us having plans
for the entire weekend and doing this together seemed to fit in perfectly
3)
We wanted to include other family members
So on Black Friday morning, the wife, the wife’s brother, my
sister, and I headed to the studio for a spin class. After a heated car ride due to everyone
trying to play navigator and getting us there, we finally arrived. The wife is used to taking spin classes at
high end studios like Soul Cycle and has bought into the craze that
follows. Her brother has also taken
classes with her so he enjoys those types of spin classes as well. I know my sister takes spin classes but I don’t
know where she goes. As for me, I
typically don’t enjoy taking a spin class, especially one that my wife is in
the same class. She would agree with me
completely. The few times we have gone together,
she ends up hating the class because she sits next to me and watches me the
whole time. I end up looking at her and
I try to push her and she yells at me to stop.
We just like to do our own thing.
So I knew this would be an adventure, especially since we added more of
our family members.
I don’t enjoy going to a spin class partly because I believe
you are paying only for motivation. I
believe I can get a better workout in by pushing myself and doing my own
workout than during a class that has so many different type of people with
different fitness levels. I can push
myself harder than any instructor can, so I don’t think going to a class is
worth it for me. However, there are
plenty of other people who need that someone blasting their music, yelling out
motivational quotes and pushing people.
So I completely get it and wont say anything bad about spin
classes. They just aren’t for me.
 |
| Part of the Studio, but it's spaced out so everyone isn't on top of each other |
Once we got all settled, set our bikes up and hopped on, the
class began. Our instructor walked in
and she was ummmm, well, very eye catching.
I wont go into detail since I don’t want to sound sexist and disgusting,
but I know a lot of the men in the class enjoy the our bikes were facing hers
and she was facing us. So while she was
working hard, we were enjoying the view.
One of the things I loved about this studio is there were
screens on either side of the room that showed each bike number, the power that
each rider was producing and the energy output.
Basically it was one big competition to see who was working the hardest.
Right there, I knew this class would be better than most. Part of the reason I don’t enjoy most spin
classes is it just seems like one big party.
Not here. Not with screens up
there showing who’s doing what. Of
course, I had to push myself to be on the top of the leaderboard. Not many studios have bikes that have power
meters on them. This added a huge benefit for me. I guess I
should have expected this because the owner is a triathlete, 2X Ironman
finisher and knows what his clients want.
All good things when putting together a spin studio.
As the class went on, I kept staring at the leaderboard to
see where I stacked up. Honestly, there wasn’t really a competition to see who
had the highest wattage, calories burned, rpm’s when it called for a
sprint. So to keep myself really
engaged, I kept trying to push myself to see how much more my numbers could get
compared to the second highest person.
So when we were told to increase our gears to level 12-15, I was working
within the range of 18-20. I was trying to put out more wattage than everyone in the class.  |
| I just had to be on the top, didn't I? |
I didn’t see it in this class, but there is another screen
on the front wall. It looked like a big
projector screen and from what I gather, the studio could project a course on
that screen. So for particular classes, riders can simulate going up and down
hills, working on flats, sprints, etc.
This would have been really cool, but having this gives a different feel
for a spin studio that most don’t have.
It would kind of like being in a CompuTrainer class.
During the class, I kept looking over to the wife and my
brother in law. The wife probably didn’t
love the class since she is so used to a place like SoulCycle, but my BiL was
working hard. I was really impressed
with how hard he was pushing himself. I didn’t
expect it, but he was working. It's great to see how far along he has come in about a year. The only complaint I really had about the class was how vocal the instructor was. Normally, a spin instructor pushes the class, plays really good music and that's it. I didn't need to hear about how much turkey and pie and whatever else our instructor was trying to burn off today. It wasn't a big deal since I can block that out, but I can see how it might have bothered some people in the class. The class winded down and afterwards we gathered our stuff and I ran into my friend. I haven't seen him in a few years so it was nice to catch up.
Studio 14 was a really good class and I highly recommend it. It also has Yoga classes, so it caters to a whole different clientele that other studios don't. It is a really smart idea. I am not a yoga person, but I know my brother in law is so he is definitely planning on taking a few classes there. Having an owner who knows how to differentiate himself from his competition is a good thing. He's looking for people like me who want to compete against others in the class by having the screens up there, but he also knows that not everyone likes this so you can choose to not have your info for public view.
All in all, if you're in the Port Chester NY area and have a choice to take either a Spin Class or Yoga class at Studio 14. In my opinion, its a better option than what's out there.
Check out their website:
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