If you travel to the far, far away land of West End Avenue on 61st Street in bustling Manhattan you will discover Pedal. It is an unlikely space for a modern fitness boutique, but to be honest we appreciated the hidden locale nestled against the Hudson River. We found the concealed gem through our Classtivity passport and being a fan of spin classes we were sure a studio with the name Pedal would be a winner.
And, we were right.
Unbeknownst to us, we attended class on Tuesday Theme Night so our sweat session was coined Disco Inferno. We did sprint intervals, climbed hills and did hop-ups to all of the old classics. A highlight of the night was a quick “break” where the entire class participated in the YMCA. Yes. We. Did. It wasn’t all fun and games though. As with all spin classes, we wanted it to be over far before it was and yet somehow pushed through to the end. There were plenty of countdowns that helped us power through those last 20 second pushes. The class was well structured with lots of movement and song changes, just the way we like it.
The studio persona is really all about those attending the class. Mr. Ray, Pedal fitness guru, immediately introduced himself at the beginning of class and gave fair warning of what to expect during class as he helped me settle in to the brand new Livestrong cycle (which rode like a dream). Let’s just say that slacking off was not an option. Before attending, you could request songs for the class through Facebook and the workout playlist was made available to class attendees via Spotify. And Pedal fully embraces the power of social media as a component of your health. There were hashtags like #pedaladdict, #pushit and #workitout written all over encouraging Pedal members to get involved outside of the fitness studio. We like the extra effort they put into connecting with their members. The studio also offers you an opportunity to enter a drawing (your choice – class, training session or backpack) every time you take a class. Pretty cool, right? There are also complimentary snacks and hot beverages if you want to fuel-up post class, however, you have to get your H2O from the bathroom sink so come with a full water bottle.
Beyond spin, Pedal also has a TRX studio which we will have to take on another day when we have our brave face on. We left our first Pedal class with burning lungs which we are very sure would make Mr. Ray proud.
If you are looking for a change in your spin routine, trek it to Pedal.
Tell us about your spin experiences below. Do you have a good new fitness studio experience?
