I’ve never been one for workout fads. You won’t find me sweating in my living room to a Jane Fonda tape, rollerblading through Central Park accompanied by Sparky, doing whatever it is you do with a Thighmaster, or defending my opinion on Soul Cycle vs. Flywheel. I attribute my lackadaisical attitude toward exercise trends to the fact that I spent 14 years of my life as a swimmer, putting in roughly 7000 yards a day in the pool. I was too busy staring at the bottom of the pool perfecting my butterfly to try to consider any other type of workout. While I focused on setting personal records, I ate whatever I wanted (think Michael Phelps diet), found myself in the best shape and not worrying about burning calories or how toned my shoulders were. To me, that defined “working out.”
Aside from swimming laps, I’ve yet to find another workout regime that rivals my swimming training. Until last Wednesday when I had the pleasure of attending my first aquacycling class at Aqua Studio NY in Tribeca. Yes, that’s cycling in a pool! Called “aquabiking” in Europe, the trend started in Italy as a way to treat knee injuries for athletes. The water helps build endurance and recovery and also provides great cross training opportunities for athletes. Aqua Studio NY founder and Paris-native Esther Gauthier took an aquabiking class while her hometown 3 years ago and fell in love with it. It was then she decided to bring this trend to the United States and open her own studio.
I’ve never been a big fan of plain old spinning classes because I get bored easily and I’ve never found the spinning environment to be that welcoming. We all know working out in New York is serious and competitive, but Aqua Studio NY was a nice break from that. The aquacycling class was taught by one of my former swim team mates, Anne, and it was probably the most physically rewarding class I’ve taken to date. From the moment I set foot in the Tribeca studio, I was hooked. The studio itself has a very intimate feel. With its dim lighting, exposed wood floors, and candles offering most of the light in the locker room, I felt like I had walked into a friend’s apartment. According to Esther, that’s exactly the point. The space was designed to give you the feeling that you’re walking into a friend’s house to cycle with some friends. Contributing to this feeling of intimacy is the fact that there are only about 15 stationary bikes in the pool. That meant more personal attention from our teacher and we weren’t biking on top of one another.
As soon as Anne put on the first song and we started our first few cycles, I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy workout. Since the water is your only form of resistance, there’s no way to give yourself a break by adjusting your bike to a lower setting. Anne certainly pushed us to our limits and she reminded us to focus on what we can take from the water and also what the water can give to you.
Another one of my favorite aspects of the class was the ability to get a great arm workout while also focusing on legs. Because the water can hold your body weight, we were able to do some cool moves where we leaned off the back of the bike and treaded water while cycling with our feet. I’ve definitely felt that sort of resistance in an arms workout since my swimming days!
This workout was a treat for the whole body. As Esther mentioned when I sat down with her after class, “you don’t have to suffer to get a good work out.” She couldn’t be more spot on. I felt rejuvenated after class, but I also could tell that I’d worked hard. My muscles tingled and I immediately chugged a bottle of water.
As someone who loves the water, I like that aquacycling gives access to the water to a wider audience. For those of you who don’t know how to swim, have no fear! The pool is only 4 feet deep and your head is above the water the entire time. I highly recommend aquacycling to anyone who’s looking for a new challenge or wants to switch up their workout routine.
If you decide to go take a class at Aqua Studio NY, definitely take one of Anne’s! Let me know what you think!
Ramblings 
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