Admittedly, I have no interest in giving my mind a workout in my spare time. My mind gets enough exercise at my place of work and received more than enough workouts during my years of education. That said, I had heard nothing but great things about Zengo, and it was available through Classpass...so there was no way I wasn't going to give it a try.
Though I rarely say this, the studio lived up to its glowing reputation.
The class is 50 minutes of cycling with a few minutes of light weightlifting done around 30 minutes into class. The weightlifting consists of roughly five minutes (a song's length of time) doing biceps curls, shoulder raises, etc. with two to five pound weights. Essentially, Zengo's class structure is very similar to SoulCycle and some of the other cycling studios. Zengo is by no means reinventing the wheel, but they do a great job. You start off the class cycling and usually doing some push-ups on the bike while you cycle. Throughout the class you are encouraged to "dance" on your bike...as much as one can dance while cycling on a stationary bike (basically - bounce from side to side while biking).
The music is fantastic. They play a lot of upbeat DJ remixes. If you know the DJ Girl Talk, the tracks played remind me of his mashups. If you have never heard Girl Talk, I highly recommend listening.
On Memorial Day, the mashups were patriotic. Picture a blend of Billy Joel and Bruce Springstein that make you want to start dancing and chanting USA. Since then, the music has been the more traditional exercise fare - a cocktail of rock, hip-hop and pop blends. The music is always loud enough to get you pumped, but never deafening.
The instructor I had on Memorial Day, who I have had a few times now, remains my absolute favorite. I am pretty sure her name is Kelsey. I suspected she would be great when I walked in on Memorial Day and in addition to the America-themed soundtrack, she was dressed like she was about to star in a 1980s patriotic music video. She had an incredible amount of energy - an adrenaline rush to rival Jesse Spano on caffeine pills. Ironically, she looks just like a girl I went to high school with who always seemed stoned.
Now that I've taken a few classes, I realize that there must be a high energy requirement in the secret Zengo training manual. Periodically, the instructor (every one that I have had so far) gets off of the instructor bike up front to dance and hop back and forth across the room to get you pumped up. To my surprise, this is an effective tactic. It is a skill to hop up and down in someone's face and not annoy them. Kudos to the Zengo instructors who have mastered that art.
Now, as far as I can tell, the "Zen" portion is one song in the middle of class where the lights go off and you are instructed to close your eyes, focus on the intention you have set for the class, cycle your little heart out, and find your Zen. The first time I was instructed to Zen (?) I believe it was to Katy Perry's Firework...because Katy Perry is synonymous with Zen? I would have assumed Enya would be the Zen soundtrack of choice.
Although I am not one to set an intention, I do think about what one of the instructors recently said. She instructed the class to be thankful to for having the physical capability, the spare time, and the financial means to be in the class, which is something that I think we all take for granted. When we go somewhere to workout, it means we have the time, the money and the physical capability, which is pretty special. I think that everyone should be particularly grateful for any way they are able to exercise and don't have permanent injuries or other ailments that restrict their workout, or totally preclude them from working out.
The studio is very relaxing. Unlike SoulCycle, there aren't a ton of flashing lights - just a large, dark room with the instructor's bike lit under overhead lighting. During Zen, the lights go off, and you just see some small blue lights on the floor. Soothing. See the lovely Google image of the studio to the left. The atmosphere is very nice. The people are pleasant and the studios adds nice touches like offering you a pad for your seat in case you are prone to getting sore while riding.
I enjoy Zengo. It is one of those studios that I have come across using Classpass that makes me wish there wasn't a three class per month restriction on the pass. The instructors are great. I will say that Classpass puts you automatically on bikes, and in Zengo, those bikes happen to be on the side of the instructor's bike, so you can tell when the instructor is fake turning the resistance knob on their bike. As far as I can tell, my favorite instructor never fakes it - as mentioned, she is a rock star.
Added bonus - I go to Zengo Cycle in Mosaic, which is a cute little town center in northern Virginia. Across from the studio is a bakery, Pastry Xspo, that serves probably my favorite cupcakes in northern Virgnia (not to be confused with Baked & Wired, which serves my favorite cupcakes in DC). I am not sure if fitness studios and bakeries are in cahoots, or if I subconsciously select workout studios located next to bakeries. Either way, I consider the bakery an added bonus. My post-Zengo spin usually ends with a cupcake (try the strawberry with white chocolate frosting).
Now, as far as I can tell, the "Zen" portion is one song in the middle of class where the lights go off and you are instructed to close your eyes, focus on the intention you have set for the class, cycle your little heart out, and find your Zen. The first time I was instructed to Zen (?) I believe it was to Katy Perry's Firework...because Katy Perry is synonymous with Zen? I would have assumed Enya would be the Zen soundtrack of choice.Although I am not one to set an intention, I do think about what one of the instructors recently said. She instructed the class to be thankful to for having the physical capability, the spare time, and the financial means to be in the class, which is something that I think we all take for granted. When we go somewhere to workout, it means we have the time, the money and the physical capability, which is pretty special. I think that everyone should be particularly grateful for any way they are able to exercise and don't have permanent injuries or other ailments that restrict their workout, or totally preclude them from working out.
The studio is very relaxing. Unlike SoulCycle, there aren't a ton of flashing lights - just a large, dark room with the instructor's bike lit under overhead lighting. During Zen, the lights go off, and you just see some small blue lights on the floor. Soothing. See the lovely Google image of the studio to the left. The atmosphere is very nice. The people are pleasant and the studios adds nice touches like offering you a pad for your seat in case you are prone to getting sore while riding.
I enjoy Zengo. It is one of those studios that I have come across using Classpass that makes me wish there wasn't a three class per month restriction on the pass. The instructors are great. I will say that Classpass puts you automatically on bikes, and in Zengo, those bikes happen to be on the side of the instructor's bike, so you can tell when the instructor is fake turning the resistance knob on their bike. As far as I can tell, my favorite instructor never fakes it - as mentioned, she is a rock star.
The first class at Zengo is free, so there's no excuse not to try it out!
