Stephanie Nieman’s Revolve Body Ride

After a week of fighting a cold and feeling lethargic, I was ready to try a new tactic yesterday. It was finally Friday and that meant it was time to welcome the weekend! I spent the day at the office finishing lots of work and taking extra doses of Vitamin C and warm liquids in hopes that it would soothe my throat.

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Once 6pm arrived, instead of heading home and crawling in bed, which I’ve done every other night this week, I decided to try sweating out all the germs.

I was feeling better but definitely not 100% and therefore couldn’t imagine hanging my head upside down at yoga or going for a run in my beloved Central Park. But, I could see myself jamming out on a spin bike. I knew I wanted something that would boost my mood and get my body moving. I hoped to find a class at Equinox but unfortunately either the classes were at the wrong time or they were all booked. Fail!  This is just one of the reasons I’m finally parting ways with Equinox after almost four years as a member. Twenty three hours in advance all their Saturday spin classes were already booked solid! Really? I’m not sure what has happened lately but it’s getting harder and harder to find a spot in their classes. That’s not something I’m okay with when I’m trying to have an active weekend!

Luckily, I’ve been chatting with Stephanie Neiman on Twitter for the past few weeks and had a special code to try out her spin class at Revolve for free! (The code is SN2013 for your reference!)

I snagged the last bike available and headed down to Union Square ready to give Revolve another chance. As you read in my previous posts, I wasn’t in love with the studio. The front desk staff hasn’t been the friendliest, the rides are a bit shorter than I’m used to, and the studio itself is still growing and finding it’s niche.

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What a difference an instructor can make! As luck would have it, due to availability and class schedule, I took the Body Ride for the 3rd time (initial Revolve review) and expected to feel the same way about it as I did the first two times. Rushed, too short for a real workout, and an arm’s section that doesn’t necessarily challenge me. Oh Stephanie was going to have none of that at all! The Friday night happy hour dance party started at 6:30 on the dot and by 6:40 the entire class was dripping sweat! The ride itself was filled with hills which kept us pushing the resistance and then, when we’d hit the top of a hill instead of getting a break Stephanie would have us push the speed for 25-30 seconds hitting RPMs of 100-105! Her music selection last night was mostly 90s jams, perfectly on tempo with the workout, that had us all bobbing are heads and shaking to the music.

Stephanie’s class had us riding for 39 minutes before squeezing in about 6 minutes of arms. Thanks to the 5 pound sandbag weights I used versus the 3 pounds my arms definitely felt the section. It was a mix of tricep, bicep and shoulder work but I liked that she didn’t have us keep riding during this section. In previous classes when instructors ask us to keep pedaling, even slowly, I find I have a hard time focusing on my arm form.

This was the perfect way to get back into the swing of working out while still fighting the last bit of the cold. After 45 minutes I felt like a new woman who was ready for a girl’s night out with Melissa!

If you haven’t tried Revolve yet I recommend you hop on downtown if you’re in New York and give it a try. The instructors who have been recommended the most to me are Kira Stokes, Dyan Tsiumis and Stephanie Nieman! If you’re around Sunday afternoon at 3pm Dori and Melissa are hosting another class at Revolve! Find out more information here!

Do you give studios a second chance after one not so great experience?

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Body Ride at Revolve NYC

Back in December, Revolve Fitness opened it’s doors in Union Square. It seems like each week another boutique fitness studio enters the Gramercy or Flatiron area but Revolve stands out a bit from the rest of the competition.

A newcomer to New York City, this studio is only the second studio in the Revolve family. The first one is based on Washington, DC and has plenty of followers due to their intense rides and their well known Barre Ride which combines barre moves with a spin class.

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This morning I had the opportunity to meet up with a few other Fitmapped Ambassadors to try Jason Tran’s Body Ride class. The 45 minute is described on their site as in all in one class.

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

I couldn’t wait to give it a try especially since I’ve heard such wonderful things about Revolve from Gia, Meggie, Dori, Ashley and others. The spin studio itself seems larger than most other New York City spin studios with the 50 bikes. Each Schwinn bike has a person computer which allows you to see your RPMs in addition to space for water bottles. I especially liked that they were VERY easy to adjust unlike some other bikes I’ve used at Equinox and Soul Cycle.

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The ride itself was led by the very friendly and enthusiastic Jason Tran who can be found leading spin dance parties daily at NYSC and Revolve. He was very interactive with the class and wanted to ensure everyone was set up for a great ride.

I absolutely loved his playlist and have already downloaded a few of his songs from this morning’s class. He spent half the time on the bike and the rest of the time cheering us on and walking through the class motivating each person to push harder. The ride included multiple hills which woke my quads right up. But, unfortunately, I really didn’t care for the class itself. Because the Body Ride includes spin, weights, and stretching it only included 33 minutes of actual spinning. If I’m signing up for a 45 minute spin class I expect to push my legs through 45 minutes of hills. In Revolve’s defense, I didn’t look at the class length before signing up and assumed it’d be 45 minutes of spin with 10 minutes of weights and 5 minutes of stretching to round out the hour class.

But, luckily they offer 2 other classes which will offer more time on the bike. I can’t wait to give these a try as I really did like the energy of the studio and it’s definitely convenient.

As an FYI, there is a locker room area as well though it only includes 2 showers for men and 2 showers for women along with a long, narrow co-ed locker area. While there are plenty of lockers since there is only one studio at Revolve, this area was jammed pack this morning and I can only imagine what it’s like during the week when people may be trying to shower before work.

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So, would I return to Revolve or was once enough? Yes, I’d definitely return to revolve especially for RIP Ride which is a longer class format ranging in length from 60 to 75 minutes. In addition, Revolve is less expensive at $28 and has an intro month special which is $99 for unlimited rides.

I was provided this class for free in exchange for a full review, thanks to Fitmapped however all thoughts are my own.

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