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Recycle Studio

On Sunday night I tried a new cycling class.  Christina, one of the instructors and trainers at Corpbasics (CBC), also teaches cycling classes at an indoor cycling studio in the South End on Tremont Street called Recycle.

I headed into town for a 7pm class with Ashley, Christine, and Emily (other CBC girls) so we could check out what Recycle was all about!

We also wanted to work off our Saturday night, which I still need to recap for all of you.  Sorry, Jen, I know you are waiting!!

If you are looking for a specialized spin studio in downtown Boston, Recycle is for you.  The studio offers a variety of cycle classes which you can read about here.  The specific class we took on Sunday was called “Reboot Core Ride.”  The description?

“A fan of Reboot and Rebalance?  This ride is a fusion of the two and involves 45 minutes on the bike, followed by 15 minutes on the mat. 60 minutes in the studio with a emphasis on core and arm work.  Make it hurt so good.  Get Recycled head to toe in this ride.”

Of course since I had never taken Reboot OR Rebalance before I needed to look those up too so I had a better idea of what to expect.  

The takeaway for me was ab work and weights… WHILE on the bike.  Bring it on!

The studio itself was very small, which I expected.  Upstairs there was a reception area and some open space to do mat work and some training.  The bikes were all located downstairs in a tiny space.  There were only 16 bikes, but something about that was kind of awesome.  It gave off a “this must be an awesome class if you have to reserve your bike so far in advance” vibe.  It was just 16 people on a Sunday night coming together to sweat out their weekends and mentally prepare for the week ahead.

I was kind of hesitant about a Sunday night class but, really when you think about it, what better way is there to close out the weekend?

It didn’t matter that we were in a basement studio.  We were just there.  We were on our bikes.  With our intentions set.

We worked hard, we sweat, and we took control of our bikes. 

We felt the energy and we pushed our bodies.  

It was a great class!  Christina “talked” to us during the entire class, giving words of encouragement the whole time.  “You are warriors!” was by far my favorite.  The routines were all choreographed to the song, which is my favorite “style” of spin rather than going by time.  That 45 minutes flew by.  I didn’t even find myself looking for a clock.  I didn’t need to.

And the weights, oh the weights.  You guys know how much I love strength training and incorporating it into my cardio routines.  Two pound weights on the bike… shoulder pressing and bicep curling as we pedaled away?  Love.  We worked the core and triceps without weights throughout the ride too.  At the end of class we went upstairs to the mats where we finished with core work to more mellow music, and just stretched and breathed. 

A couple things to mention:
1 — The studio is pricy, but I guess that’s what you get for a specialized cycling studio.  I paid $22 just for a one time class.  The rate is lower if you buy a packaged deal, but it’s still a bit high.
2 — The studio downstairs was VERY hot.  It almost felt like heat yoga to me when I was setting up my bike.  But that had an impact on my mentality.  I could have wimped out and complained about that head, or I could set my mind to it and push through it.  I chose the latter.

After class, the girls and I decided to grab a quick bite to eat next door at Tremont 647.  I wasn’t craving anything too heavy after my sweat sesh, so I ordered the zucchini and almond salad with a side of cauliflower puree.

Some of the other girls ordered side dishes that ended up being bigger than my salad.  Lesson learned for next time.

We also got some drinks — pineapple martinis and the seasonal sangria.

Hi Christine!

Normal to rehydrate with sangria right?

We were sweaty and gross, but it was kind of nice to be out with people that really didn’t care about being all dolled up.  Gym friends for the win.

Fun little Sunday night, and thanks Christina for a great class!

Any fun new fitness discoveries lately?  Share!!

P.S.  Recycle Studio also has a blog, and it includes workout playlists.  Aka, inspiration for my David Guetta themed playlist last night in Circuit Training.  Sweet!