Monday, November 9, 2015

Sweat & Sip (but no Sip): YAS Yoga and Spinning

12/3/15 UPDATE: Both our instructor and the owner of YAS reached out to us following this post to let us know that our experience with our instructor was not the norm and to invite us to give YAS another try. We definitely appreciate that kind of dedication to customer satisfaction! We'd like to point out that one of the main reasons we're forgoing another visit to YAS is because we prefer free wheel bikes. If fixed gear is more your style, YAS might be a better fit for you than it was for us. 
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The beauty of ClassPass is that there are a ton of studio options for similar types of workouts, so while Kel and I are devoted Revocyclists, we decided to check out another spinning studio to allow for some compare and contrast.

YAS (which stands for Yoga and Spinning) is located right next to Firebrand Sports and offers- you guessed it- yoga classes, spinning classes, and yoga AND spinning classes.


Kel and I used our ClassPass membership to sign up for a 9am spin class on a Saturday morning.The spin studio has a giant garage door that looks out onto 13th Street which seems cool and urban at first, but once you get going, you realize you're facing away from the door and God knows who's staring at your butt from the street. It's a little weird for those of us who aren't into exhibitionism.


There was also a much different, less-welcoming vibe in YAS's spin studio than at Revocycle (or even at Burncycle, if we're being fair in our spin studio comparisons.) Kel and I were obviously new to the studio as evidenced by the fact that we had to walk up to ask the instructor how to adjust our bikes. She did not offer to come over and help us, just gave us a curt response and turned away. Kel and I know our Revocycle numbers, but YAS's bikes are fixed gear as opposed to Revo's free wheel and adjust differently. It would have been much appreciated for our instructor to offer to help us make sure we were positioned properly.


And then the class itself. Ugh. Maybe we are too used to Revocycle's rhythmic style, but the songs we were cycling to did not match our pedaling speed and it was driving me nuts. We also did the most jumps, which are my least favorite cycling thing in the world. No thanks!


In the end, we got a workout, but my knees hurt (probably from so many jumps on a poorly-adjusted bike) and there was nothing enjoyable about the experience. At Revocycle you work hard, but it's fun and somehow calming. At YAS, I just couldn't wait for my butt to get off that bike (and off display).

So, while I'm glad we branched out and tried a new cycling studio, we will not be back.


Sweat & Sip: