Solidcore - How I learned Sheila might be a masochist (July 31, 2015)

Sheila is incredibly sweet.  When I started blogging about my workouts and said that my goal was to try a new workout every week, she took the time to tell me about a listserv called Active Life DC.  I signed up and I now receive emails almost daily about workouts, many of which are free, available around the city.  Super thoughtful suggestion from Sheila, right?

She recently sent a few gals, including myself, a group email about Solidcore.  She was very excited because a Solidcore studio opened up right next to her condo.  I was very excited because I had no clue what she was talking about.


I arrived at the Solidcore studio still knowing nothing about the workout (my preference).  When I walked in, the machines on the floor looked like heavy-duty Pilates carriages.  In my head I thought, "cool, fancy Pilates."  Per usual, I was wrong.  Solidcore is so much harder than Pilates. Actually, Solidcore is the hardest workout I have ever tried.  I sweat more doing Solidcore than any other workout.  That includes running distance races.

It is difficult to articulate the exercises done on the apparatus, but it allows you to work all of your body parts.  There is a carriage in the middle of the machine that moves back and forth, and there is a stationary platform on either side of the carriage.  There are different pullies on the machine to perform exercises like overhead presses.  Or, you can perform triceps dips on the handles on the end of the stationary platform.  You can do lunges while standing on the machine, off the machine, or to the side of the machine.  It is difficult to adequately describe all that you can do with the machine, so I encourage you to watch the brief video on the Solidcore website: http://solidcore.co/

Now for the synopses.  The 50-minute class goes by incredibly fast.  As soon as you walk in and get on the machine you are working hard.  I have now been to a few classes, and they all seem to start with abs...and finish with abs. The class also goes quickly due to the  fast-paced music and the instructor counting down each exercise.  "In ten seconds...eight seconds...you'll switch to lunges...five seconds walk to the the back platform...only three more seconds..." you get the drift.  The countdown is necessary and not annoying at all.  I know that I am a sarcastic creature, but I am being one-hundred percent sincere.  Some of the moves are so challenging that if I didn't know that I only had to make it through eight more seconds, I would probably just give up and collapse on my machine.  After working out hard for roughly 45 minutes, you don't want to start doing planks to pikes as fast as possible on the torture apparatus, but you manage to get through the reps because you know there are only ten seconds left...five more seconds...three more seconds.

Encouraging things are written on the floor under the workout machine (see below picture).  I believe these sayings are to keep you going when you are crumbling from the successive mutant planks. For example, I saw one that said, "You're inspiring your neighbor."  I don't know if I am inspired by my neighbors in that class, but I have definitely been impressed by the strength of the other people in the class.    I am extremely confident that I have yet to inspire.  I was probably uninspiring the day that I forgot a shirt, purchased one at the studio, and then went home to realize that I was wearing it backwards the entire time.  For context, it wasn't a loose tank top.  It was a halter sports bra shirt.  I must have looked absurd.  Other sayings include, "Smile, you're getting stronger."   I smiled when I saw that one, but mostly because I was laughing from pain delirium.   I think the pain is pretty visible on my face because the other day I took a class and the instructor (standing directly in front of me) said, "just because it hurts doesn't mean you're doing it wrong or injuring yourself."  Okay, I guess I will take her word for it?  I think it hurts me because the class requires me to use a lot of muscles that I never usually use...or even knew existed.  Seriously, I think I worked a muscle that wraps around my ribs.  I didn't know there were muscles there prior to taking a Solidcore class.

All that said, the class is fantastic.  I swear that I notice a difference in my abs after one session. I now go in for tune-ups periodically (like post-fudge season, otherwise known as Christmas).  Admittedly, the classes are expensive.  There is no way around that fact, even when you buy a package.  Given that I already participate in Classpass, and I can't commit to any studio, I would never purchase a package, but I like going every now and then.  I think if you were trying to tone up for a wedding or a tropical vacation, it is hands down the best workout package you could purchase for fast results.

Thank you, Sheila.  I enjoy going to Solidcore every now and then.  Also, I'm completely convinced there is a masochist hiding behind your kind smile because Solidcore definitely hurts.  You are a bad ass for being a Solidcore regular.

