Fitness Studio Review: BEYOND Pedaling – Dallas, TX

 Over the Winter Break I enjoyed some time away from my full-time Management Consulting job and spent a couple of weeks at home chilling with family, shopping and visiting new fitness studios in Dallas.  While we have several fitness gems in the Big D, my favorite discovery is Beyond Pedaling Studio.

Beyond Studios - Snider Dallas, TX
Beyond Studios – Snider Dallas, TX

You guys already know that I’m an indoor cycling fan.  I teach indoor cycling at 24 Hour Fitness in Dallas and enjoying reviewing the hottest cycling studios – SoulCycle, FlyWheel, Crank and The Handle Bar to name a few.  Unfortunately, most of these studios are not located in Dallas (my hometown).  So they are great to visit while I’m traveling, but I hate not having an indoor cycling studio to call “home.”  This is no longer the case.  BEYOND Pedaling has one my heart and here’s why…..

So first, the studio is located in the adorable Snider Plaza of Dallas’s upscale Highland Park neighborhood.  I was expecting the BEYOND staff to be a little “snooty.”  But to my surprise, I received a warm welcome (by name) from these two bright shining faces – talk about “knowing your customer.”

Studio Director Kelsey (left) and Instructor Elissa (left)
Studio Director Kelsey (left) and Instructor Elissa (right)

Then I bask in the studio’s inspiring atmosphere and vibrant decor – love the bold yellow color scheme (although strikingly similar to Soul Cycle).  I especially love this quote posted above the lockers – totally inspired!

Beyond Pedaling Studios - Dallas #inspired
Beyond Pedaling Studios – Dallas #inspired

There’s also local fitness apparel designers being featured each week so I can get my shopping on before or after class.  Most importantly, they sell really cool headbands – YES!

Chillin' in the Beyond Studio lobby before our workout
Chillin’ in the Beyond Studio lobby before our workout

During the actual class, we rode on high-quality Keiser spin bikes that have a digital displays to track time, calories, average power and RPM (revolutions per minute).  Flywheel has the awesome “Torque” board which is similar in functionality, but most of the other music-driven cycling studios don’t have these displays.  I appreciate the ability to keep track of my effort and exertion.

Keiser bikes at Beyond Pedaling Studio - Dallas, TX
Keiser bikes at Beyond Pedaling Studio – Dallas, TX

Several of the instructors regularly take  classes as well as instruct.  This helps pump up the energy level and keep the class motivated and in sync.  Also, the studio was packed!  Empty fitness classes totally depress me.  Fortunately class attendance is nothing worry about at BEYOND (especially in Elissa’s classes).  Most importantly, the sound system is amazing and the music clearly blasts through the speakers.  I felt the beat – the beat was good!

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The class itself is a standard, 45 minute indoor cycling ride which includes resistance and speed intervals.  Like most of the newer cycling studios, there’s a ~5 minute arm circuit at the end of the ride that utilizes light dumbbells.  Overall, there’s nothing revolutionary about the actual workout, but it’s a great sweat nonetheless.  A little on the pricier side, $30 per class, Beyond is the most expensive cycling studio in Dallas.  However, I think it’s worth the money if you’re looking for a fun, hip, music-driven cycling workout.  You’re only other option is FlyWheel on Oak Lawn, but it’s a little more competitive and the music isn’t as good – definitely depends on your personal preference.  At the end of the day, BEYOND gets the Grit by Brit “2 thumbs up” – hope see some of the Dallas crew in a class!

Go BEYOND!  xoxo, Brit

 

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Fly Wheel Texas Studio Review + Soul Cycle Match Up

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(above – me and my class after our 90 minute FLY)

flywheelI finally tried out FlyWheel Stadium Cycling! We just got a studio in Dallas – Highland Park, so I went to a special 90 minute class the day after Thanksgiving. It was an “unstuffing” ride and let me tell you – “unstuff” is exactly what it did. There was not a trace of sweet potato pie, peach cobbler or turkey and dressing left in my body. The workout is super hardcore, here’s why…

  • Duration: 45 minutes (standard class)
  • Calories Burned: 500 – 700
  • Style: Indoor Cyclingflywheel torque bord
  • Cool Stuff: A“Torque Board” digitally tracks how much power you generate during your ride. Your “power” is a function of your RPMs (revolutions per minute) and resistance. During the workout, the instructor shows the class ranking on the “Torque Board” to create healthy competition. Obviously, GRIT by Brit had to represent – 1 is the loneliest number. (wink, wink – see pic of my final class results)
  • Workout Details: You go through a series of imaginary terrains, some up hill and others down hill. The music generally goes with the phase of the ride and helps keep you engaged – just like a standard indoor cycling class at your local gym. The key differentiator is that there’s a weighted bar that you pull out towards the end of the ride and use to go through an upper body toning circuit. Overall, it’s an efficient total body cardio and resistance training workout.
  • Cost: $25 per class, a little cheaper than SoulCycle

So here’s the real deal about the trade offs between SoulCycle and FlyWheel, the 2 hottest indoor cycling classes on the map. In case you missed my review of SoulCycle, you can CLICK HERE to read it. Ultimately, Soul Cycle is more FUN and FlyWheel is more FIERCE. I can’t honestly say class one is BETTER than the other, but there are distinct differences between the two that can make you prefer one over the other…

Soul Cycle vs Flyweel

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