Okay, so let me start this out by saying that I don’t really exercise that much. I mean I jog about three to four times a week, but that’s about it. I don’t go to the gym. I’m not in any sports. All I do is run, and sometimes even then I just walk very fast.
Everyone in my dorm house was offered a free SoulCycle class since a girl who was a student at my university worked there. I had always wanted to try SoulCycling just to see how it was and if it was something that I would want to do on the regular (the class is just down the street from the school). After much debating, I told my RA to sign me up. I was really hesitant to go because transportation was an issues (I don’t have a car…yet) and none of my suitemates were going. But then I just got over myself. I needed to do things on my own, you know? The class was supposed to be at ten-thirty in the morning, but then there was some conflict with the time so they moved it up to eight-thirty. Eight-FREAKING-thirty!! I don’t like waking up that early during the week, much less the weekend. Anyway, I begrudgingly accepted the time change, arranged a ride with my RA, and waited. I got an email that explained what I should wear, what bike I was going to ride, and the waiver I needed to sign.
On the day of the class, I got up around seven. I decided on wearing some capris working out leggings that wouldn’t chafe my legs and a workout tank. I also grabbed a sweater since it was pretty foggy and cold outside. When we got there, I was very impressed at how modern the building looked. It was very sleek and white and shiny. I’ll insert so you guys can see how it looked like.
We signed in and handed over our waivers. They asked for our shoe sizes for the cycling shoes that they provided. These were designed to click into the pedals of the bike (which proved to be my downfall, but more on that later). The girl who goes to my school showed us how to work the lockers and put our stuff in. She took me to my bike, adjusting it to fit my body height, the length of my arms and legs, etc. The room itself was just filled with rows of stationary bikes. I, of course, was assigned to a bike in the very front row, almost directly in front of the instructor, who was very toned and muscular I might add. His own bike was elevated on a small platform and the wall behind him was covered in mirror. The good thing was that it was fairly dimly lit. Once we are all situated, he reminds us that there’s a knob that controls the resistance of the bike as we pedal. The faster we pedal, the less resistance we need, and the slower we pedal the more we need. 
Skip to the actual workout and I’m doing fine so far. We have to pedal to the rhythm of the song. Check. Turn the knob to the left. Check. Pedal standing up. Check? Now it’s not that I couldn’t pedal standing up. It’s just that I couldn’t stay pedaling standing up at the rate that we were supposed to. My ass kept hitting the seat, which is not that comfortable by the way. I’d recommend bringing a cushion. Mind you, we were also doing three different types of push-ups on the handle bars, while also trying to keep a steady rhythm. This struggling was about the halfway point of the class. The beginning was pretty manageable. Soon though, I could tell that I was pushing myself too hard because my legs started to ache a little. I drank some water and I started feeling nauseous. This happens a lot when I run too much without a break. BUT, I pushed through it and decided not to drink water until after. After some time, I just could not keep pedaling standing up. I was just like, “Fuck it,” and sat my bruised as down. Of course, being an idiot, I tried to do it again.
By this point, we were more than halfway done because we started using the small, hand-held weights we were given. As soon as I started lifting my arms up, I knew I was done. I could feel myself getting dizzy, and I felt like I was really about to throw up. I stopped pedaling, put the weights on my handle bars, and tried unclicking my damn shoes. The instructor noticed me because, duh, I was in the front row and also because he had gotten off his bike a few seconds before. He asked if I was okay and I just told him I needed to use the bathroom to puke. I’m able to unclick my right shoe, but the left one WOULD NOT COME OFF! The instructor tells me to leave it and get it later so I slip my foot out of that damn thing and haul my ass out of there. GUYS, I ALMOST COULD NOT OPEN THE DOOR! My hands and legs were shaking and I was so mortified I would have had to ask someone to help me open it. But once I did get out, the other girls who work there asked me if I was okay and I said I just needed to use the bathroom. I could tell they knew I was about to die so they offered to give me a cold towel and I graciously accepted it.
I got into the bathroom as quickly as I could and threw up a little, mostly bile. I was SO tired that I sit down on the floor (it seemed extremely clean so I didn’t mind). I placed the towel over my face and tried to calm my body down. When I did, I sprayed on some deodorant and washed my face with one of the face washes they had. They had a lot of complimentary things in there. I was sort of not surprised though. I decided not to go back into the class since there were only less ten minutes left, but I would have to get back my water bottle back and unclick the fucking shoe. Long story short, I ended up grabbing my stuff from the locker and sat on the bench as people for the next class filtered in. I did manage to get both shoes and my water bottle out of there. Afterward, I went with some people to Sun Life to get an acai bowl.
Now, I got a complimentary class for beginners so I’m thinking about going to that one despite what happened before. This isn’t trying to discourage anyone from going. I truly did like the class. It was a really intense workout and the instructor was very motivational. The music playlist was pretty good. The overall vibe I got was positive. I think I just need to get into the groove of things so I don’t throw up next time.
nowimaginethiss 