There is nothing I like more than my bed. And nothing I hate more than exercise. So, as you can imagine, I like to spend as much time as possible in bed and as little time as possible exercising. However I do know that my lifestyle is not sustainable, and as getting fit is the new going out I thought it was about time I kicked my arse in to gear (and out of bed).
I’d heard about BOOM Cycle from following Bangs' life. She’s one of those girls that seem to mange life well; as well as being a brilliant blogger, she then turned her hand to fitness and totally rocked that too. When she began instructing at BOOM Cycle I was intrigued… what is it and should I be doing it too if a cool girl like Bangs is?
(Spoiler alert: the answer is YES.)
I had a Google, and found out all I needed to know; BOOM Cycle was started in 2011 by Hilary Gilbert and Robert Rowland who saw a niche in the market for a spinning studio with a difference. BOOM is a HIIT (High-intensity interval training) class that brings the ‘party vibe’ to your workout; you’re immersed in a dimly-lit studio with a world-class sound system pumping banging tunes to get you feeling like you're ‘dancing on the bike’. But there was one thing I couldn’t find out from Google; was it any good and would I like it? (No spoiler alert for this one!)
After months of putting it off, I dragged my arse (and colleague) down to a 7.30am class on a rainy Tuesday morning. Yes, I did say 7.30am, no you did not read that wrong, and no it wasn’t easy getting up at 6am for it.
I cycled down to Holborn, as that studio is near the office (they also have a venue in Shoreditch) and met the colleague outside. Her energy got me hyped up, but I still wasn’t sure about this whole early-morning-exercise-before-work-thing.
Upon entering I instantly got the feeling that I belonged there; the bright mural on the wall, the colourful paint-dripped bike, the motivational quotes on the mirrors, it all felt very #GirlPower!
We were given some shoes, shown which bikes were ours (two at the back in the corner, probably for the best), then lead into a dark room that looked like a mini version of Fabric nightclub back-in-the-day, the only difference was there was no bar, oh and it was filled with stationary bikes. Jay Z’s Dirt Off Your Shoulder was pumping as we mounted our bikes and hooked our feet on to the pedals…
Now, I’m an avid bike chick (the pedal-kind, not the cool kind), so I assumed this class would be a breeze. But you know what they say about assumptions… They’re wrong. Bangs started things off with a little booty-shaking slow jam, The Colleague and I exchanged smug little glances… this isn’t too bad…
‘OK, now we’re warmed up, let’s start!’ wait… what?! Bangs upped the volume, upped the beats and as if our legs had a life of their own, suddenly we upped the pace. The class is 45 minutes long, and filled with tunes that will make you wish you really were in a club. The instructors all have their own taste in music, so make sure to check out their example playlists on the website. Bangs mixed hip-hop with pop (Hello, a throw-back Christina Aguilera classic!) and dirty beats with sing-along Beyoncé tracks. Each tune offers a different beat to cycle to meaning you’ll spend the class going between fast, slow, hard, soft, crazy and calm; the perfect way to keep you motivated and not bored.
Half-way through, we were ready to give up, but Bangs' motivational screams of things like “SHOW THAT BIKE WHAT YOUR MADE OF!!’ and ‘IT’S ONLY 3 MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE!!’ kept us pedaling like we were at the finish line of The Tour De France. 45 minutes genuinely flew by, before we even knew what was going on, the class had finished and we were stretching out ready to hit the showers.
I can’t say that I'm a 7am-start convert, but after my first week BOOMing (if that’s not a word, it totally is now) I’m hooked on the early morning hit of endorphins and the smug feeling I get knowing I’ve done more with my morning than most do all day.
A piece of advice though: take a change of EVERYTHING – you will sweat from places you never even knew existed. But it’s worth it: on average you’ll burn 600 calories per class and find approximately 20 songs you’ll want to add to your Spotify.
Before you’ve even thought about going into the office you’ll have done your daily dose of exercise, had a shower and blow-dried your hair (thanks to BOOM’s well stocked Beauty Bar), plus had a deliciously healthy smoothie made fresh by the crew at the front desk. What a productive morning!
Still not interested in getting out of your nice warm bed to sweat it out? OK, why not try an after-work class, or better yet, a quick half-hour lunchtime session. But be warned, just because the class is 15 minutes shorter, doesn’t mean it’s any easier. The Colleague and I were so hooked after our first BOOM experience that we headed down to a lunchtime ride the very next day. Our instructor Naomi pumped some heavy-hitting tracks and managed to get us sweating just as much as before, all in the same time it would take us to get a Byron Burger lunch.
BOOM also hosts themed rides, which means you can get down to your favorite artists or genre; Bang's had an RnB ride and a recent garage ride which sold out in hours. As well as this, BOOM hosts live DJs monthly that spin while you cycle. So with this range in tunes, and classes that fit nicely into your working day, there’s no excuse not to go right? RIGHT!
BOOM runs six classes a day, with two express 30-minute lunchtime classes. But be warned, classes book up quickly. Check out all the details here.