Zum-Barre - Excuse me, ma'am. Did you get hit with a pipe? (July 23, 2015)

Continuing my Classpass extravaganza, I signed up for Zum-Barre.  The class was going to be a delightful combination of Zumba and Barre...or so I assume...I lasted 30 seconds.  Given the following description, I won't bother to mention where I attempted to take the class.

Things started off abnormal enough.  I drove to the studio, which was a new studio for me. It was in a building where you would find a dentist office or a podiatrist.  Small brick buildings in an office park.  That was fine.  I have seen workout studios in those settings.  Not sexy or exciting, but a space is a space, and I understand that rent is expensive.

I walked into the studio and another class was finishing up, so I hung out in the "lounge."  Lounge, lobby?  Waiting area?  Whatever.  It was a gem.  A lot of gyms sell gym clothes, and this one sold those, but it also sold hand made purses.  See one of the fine pursues to your left. And hand made jewelry.  There was also a mini-fridge in the lounge, but no indication there was anything inside the fridge for purchase.  It seemed to be used as random shelving, much like the empty cardboard box next to the fridge.

The class started, and I walked into the actual studio, which was surprisingly nice.  Again, see picture.

I start listening to two 17 years old ramble about smelling their workout mats while I put my stuff in a little storage cubby in the back of the room.  I lined up in front of the mirror to wait for class to start.  Unfortunately, then I looked at myself.  I had a massive welt on the side of my head.  Like golf ball large, and it was turning purple.  Alarmed, I grabbed my stuff and ran out of the studio and back into the weird lounge.  I walked up the to the girl who checked me into the class and asked "was this on my head when I walked in?"

The girl, who was an extremely disinterested late-teen or early 20-something stared at me looking rather dead behind the eyes for a second and goes, "ummmm, I dunno."  Frantically, I followed up with "what do you think it is?"  Again, "ummm, I dunno."

At that point, I decided that I needed to go to Urgent Care to investigate the situation because I feared an allergic reaction.  I told the front-desk girl that I would be leaving and told her to let the instructor know that it was nothing personal.

I hustled off to the closest Urgent Care clinic.  For a frame of reference, it was around 7 pm.  I scurried up to the Urgent Care...Closed.  Seriously, you closed two hours later than a doctor's office.  I need Urgent Care.  At that point, the bump was continuing to grow.  You can see the picture below.  That picture was my bump at about the time I left the class.  Gross, right.  Also, sorry for my friends who received text messages with the picture of this when I could not receive medical attention at the Urgent Care.  Sometimes, the best medical advice is randomly surveying your friends.

Okay, I needed to regroup.  A few doors down I notice a CVS with a Minute Clinic advertised.  Perfect!  Now, I obviously could have gone to an ER, but although I found the lump alarming, I did not find it ER worthy (and that was the consensus from the text message panel).  Anyhow, I scurried into CVS to ask whatever nurse was manning the minute clinic wtf was on my head.

Well, you know what also closes at 7 pm...the minute clinic in that CVS.  Seriously, what is going on?  What is the point of all of these after hours clinics if they close before dinner is over?

At that point, I was very frustrated and nervous because said lump was growing and very warm.  Desperate, I walked over to the pharmacist.

"Excuse me, but I believe I was bit by a bug," I politely say to the pharmacist.  "Do you have any recommendations?"

The pharmacist looks up at me and says, "did you fall down?"

A little thrown, I explain that I was in an exercise class and prior to the start of the class I noticed this in the mirror.  I reiterate that I believe that I was bitten by some type of bug.

"Did you get hit with a pipe?"  asks the pharmacist.

I just looked at her stunned at that point.  Admittedly, I did look like I was hit with a pipe, but I clearly stated what I had just been doing. More importantly, if I had been struck with a pipe, I probably would have gone to the emergency room, not be questioning my local pharmacist.  Also, where would I be getting in a fight that involved pipe beatings?  Am I in a Zumba gang?  Is there a lululemon fight club?  No, Miss Pharmacist, I was in a Zumba class...potentially with a bug.

She looked at me skeptically and then told me the aisle where I could find the Benadryl and recommended I put ice on my head.  She also said I should really go see someone if it got bigger...or if I fell down and forgot.  What? Just, what?

Luckily, I took a benadryl and held a bottle of water against my head and the lump began to go down.  Defeated, I got some frozen yogurt at the store next to the CVS and drove home.

