spin class – GRIT By Brit

Fly Wheel Texas Studio Review + Soul Cycle Match Up

December 12, 2012 6 Comments

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

I 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 Cycling
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

Inspiration & Motivation

Tone Up Challenge Week 2 Report: Jan falls in love with Flywheel

May 15, 2012 3 Comments

We’re half way there – Jan has officially completed her 2nd week of my 4 Week Tone Up Challenge. Here’s her update along with my advice to get her through the home stretch with maximum shape up results – enjoy!

Week 2 Update from Jan:

“Wk #2 was great! I started going to Flywheel Spin and it was a ‘game changer.’ I have been spinning for years and love the energy and intensity of Flywheel more than than any class I’ve ever gone to. I worked out 5 days last week, but 1 day was without cardio. I added Brit’s Six Pack by Summer ab routine to all of my workouts last week (the plank and seated portions). I also did Brit’s Killer Legs workout after spin one night and was really in the hurt box – in a good way 🙂

So far I’ve been seeing some good results in terms of my muscle definition . My ‘six pack’ is on its way back for sure. I’m feeling leaner and just more fit in general. However, my knees and ankles are quite sore from all of the exercise, so I’ll need to be careful with them.” – Jan

Brit’s Advice for Jan:

Diet, Diet, Diet – Jan continues to get her 5 workouts in per week; however, slipping up on her diet could completely wash away her results. Many top resources claim that weight loss depends 80% on diet and 20% on exercise.
RICE – Jan has a history of knee and ankle injuries so it’s critical that Rests, Ice, Compress, Elevates her knees and ankles after workouts to keep inflammation down. However, you should ALWAYS refrain from exercise and get clearance from your doctor before starting any new workout regimen.
EVEN more discipline – Jan must push herself through the home stretch and commit to having a PERFECT last 2 weeks. That means every workout is completed with max effort and she sticks to her diet change ups 100%. Jan needs to give it all she’s got these last 14 days for maximum results.

Stay tuned for Jan’s 3 week report and special edition final report which will include a post challenge photo shoot of her smoking hot body, compliments of the lovely Anna Jane!

Learn more about FlyWheel at their website: https://www.flywheelsports.com/

Just for Fun

Are you getting short changed in spin class?

April 15, 2012 No Comments

GRIT 001 — Me getting ready for ride #2 during cycle instructor training

Happy Sunday – I hope this posting finds you joyous and well! Today was a personal accomplishment because I officially became a certified indoor cycling instructor – woop woop! That said, I learned a lot of useful info about spin classes and calorie burn in general, so I just wanted to share some of these nuggets of wisdom with you guys. Hopefully, these facts will help you get the MOST out of your spin classes in the future 🙂

Turn up the resistance – speed DOES NOT equal calorie burn! In an effective cycle class, your legs should spin between 60-90 rotations per minute. If you are cycling way above this, turn your resistance up! When your legs are flying and your booty is bouncing around in the saddle, the bike is just propelling you and you are getting short changed on calorie burn…not a good look!
Don’t always trust the heart rate monitor. Several factors affect our heart rate including hydration, stress, diet, room temperature, etc. Therefore, just because your heart rate is in a certain zone, doesn’t necessarily mean you are working that hard. In many cases, heart rate monitors over count calories burned and you are deceived : (
Use a breath test. The bottom line is this, the harder you work, the more calories you burn. Therefore, use the breath test to quickly and effectively measure your exertion. Below are the 4 levels you should think about. If you are trying to burn as many calories as possible, strive to spend at least 20-30 minutes of your class in zones 3 and/or 4. You should never be back at Level 1 (breathing regularly) after the warm up.

L1 – Breathing regularly
L2 – Breathing fast, but comfortable
L3 – Breathing heavy, uncomfortable
L4 – Breathing very heavy, very uncomfortable – sucking air!

GRIT 002 — Whole class with our instructor after we got certified (that's me in the back with the shiny forehead, hehe)