First Day of Work, Sugar Detox Info, and Revolve Student Discounts

Hi all!

Um, so apparently it's October today? That's what my calendar says. 2013 is going way too fast!

Thank you so much for all the well wishes yesterday, both on the blog and via social media. I had a terrific first day of work. It was almost exclusively orientation-filled, but my firm also held a small reception so we could catch up more. It was great to see so many friends from last summer's program!

And I got to see my office! For the first year or so I'll be sharing with an office mate. My friend Hana is my office mate (woot!), but she won't start until October so it's all mine for now. Muahahaha!

Today I get my first assignments, so things will officially start getting busy. I'm excited! I know, I'll be eating those words soon, but for now, I'm ready to get started.

And now, I've got a few things to share!


Sugar Detox with Laura

I had the opportunity to take part in Laura's sugar detox telecourse in early September, and it was an awesome experience. Laura talked about the history of sugar, its physiological effects, and ways to cut back on sugar in our diets. I learned a lot, and feel much better equipped to make smart decisions about my sugar intake. I also participated in one of her sugar detoxes (those are free) this past summer, and it was amazing because I realized how much added sugar is in everything!

For example, on the telecourse, we learned that sugar used to be considered a very special treat and a drug. It was rare for people to have sugar every day like we do now. This reminded me of reading the Little House on the Prairie books -- remember how Laura Ingalls looked forward to Christmas because it was one of the rare times when they cooked with sugar and got candy?

I highly recommend this course and doing a sugar detox, especially if you feel like you have a toxic relationship with sugar. I learned a lot and will definitely be doing another sugar detox in the future!

If you're interested in participating in a telecourse, Laura is doing another one October 3 at 9:00 PM Eastern Time. It's $22, but she's generously offered readers a $5 discount with the code "sugar"! Let me know if you participate and what you think.


Student Discounts at Revolve

I've mentioned my love of student discounts before, although sadly I am no longer a student so can't take advantage. Oh wait, that means I'm making money and don't need to use them... but now I don't have as much time for classes, so I guess it all evens out?

Anyway, Revolve is one of the boutique spin studios in New York, and they've started offering fantastic student discounts!

1 Student Walk-in Ride:  $15

5 Student Walk-in Rides:  $70 ($14/ride)

10 Student Walk-in Rides:  $120 ($12/ride)

20 Student Walk-in Rides:  $200 ($10/ride)

Plus, they have a 5 rides for $50 deal for students, and a student flex unlimited membership plan that's $90 a month on a walk-in-only basis to any class at Revolve with available bikes.

Have you ever done a sugar detox? Did you use student discounts when you were a student? Do you get excited about your first assignment at a new job?

Class Review: Body Ride with Jason at Revolve

Last week I reviewed Dyan's Rip Ride at Revolve, the newest boutique spin studio in NYC. I enjoyed the class overall, although there were a couple of things that I didn't love (no resistance numbers and a techno-heavy playlist). 

This past Saturday, I headed downtown with Abby to try out a different class at Revolve. We were both really looking forward to checking out Jason's class, which we'd heard great things about. 

Jason Tran
(source)

Turns out the great things were all true! Jason's Body Ride class was a lot of fun and I'm hoping to take his class again. He had great energy, got off the bike to engage with the class a lot, and had the kind of playlist I love -- lots of pop and bouncy beats that I can really get into. Obviously that's personal preference, but for me, Jason's playlist was perfect. 

I also loved how he treated the class almost as if he were conducting it. He'd raise his arms as we went into a heavier resistance interval or started sprinting. I felt really engaged the whole time, which is no small feat in a large class!

The hallway where you wait for class - the locker room is down the stairs.
It can definitely get crowded, which is a minus, but I'm ok with that knowing NYC real estate is pricey.

Now, what exactly is the Body Ride? From Revolve's website:

Cardio...Strength...Flexibility...Everything you need in one complete class. This all-encompassing workout allows you to maximize the time you have to work-out in one place. Start out strong. The ride is cardio-intense and gets the heart rate up and keeps it there. Stay moving while you strengthen and tone the upper body on the bike. Polish it all off with a cool down stretch both on and off the bike. You get it all. You get the complete body!