I have not returned to Zum-Barre.  I do not know what caused my head injury, but I am too afraid to risk encountering whatever it was again, even if I want to see what kind of other goods they sell when they run out of purses.

Metabolic Resistance Training - Earl is a helper (July 18, 2015)

Continuing my Classpass experimentation, I signed up for Metobolic Resistence Training ("MRT") at a studio called Definitions.  Again, a workout studio conveniently located next to the previously mentioned awesome cupcake place, Baked & Wired.  

On a side note, I love all the different names for workouts.  You can take something as complex sounding as "Metabolic Resistance Training" and follow it up the next day with a class called "Pound." Anyhow, MRT is described as fun, personalized interval training.  I love interval training, and this workout wound up making the list of my top five favorite workouts; however, I must admit that I was incredibly skeptical when I started on my MRT adventure.

I walked up to the building where the MRT class was supposedly located.  It looked like an apartment building, or perhaps an office building.  I did not see any signs for the class.  As I approached the building, an older gentleman (maybe in his 50s) was standing outside the building milling around.  We made eye contact.

"Are you Kelly?" he asked.

Well, I was a little taken aback, but responded "Yes."

"So you're here for the class.  My name is Earl. Follow me."  I trotted into the building behind Earl.  It felt like half spy adventure and half blind date - so basically, awesome (on a later visit to the area, I did notice the small sign to the right).

Earl led me through the lobby of the building into a gym.  We entered the gym, which had some free weights and machines.  We hustled all the way to the back of the gym where there was an additional, walled-off workout room.  That small workout area is where MRT takes place.  The room, though small, houses all sorts of toys.  Water resistance row machines.  TRX ropes. Free weights.   I was pleasantly surprised at what they had to offer in such a small amount of space.  The other added bonus was that because the room was small, so was the class.

Like most interval training, the class is set up with a few different exercise stations.  Two people were paired up at each exercise station, and each station had two exercises. There were eight of us, and I was paired up with Earl.  Earl and I began the class on the rowing machines. We were supposed to row at a high intensity for 45 seconds, then we would break for 15 seconds, followed by do 45 seconds of kettle bell swings, and the return to the rowing machine to repeat the sequence.  We would do this three three times.  After three sets of each exercise in a station were completed, we received a one minute break while we moved to the next exercise station.

"Kelly, try to row faster." Earl starts giving me a lot of feedback and encouragement right off the bat on the rowing machine and the kettle bell swings.  Earl's encouragement was sweet, but very confusing.  Sir, we just met.  Also, do I not look like I'm trying to row my heart out? We move on to the next station.  It began with chest presses.  The instructor switched out my weights for a heavier set, which I really appreciated. I, like a lot of women, am timid when it comes to free weights. She was a better read on what I could lift than I was.  I really liked being pushed.

"You got this, Kelly!"
"Thanks, Earl."

We got to the next exercise station, which began with throwing medicine balls against the wall.  "Twist, Kelly.  Twist!"  Seriously, Earl.  At that point I did not know what was going on. In my head all I could think was what kind of partner are you, Earl? We have never met. There is no way I can provide you with such reciprocal encouragement while I'm trying to do what is turning out to be a very intense workout.

We take a water break.  One of the other participants in the class turns to Earl.  "What time are you teaching today?"  Light bulb. Earl isn't just some absurdly encouraging classmate...he the other instructor for the Definitions studio.  I was basically getting the benefit of personal training.  Everything suddenly made so much more sense.  We returned to the room to do side shuffles.  "Faster, Kelly!"  Sigh, I knew at that point my workout was going to continue to receive a lot of attention, which was going to be both awesome and exhausting.

The workout was great. I loved the set-up of stations and doing exercises for 45 seconds and maxing out reps.  There were lots of toys in the small space.  Limiting the number of people who could participate in the class also allowed for a lot of attention, which I believe would have been the case even if I hadn't had my own personal Earl.

I would recommend doing this workout.  I thought it was effective, and both Earl and the instructor leading the class were very nice.  Try not to be off put by the weird entrance, and if you end up in a class with Earl, try not to be annoyed.  He is the instructor.  You are receiving a huge benefit, not a bizarrely supportive, randomly assigned partner.  I have not had the chance to return to the class, but I definitely hope to make it back at some point. Maybe, I can actually take Earl's class.

