Boston_ Rev’d Indoor Cycling

Crash Course: Rev’d Indoor Cycling is the premiere cycling studio in Boston’s South Shore, located about 30 minutes outside of the city. Whether you are a novice rider or experienced spin addict, you will find your groove at Rev’d. Mood lighting, a killer sound system and performance tracking consoles on the new Schwinn Bikes will take you outside of the studio and encourage you to work harder than you ever thought possible. Rev’d’s highly trained and skilled teachers encourage you to go outside of your comfort zone through insatiable beats as you ride the rhythm and dance to choreographed moves.

[line] [left]where: 81 Legacy Blvd Suite #2 | Dedham, MA

bring: water, spin shoes

perks: babysitting for some classes, free parking, shoe rental

sweat score: 9 out of 10

[/left][right] wear: spandex, spin shoes, long sleeve shirt before class as the studio is kept well air-conditioned

instructor: Meaghan

class: Rev’d Ride 45

cost: first class free; $20/class for drop-ins; $100 for first unlimited month/$165 for subsequent months which includes free shoes [/right][line]

Rev’d Indoor Cycling is located in the busy Legacy Place shopping complex in Dedham, MA – about 30 minutes outside of Boston. The studio shares a space with a frozen yogurt store which would likely have been more tempting had it not been 10 degrees in Boston on the morning I showed up to take on a ride. But, I did file this information away for future rides during warmer months!

Upon entering the building, a sign on Rev’d’s door instructed riders to remove their snow/salt heavy shoes before walking into the studio lobby. I padded through the doors in my socks (thank goodness I chose the ones with no holes in the toes today!) and was greeted by studio co-owners Clyde and Meaghan. Clyde checked me into class and made sure I had shoes (I brought my own but you can rent them from the studio if you don’t happen to own a pair).

Meaghan, who was also instructing the 10:30 am class, was taking requests from students for songs for the class which I discovered was a “Mix It Up Sunday” themed ride during which she would instantly mix songs requested by students. I was super stoked by this idea because I think good music can make or break a spin class for those of us who don’t necessarily fancy ourselves hardcore “spinners.” I put in my request for my favorite Eminem workout jam and padded my barefoot feet over to the benches and cubbies to change into my cycle shoes and stow my belongings.

The entry contains not only the check-in desk, beverages, and Rev’d gear for sale, but several benches and a plethora of cubbies for storing belongings. While there are no locks, the front desk is always manned by a Rev’d staff member or, if not, the studio doors are locked a few minutes after class starts so that no one can enter.

There are two bathrooms down a long hallway that runs along the side of the actual spin studio. Both bathrooms are large and have several personal care items for students to use to freshen up before or after class.

There’s no shower and the bathrooms serve as changing rooms as well so you may want to make sure you have a shower option available after class if you’re going somewhere because, if my class was any indication, you will walk out VERY sweaty.

The actual spin studio space contains two rows of bikes along the back row (facing the raised instructor platform) as well as two smaller rows on either side of the instructor. I chose a bike in the first row on the instructor’s right side and set myself up. Meaghan was walking around the room offering assistance to riders with bike set up.

I was happy to see that there was a clean towel rolled up on my bike and that the water bottle holder was right up on the handlebars as I prefer this to bottle holders that require you to reach down to hydrate during class. The on-board computer sets up in a few seconds and measures all of the typical spin metrics (watts, RPM, calories, distance, time).

Meaghan reminded everyone to take all resistance off the bike when setting up the computer and gave a shout out to all the newbies in the class. Her energy was high from the beginning as she informed us that she was a little nervous about how the music all of the students requested would work out but she promised us a rockin’ ride no matter what and, with that, we were off!

Now, I should preface the rest of my comments by saying that I have a love/hate relationship with spin classes. As in, I tend to hate it while I’m doing it but I go back because I LOVE the endorphin rush I get after I’m done. I steeled myself for all the “hate” to flow during this class as well but it never came.

The class was full of energy for the entire 45 minute ride and Meaghan’s enthusiasm was contagious. The student-selected music was a mash-up of rock, pop, rap and even show tunes but the variety helped make the time fly by. All of the students seemed totally into the workout and Meaghan encouraged us all to sing along, shout, cheer, and dance the entire time (which I was guilty of doing during a rousing climb to Salt-n-Pepa’s Shoop).

The class was a challenging mix of the usual sprints, hill climbs, and tap backs but Meaghan also included all sorts of push-ups and crunches using the handlebars and standing isolations to really work every ounce of energy out of our legs. I tend to sometimes have coordination problems with this type of “bike dancing,” but this ride was so much fun that I didn’t even think about it!

Just when I thought I might run out of juice, she instructed us to grab the body bar attached to our bikes and we curled, pressed and pulsed our way through a challenging set of upper body exercises. Meaghan came down from her bike and walked around the room during the arm workout to encourage us to push a little harder and not give up which was a much-appreciated push.

Once my arms felt like they might fall off, she instructed us to put the body bars away and focus inward for one song. She turned the lights down very low and allowed us to push our own pace and resistance to what she called “Your Song.” Now, considering she chose this exact moment to play my Eminem tune, I was totally down with this idea and whirled my legs to mush for 3 minutes. The class finished with one last sprint song and a thorough cool down that started on the bike and finished standing next to it.