Basically, the 45-minute class entails roughly 35 minutes of spin, 7-8 minutes of upper body weights, and 2-3 minutes of stretching. That means you really need to push it in the spin portion since it's 35 minutes instead of 45 minutes of cycling (if you go to Flywheel, they do a similar 1-2 song break in the middle or at the end consisting of weights work as well). 

I was still dripping sweat, though, so I felt like I got a good workout.

The classroom, being cleaned up post-sweaty ride

Again, there's still the no-number-for-resistance problem. When I'm told to turn the resistance up or down "a touch," I just have a hard time knowing what that means. A quarter of a turn? A half a turn? But, since I use spin to supplement my running workouts, that's fine with me. It prevents me from being competitive and gunning for a resistance level that I shouldn't try to hit when I have a long run the next day.

LOVE that Revolve encourages sustainability by having a nice water bottle fill station right outside the classroom!

I've now been to Revolve twice and definitely recommend the studio. It's great to have another option besides Soul Cycle and Flywheel! I feel like it's sort of a combination of the two. And for runners, it's definitely a great running supplement!


The Facts
Length - 45 minutes
Cost - $28 (an extra $2 for shoes - currently they have a $99 unlimited intro month special!)
Location - Union Square (52 E 13th St between Broadway and University Place). They also have a location in Washington, DC.
Skill Level - Anyone! The staff is great at helping you set up a bike.

Class Review: Rip Ride with Dyan at Revolve

On Sunday, courtesy of Melissa and Dori, I got to try out a spin class at Revolve, free of charge! The class was a lot of fun and I'm glad I was able to check out the new boutique spin studio.

Revolve has three classes: Rip Ride, Real Ride, and Body Ride. Real Ride is exclusively spinning, Body Ride incorporates upper body work and stretching, and Rip Ride is a total body strength and spinning workout. From Revolve's website:

RIP Ride (NYC only) is Revolve's hardcore training class -- a class dedicated to fitness fanatics and those looking to push themselves to the max. For 60 or 75 minutes, riders will get it all in this challenging athletic training class that alternates cycling intervals using real resistance with upper body sculpting exercises. A class dedicated to anyone looking to push themselves to a ripped level. Resistance. Interval. Performance.

I didn't 100% love the class, but I really liked it and I'm still going back to Revolve to try out more classes.

Dyan
(source)

I really liked Dyan's teaching style. She got off the bike several times to motivate the room and her general personality was upbeat without appearing to be chemically-driven (sometimes you have to wonder, honestly). She just seemed like she genuinely enjoyed being there and teaching the class. I love that kind of energy from an instructor.

The biggest complaint I had was the playlist. I just don't like techno that much, particularly not in spin class when music is the main driver of the activity. I like to be able to sing along and really get into the song because I know it.

Yes, that means I automatically like any spin class that plays mainly music I like and know. I'm basically a dog with a cone on my head who can only see my kind of music (does that metaphor work? Eh, I'm going with it).

I also didn't like that I didn't have a clear resistance level that I was aiming for, like in Flywheel. Instead, Dyan would tell us "a bit" or "a lot" to the right (to increase resistance) or the left (to decrease resistance). I really like knowing the exact numbers to shoot for, but I know that's more of a personal preference and can vary by person.

However, there is RPM on the bike, so when you're given a range of RPM to shoot for, you still have a goal. It's just the resistance that's up to you. And, since I knew I was long running the next day, in a way it was nice to have control over that and not feel like I was slacking, which I do feel if I'm not hitting the exact RPMs at Flywheel. That's not the instructor's fault there, it's just my own personal competitiveness.

I LOVED the Rip Ride concept. The 60 minutes meant that you could get a lot more upper body work into the class, and I could definitely feel my arms burning despite the bags we held only being 3 pounds. Dyan gave plenty of posture tips, so I never felt like I was in danger of harming myself. And because of the extra intervals between riding, the class sped by quickly.


I'll have a more detailed review about the studio itself after I try a different class this weekend. For now, I'll say that it's a big cramped, but that the friendly staff more than make up for that!


The Facts
Length - 60 minutes
Cost - $28 (an extra $2 for shoes - currently they have a $99 unlimited intro month special!)
Location - Union Square (52 E 13th St between Broadway and University Place). They also have a location in Washington, DC.
Skill Level - Anyone! The staff is great at helping you set up a bike.