Flywheel - British guy and space pants, sign me up (July 5, 2015)

Between the hippie hangouts and my cameo as a lumberjack, I had failed to try out any new traditional workouts in two weeks. Needing to rectify this, I returned to the Classpass smorgasbord and signed up for Flywheel.
In addition to a great workout, which I will address momentarily, the cycling studio itself is located in a cool building in Dupont Circle.  It looks like it used to be an old movie theater. There is a small marquee in the front, and the cycling room itself is stadium-style seating.

Also, there is apparently a massive picture of a woman on a stationary bike that takes up the entire left side of the building.  I didn't realize this until I did a Google images search.  I still didn't believe I could have missed that huge image, but sure enough, there she was last Saturday when I took the time to look on my way into class. Call me Ms. Observant.

Flywheel is different from Zengo and the Soulcycle because there is no "dancing," but there is still the standard cycling with a five(ish) minute portion of light weight lifting.  What makes the class stand out is a small computer screen attached to the side each bike that is measures the rider's torque (resistance) and RPMs (speed).  These measurements combine to provide the cyclist a total power measurement.  This is helpful, at least for me, because it is much easier for me to understand that I am supposed to be biking at 90 RPMs.  I'm much fuzzier when it comes to the typical class instruction of  make "another quarter turn on the knob," or the subjective instruction to "sprint." The Flywheel classes are either 45 or 60 minutes.  My first Flywheel class was a 60 minute class on Saturday with Alex R.

In addition to a swoon-worthy accent, Alex provides an excellent workout.  He is encouraging without being in your face.  Some instructors are very loud and think that constantly yelling cliche phrases is the way to go, and that might get some people excited, but I like Alex's normal volume and consistent, but not constant, encouragement.

Speaking of loud, I'm writing this in a Panera and there is a girl across the restaurant talking so loudly that I can actually give you a verbatim snippet of her current bellows: "So, like, anytime? I think I'm going to sign up for a workshop. Like, anytime in March. Like, a whole weekend." She also is currently feeling a lot of things...things I should not know as a stranger on the other side of a restaurant.  I digress, back to delightful Alex and the Flywheel workout. 

The coolest thing about Flywheel is the that you can track your individual statistics.  When you register for your class you create an account, and when you check into your class the computer on your bike is monitored for the duration of the class.  Those RPM, torque and power totals are all recorded.  Following class, you can sign in online and you are provided with the results of your workout, which includes your average RPM, max RPM, total distance and total calorie burn, as well as some other statistics.   Even though my stats never really change, I find it really fun to check them out after class.

An added bonus for competitive folks are the two television screens at the front of the cycling studio showing the cyclists' power rankings. When you sign up for your class, you can opt to have your score on the board in front of the room.  If you do so, your power score will be put up on the screen...provided you are within the top ten highest scores for your gender.

 I'm not particularly competitive, as least as it relates to cycling, so I will probably refrain from ever using that option, but it is a great incentive for those who are more competitive. And regardless of whether you sign up to go on the board or not, I find that I try hard to keep up with those on the board, which improves my overall workout.  The competitive aspect has also allowed me to convince my boyfriend to go with me once in a while.  Though he also doesn't opt to go on the board, he gets satisfaction from the stats and the scoring system

Also, I think the class is space themed? Or, they just went through a period of time where they sold a lot of space pants.  I can't quite tell, but I did buy awesome space workout pants there.  See the picture of the space pants below...and my huge feet. You're welcome.

After leaving the class, I texted a few of my friends with Classpass to suggest Flywheel and specifically Alex R.'s class.  Apparently, I was way behind the ball.  The universal response I received was basically, "duh, of course we already go to the British dreamboat who offers a great workout."  Well, my apologies.  I have now also gone to Coco at Flywheel, who was also wonderful, but I tend to stick to Alex.  

Try out the class. Your shoe rental is included in the price of your class.  Though shoe rentals only cost a few dollars at other studios, it is still nice to not have to worry about paying when you arrive.  If you provide your shoe size when you sign up for the class, Flywheel will have your shoes waiting in a little cubby under your bike number (it is quite adorable).

Recently, I heard a two girls in a Zengo class discussing how they weren't fans of Flywheel because they found the class intimidating.  You may feel that way, but you should at least give it a shot.  For what it is worth, I do not find it intimidating.  I find the ability to track my numbers fun and interesting, and I do not feel like anyone in the room is trying to intimidate me through their performance.

