As I’m typing this, my arms are jelly, knees weak mom’s spaghetti from an All Levels class with CruCycle. I like to think I’m pretty fit; I run the occasional rounds around my house long kang, so I thought the CruCycle class would be a breeze.
I was wrong.
The studio, inspired by the fast and furious fitness culture of LA, opened in 2014 as the brainchild of siblings Valerie, Bebe and Calvin Ding.
Since its inception the studio has grown from strength to strength, building up a team of dedicated instructors and a loyal following of customers and athletes that want to keep fit, build strength and sweat it out with the tight-knit Cru.
“You see the same faces every week, so it’s nice to see even the riders becoming familiar with each other and making friends. It really is a community.” – Mandy Tay, CruCycle instructor
Upon arriving at CruCycle, the friendly staff guided me to the lockers where I could place my bag and shoes. He also pointed out the toilets and shower areas and showed me where I could get towels for a post-workout shower.
I was then fitted for a pair of spinning shoes that had large metal cleats on the sole for locking your feet in when spinning. Not the easiest pair of shoes to walk in, so I would recommend only putting them on right before the class.
The unforgiving glare of the studio lights made the studio seem intimidating. There were three long rows of spin bikes facing the instructor’s bike on an elevated platform, as well as a large mirror spanning the length of the studio.
I was immediately anxious about the prospect of people around me judging my cycling prowess as the instructor placed me on a bike smack in the centre of the room.
Thankfully, the class itself made me forget my self-consciousness. The 50-minute class was conducted in darkness, with only a few ambient lights adding to the thumping bass of the loud music.
The instructor, Hannah, was a diminutive, chirpy girl who shouted words of encouragement and instructions from her seat as we pedalled with the music, starting with slow, steady beats and gradually pumping it up to different speeds and positions.
Even with the large wall-length mirror in front of us, there was no judgement from my fellow spinners (cyclists? bikers? Cru?) as we were all engrossed in the music and motion.
CruCycle even offers themed ride classes so you can spin to your fave headbangers!
HAPPENING THIS SATURDAY! Come join us as we celebrate Queen Beys new album Lemonade as you sweat to Aditi 's YONCE theme ride! You best be thistayyyyy…
Posted by CruCycle on Sunday, 8 May 2016
The hardest part of the class wasn’t the speed or difficulty, but the motion of spinning. Because you’re spinning along to music, you have to follow the beat of the music in an unusual, bouncing motion.
“The motion of spinning does take a bit of getting used to because it’s quite different from normal cycling and you’re using different muscles, but after some practice, it’ll be fine.” – Hannah Lee, CruCycle instructor
Apparently, spinning gives you a good workout because it not only increases your heart rate for increased metabolic activity, but also uses more of your glutes and core muscles. Exercises with higher resistance on the bikes also build muscle.
Hannah ended the class with a few arm exercises and stretches to give the body a balanced workout. Definitely sounds good for anyone trying to avoid quaking quads and aiming for a Kardashian keister.
Meet The Cru Girls
After the class, I spoke to instructors Hannah and Mandy to find out more about their reasons for becoming instructors. I learnt that they had to wake up at 5.30am for training sessions that lasted around two months before they passed as instructors!
Mandy and Hannah at CruCycle doing what they love – spinning and looking good
“It helped that we had friends that trained with us as well. Most of the instructors joined as a team, so we trained together and that really built a sense of community.” – Hannah
Hannah does marketing for Luxasia, has a passion for indoor cycling (naturally) and a palate for grape gummies. Mandy works as a financial analyst and prefers the beautiful outdoors, hiking and trekking in the mountains in her free time.
As we started discussing the benefits of spinning, it was obvious that both Mandy and Hannah had a true love for the activity. Neither of them exercised regularly before joining CruCycle. From being sedentary to being a fitness instructor is definitely a big change!
“I actually used to hate exercise until I joined Cru. Here, you don’t feel like you’re dying when exercising because of the music and the distractions, and you manage to get a good workout in as well.” – Mandy
I asked the two lovely instructors about their personal motivations for keeping fit, and their answers were almost the same.
“Can I be honest? Vain la!” – Mandy
“Having abs and looking good man!” – Hannah
Besides being sizzling hot themselves, both of them agree that spinning gives them endorphins like no other sport did, and serves as a great form of stress relief after work.
“If you have a stressful job like I do, you tend to be on edge after work but I feel so chill after my spinning classes. The endorphins really help!” – Mandy
The camaraderie built at CruCycle is definitely one of its major attractions. As mentioned by Hannah and Mandy, spinning and sweating profusely in a dark room at a constant bpm to your favourite pop/rock/hip hop tune can strangely build great friendships. Spinning with friends can give you the boost you need to keep fit! All the more reason to roll down to CruCycle.
Check out CruCycle’s calorie-killing classes at www.crucycle.com.
68 Duxton Road
Singapore 089527
+65 6509 8880