When Swerve Fitness launched as the world’s first-ever indoor team cycling studio, the concept of a group fitness class was foreign to me. After all, I’m an introvert and I prefer solo workouts. In fact, before the team at Swerve Fitness convinced me to try one class, the idea of working out with complete strangers made me cringe.
Nevertheless, by the end of my first week of Swerve’s January League I had fallen in love.
Here’s why I believe everyone should give the spin classes by Swerve Fitness a try:
-
I learned that working out with a group is actually more fun than working out alone
By the end of my third spin class with Swerve Fitness, I was kicking myself for having taken so long to give the class a try. When I’m working out alone, it’s so easy to convince myself I deserve to sleep in instead of dragging myself to the gym.
It’s easy to stop working out altogether when things get hard, rather than push past the first hard week of an intense workout. Things are different when you know your team is counting on you.
At the end of each cycling challenge with Swerve Fitness, the group gets a Swerve Score. Although you don’t know everyone’s individual score, you never want to be that person who is holding the entire team back. Rather, you want to know you gave it your all and earned the bragging rights you get from beating another team. This realization motivated me to show up as my best self every day.
Beyond motivating me to remain dedicated to my workouts, cycling with Swerve Fitness helped me discover the high that comes from working out with a group. By the end of the league, I had formed tight bonds with the people I had been sweating with for a month.
-
I made many good friends who I’m still in touch with
I was also surprised to discover that some of the best people in this world walk into our gyms and cross our paths at the water fountain after various challenging workouts every day. I know this sounds like such a basic discovery, but I realized that I had been shutting myself out of the possibility of meeting new people and making friends at the gym.
Before I started with Swerve Fitness, my mantra for my gym workouts was always, “in and out.” I would focus on exactly what I had gone to the gym to do, and I wouldn’t linger afterwards to make small talk with anybody.
My attitude changed when I started bonding with my Swerve group. During my 30 days of the Swerve League, I met many like-minded people who have turned into close friends. Lisa and I go on vacation together twice a year. Rob and I are now hiking buddies. Having someone to go hiking with when you’ve committed to it really pushes you out of bed when you want to sleep in.
-
The physical benefits of a spin class are unmatched
Showing up for the cycling challenges consistently helped me to finally achieve many fitness goals that I’d been struggling with for over a year. Here are some of the benefits the cycling challenges hosted by Swerve Fitness are designed to offer:
Better mental health
As a form of exercise, cycling boosts your mental health and confidence. This isn’t surprising, given the rush of endorphins you get after a good cycling session. Moreover, cycling allows you to set and accomplish targets, thus contributing to your overall confidence and self-esteem. Cycling regularly will boost your wellbeing both physically and mentally.
Boosts cardio
Cycling on a regular basis is a good way to strengthen your heart, lungs and muscles. This, in turn, expands your energy levels and keeps you looking and feeling younger for a longer time.
Improves lung capacity
Over the long term, cycling improves your lung capacity by 5-15%. When you have more
efficient lungs, it becomes easier to do physical activities and your stamina increases. This makes exercising more enjoyable and less strenuous.
Strengthens your immune system
Cycling is a fun way to not only keep active but also boost your immunity. Cycling regularly boosts your immunity, making you less vulnerable to many illnesses. This especially useful now, at a time when people are worried overall wellness and immune health.
Builds muscle
Beyond helping you burn calories, cycling on the regular will help you build toned muscles, especially around your glutes, hamstrings, quads and calves. When you have muscle, you burn more calories than someone with less muscle, even on days when you aren’t very active.
Reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer
Since cycling is an effective way to burn calories and avoid obesity, it’s actually recommended as a way to avoid serious health conditions such as heart disease and different types of cancer. In fact, cycling regularly can reduce your risks of heart disease and cancer by half.
Improves brain health
Cycling is known to increase blood flow to the brain by up to 70%, effectively reducing the chances of developing dementia later in life.
Why I’m excited about Swerve 2.0
When COVID-19 first hit, many gyms across the city closed, and Swerve Fitness was no exception. With gyms opening back up now, they’re coming back with a bang! The Swerve Fitness team has just announced that they’re partnering with Crunch Fitness to stream their signature cycling challenges into gyms across New York City.
They’ve essentially transformed Swerve’s Flatiron studio into a live streaming headquarters that will deliver premium, motivating workouts to Crunch Fitness group classes.
Each gym or studio will be its own team, competing against other teams across the globe. Swerve Fitness has combined beat and power-based challenges to move your body and give your mind something to focus on.
With these immersive group cycling competitions, Swerve Fitness is offering a transformative workout that guarantees positive results, good friends and an unforgettable experience. I, for one, cannot wait to join the team at the gym a few blocks from my new apartment.
Curious about Swerve Fitness You can find more information about this immersive cycling competition on Instagram.