Oh, and if you go, wear space pants (if you own them).  If space isn't actually their theme, I would like to push for it.  Seriously, the pants are too great.

Felling Trees - That time I became a lumberjack (June 26, 2015)

I love the DC metro area.  There are great restaurants, lots of cool museums, and of course, a ton of different gyms.  That said, the DC metro area suffers from the same cons as many big cities - horrendous traffic, constant noise, and no shortage of individuals with an almost alarming level of self importance.  An escape from this atmosphere is sometimes necessary.  It was in the spirit of escape that my friend decided to purchase land down in the Shenandoah Valley, which is roughly two hours outside of the city.  I attended James Madison University, which is in the Shenandoah Valley, so I am a total sucker for that region and the gorgeous mountain views (the second picture in this post is the view from one of my favorite spots on campus).

My friend went on www.landwatchusa.com to find his patch of 25 acres in the mountains.  His intention was to clear a little portion, perhaps a quarter acre.  He plans to camp and eventually build a cabin to enjoy the quiet of the wilderness during those times when the noise and the douchebagery (yes, I've decided that is a word) of the city get to be a little too much.  After he purchased his land, he began soliciting help from his friends to clear some of the trees to make space for his camp site.  Though the thought of camping terrifies me, I do love the outdoors (before nightfall because that is obviously when the bears and the ax murderers would come for my tent), so I volunteered to help with clearing the brush and some of the trees.

Though I had no flannel to don, I did have super cute boots and came equipped with cheese, crackers, wine and a picnic blanket.  Those seemed like lumberjack staples.  That turned out to be as dumb as it sounds.  There was no clear, flat land for a picnic.  Also, wine should be limited when using a hatchet or ax.  Finally, woodland creatures also like cheese and crackers. I am not sure exactly what I pictured happening, but upon arrival I realized whatever was in my head was entirely off (not an uncommon occurrence in my everyday life).  That said, I did house the cheese because cheese is appropriate for every occasion...and, I got scared that bears would smell the cheese.

Now, we did not go down and just start chopping down trees willy nilly.  On the contrary, the purpose of this land is for it to forever be preserved and be nothing like the DC metro area where we live.  We just needed to take down a few trees and eliminate some brush.

To my surprise, clearing land is extremely fun and it is a great workout!  Right off the bat, there was no road to get to the portion of the property where we were clearing.  We had to hike up an old ATV trail while carrying tools.  Everyone had a tool.  I had bolt cutters for the saplings.  Fun fact, bolt cutters are heavy.  To cut the saplings, I held out the big bolt cutters (hello, shoulders) while squatting (glutes) under brush to cut at the bottom of the sapling.  Once I cut the sapling (biceps), I had to drag the sapling to our pile of brush and trees (Every. Muscle).

Eventually, I felt very bold, and I took a turn with the hatchet.  Huge arm and oblique workout.  There was also another brief cardio workout when I ran away from a spider.

There were no electric saws involved in the entire endeavor, which was probably for the best since we were all first-timers in the tree clearing business.  In spite of our basic tools, we got pretty far in the excavation process.  That picture to the left is the land with the sun peaking through the trees.  Very beautiful.

There was another added bonus to the clearing.  In case you haven't read any previous posts, I work in an office.  I am a desk jockey.  Some days, I would love to reenact the scene from Office Space where they destroy office equipment (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjsSr3z5nVk).  Unfortunately, my office printer is twice my size and probably three times my weight, and there aren't readily available isolated fields in the DC metro area.

Tree felling allowed me to get out the aggression everyone has towards their office equipment in the seconds before calling the IT guy for the 3rd time in a week (just me?).

The other thing that was pretty cool was that we were creating something, but there were no real boundaries except to stick to a certain area of the woods.  There was also no judgement regarding my process or product (even if I looked like an idiot and failed to take down some trees).  As adults, you rarely get the opportunity to participate in an activity with no boundaries and complete freedom of methodology.

The next day, I was incredibly sore.  It was the second weekend in a row that provided me with an unexpected workout.

Unfortunately, unless you have a friend who has purchased land and needs free manual labor, I cannot recommend this workout.  People frown upon the random destruction of trees, and I like my parks pleasantly shaded.  Maybe go take your office printer into a field?

