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We are predicting indoor cycling will be the big fitness thing of 2016. It’s like biking except it’s without the harmful rays of the sun, the dirt and the grit of the great outdoors, the toll fees of highways to get to a trail.
In their place are incredibly encouraging instructors, their cool choice of music, classes according to your fitness level, taste and schedule, all done in a nice, comfortable and air-conditioned studio.
Saddle Row is the newest indoor cycling studio to open in Metro Manila — at the second floor of Serendra, across Hosseins to be specific.
It’s actually an indoor cycling and rowing studio, but the rowing part will come at the end of November, if all goes according to plan. There are currently 12 bikes up for grabs in Saddle Row’s 55 square meter studio but Saddle Row intends to have 20. “The remaining 8 are still in the customs office,” Jammy Honrado, one of the managing partners tells Coconuts Manila.
We tried one of its classes last Saturday and we tell you, it’s one of the best ways to get your sedentary ass moving on a Saturday morning. Below we list 9 compelling reasons for you to check this one out.
1. The coach of the national cycling team is Saddle Row’s program director. Yup, Saddle Row takes this cycling thing seriously. So it’s not just a regular work you’ll get here. Saddle Row has enlisted Chris Allison, the Philippine National Cycling team coach to create the three programs on offer. “More than just a work out, it’s almost as though you get real training,” Honrado says, adding that triathletes actually come to Saddle Row to train.
2. There are three 45-minute programs to choose from. The idea being, there’s one for the different types of workouts you are looking for. “Underground” is good for people looking for a solid sweat. “Resistance” is all about strengthening and conditioning. And “Exchange”, which is what the triathletes come to Saddle Row for. “It is targeted to athletes because it simulates outdoor training,” says Dionne Sanchez, one of the instructors of the said class.
3. It has its own provisions. Saddle Row has bicycle trainers that allow athletes to bring in and use their own bikes during a class. “Because athletes, they would like to train in their own bikes right? Para when they compete, hindi sila naninibago,” says Jammy.
4. Saddle Row will let you know how good you’ve done. Each bike comes equipped with a software that tracks how many kilometers you’ve cycled, how much calories you’ve burned, the power you’ve given out and so on. “For the exchange class, we hook it up in the screen so you see how everybody else is doing. So it’s almost like gaming, parang Counter Strike, you get to compete with everybody else,” Jammy says.
5. They have a certified bike fitter in the hizzy. One of the owners, Sancho Honrado is a certified bike fitter who can and will measure first-timers and make sure the bike is adjusted according to the person. “We want to get you in the correct form to prevent injuries,” he says. “Everything we apply here indoors, you can apply outdoors. That’s what we’re trying to preach here also.”
6. Incredible music. Kudos to instructor Dionne Sanchez for getting Metallica, Dave Matthews, Take That and Backstreet Boys seamlessly in one playlist. The choice of artists may look weird and strange but we promise you, the mix is as intense as the workout. It works!
7. You will learn life lessons from that bike. Especially true for stressed out people, looking at impossible targets at work. It’s weird how you can pick up applicable life lessons from the bike. “Wag manggigil. Walang mangyayari kung panggigigilan mo yan” goes one. “It’s supposed to be tiring and difficult because you’re on your way up,” goes another. “Go really fast in the beginning to pick up power and momentum,” still goes another. And somehow, on the bike, they all seem to hold true, even in real life.
8. They have an ongoing introductory promo. Because Saddle Row is newly opened, all packages are marked 50% off until Dec 31, 2015. Packages which start at PHP3,500 (5 rides) are slashed to PHP1,700. Check out a first timer’s rate card at PHP1,000 for 3 rides.
9. So many good looking people! And that includes boys. “There’s a little bit more testosterone here,” Jammy notes, saying triathletes actually come to Saddle Row to train. “In New York for instance, there’s a notion that indoor cycling is just for girls, it’s all female. So, we’re trying to break that stereotype. We got the coach to make us good programs that even the males will enjoy.”
2/F, Serendra, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. +63 2 9663610. 7am-8:30pm.
The 55 square meter studio with 12 bikes at the moment. In the future, it will be filled with 20 bikes in all.
During an Underground class, which is a heavy 45-minute cardio workout. Underground, we were told, is popular among the ladies.
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