Firefly Music Festival - Just hear me out (June 20, 2015)

The news is constantly highlighting the obesity epidemic in the United States, which is incredibly unfortunate.  However, I have noticed that there aren't a lot of overweight hippies or hipsters.  Given that I would assume the former always has the munchies and the latter is always trying restaurants in Brooklyn, I was confused by my observation.  However, post-Firefly, I have a theory - music festivals provide a huge calorie burn.  At first glance, a music festival does not seem like it would provide an intense workout, but it does. Standing. Walking. Dancing. This weird game that involved running circles around a pile of different hats until the music paused (obviously, a hipster contribution).  You burn a ton of calories at music festivals!

I am neither a hippie nor a hipster.  I look terrible in tie dye and my glasses are prescription, not ironic.  That said, I do love great live music, which I believe is a love I share with most living, breathing humans.  I love the shared experience of music.  People from all different walks of life singing the same song  in unison. For example, when Paul McCartney performed "Hey Jude," at Firefly this year, tens of thousands of people of all ages and all walks of life were singing and holding up lighters together.  That kind of shared experience doesn't happen on a daily basis.  Someone also pointed out to me that no live music performance is exactly the same, so you and a group of people are experiencing a one-time event together, much like seeing a cloud (okay... perhaps I have a little hippie in me).

Sara Cuesta, whose awesomeness I have mentioned in a few of my posts (she is the lovely blond right next to me in the first picture), is an incredibly energetic music junkie.  She knows everything about music, so she was leading the charge for Firefly.   We drove to Delaware Thursday night. I should mention that Sara and I went to neighboring high schools in Delaware long before there was anything remotely cool to do within a 20 mile radius.  Like most Delawareans, we believe it is our duty to attend Firefly since it is finally something awesome to do in our hometown.  Sara mapped out all the bands that we should see.  Firefly is held on a huge compound, 154 acres, and many of the acts overlapped or were timed back to back, so we would have to hustle quite a distance from show to show.

Now, according to the internet, standing for 8 hours burns roughly 600 calories (see this nifty link https://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc).  This doesn't include all of the dancing, jamming and scurrying from band to band that you will do.  This explains how the above-mentioned hippies and hipsters can stuff their faces and still fit into their skinny jeans and look flawless in their half shirts.

The Friday shows were fantastic, but I definitely was the biggest fan of the Paul McCartney show, which came as a total shock to myself.  He is not my generation, but there was something incredibly cool about his performance and how it captivated everyone.  On Saturday evening, a huge storm rolled in requiring evacuation!  You can see the ominous colored sky in the background of the picture of myself, Erin and Sara.  Again, more calories being burned walking/running to shelter.

Luckily, like a truly mature 31-year-old woman, I called my mom and she picked me up from the concert venue and rescued me from the storm. #adulthood.

I couldn't stick around for Sunday's events, which  bummed me out, but I had to get home to prepare for work the following week.  Sara and Erin stayed to continue the "workout."  Erin reported that walking in the mud the following day was probably also a very good butt workout.

My necessary return to work brings me to the next mystery that I would like to solve.  How do people constantly go to music festivals?  I ask this because I assume that I have solved the mystery of slender hippies and hipsters.  Feel free to call me Nancy Drew moving forward.


 Most of the people you chat with at Firefly are also attending Bonaroo, Lollapalooza, etc. They just follow the music festival circuit.  I want to ask them what they do for a living?  You look like you are (barely) old enough to work.  Do you just have the coolest job in the world that lets you follow the music festival circuit?  You must get paid an awful lot for taking time off because three-day passes, plus your travel expenses, probably cost as much as a car insurance payment. Additionally, you had to purchase festie gear, and unless you robbed an Anthropoligie at the beginning of the summer that has also set you back.  I suppose I may never solve the second mystery, but it gives me food for thought.

Please, go to a music festival at least once.  Eat terrible food (like cookie ice-cream sandwiches).  Dance, stand and run around.  Enjoy the fabulous shared experience and the calorie burn!

Zengo Cycle - More "Go" than "Zen" but awesome regardless (June 9, 2015)

Zengo is described online as "a full-body, cycle-centric workout for your body and mind that will Rock Your Day."  http://www.zengocycle.com/about

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.

I first attended Zengo on Memorial Day, but I quickly became a repeat customer because I got a great workout!

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).

The first class at Zengo is free, so there's no excuse not to try it out!