The Why Behind The Music

“When you hit the bottom of that pedal stroke right on the beat for the whole track, even as the hill is getting heavier, you feel invincible.”

At Cadence, music is at the core of everything we do. We know that music is the key ingredient to an awesome class. The ride we plan and the coaching and cheering we bring to the bike can only take a class so far. A 5-star class happens when the music puts a fire in your belly. 

When you hit the bottom of that pedal stroke right on the beat for the whole track, even as the hill is getting heavier, you feel invincible. And when a whole group of people is riding that beat together, it’s a sense of empowerment that you probably won’t find anywhere else in your day. We know how great that feeling is, and we try to give it to you every time.

That sense that the music is guiding your ride is not just a feeling, though. It’s science.

In the last 15-ish years, the connection between music and movement has been studied more and more. Turns out, music adds more than an element of play to the ride. It adds more than distraction from your fatigue. It adds more than motivation. It does all those things, and we use it strategically for all those reasons, but music does so much morefor your ride.

The gist? Lights and disco balls can bring playful fun to the ride; a podcast can distract you; your instructor’s inspirational speech can motivate you. Only music, though, increases endurance, reduces perceived effort, and promotes metabolic efficiency. Studies show people can actually cycle longer and harder with music than without.

Music and movement are literally entangled in the brain. Without getting too science-y, basically we can’t notmove to music.

Some songs are clearly better to ride to than others, not only because heavy beats seem to give your legs more power and inspiring lyrics seem to give you wings to the top of the hill, but also because other factors, especially tempo, effect the body’s reaction. But, hey, that’s what we’re here for. You leave the picking and choosing to us, and we’ll do our best to put together an awesome playlist each and every ride.

If you want to read more about the psychology behind work out music, the link to our favourite article is below. And if you have any songs that are yourgo-to work out tracks, please share with us! We’d love to take them for a ride.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/psychology-workout-music/

The Post Spin Stretch

“We encourage you to make a bit of extra time later in your day to incorporate some of these sweet moves we are sharing with you.”

Stretching after spinning is necessary for reducing soreness, increasing flexibility, recharging the muscles, and preventing injury. In our 45 minute class, we budget 4-5 minutes to cool down and stretch. We encourage you to make a bit of extra time later in your day to incorporate some of these sweet moves we are sharing with you.

The key areas to target after a ride are your glutes, hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, and calves, but your upper body also needs some release after leaning forward on your bike. So, here are a few positions that allow you to target multiple areas at once!

1) High Lunge with Spinal Extension

What It Looks Like:

Your front knee is in a deep bend and your back leg is extended behind you with your heel raised from the floor. Your hands are up with your biceps beside your ears and your sternum is lifted to the sky. Hold on each side for 30-60 seconds.

Where You Should Feel It:

You are targeting the hip flexor of your back leg, while stretching the hamstring and calf of your back leg. The spinal extension is a counter pose to the forward-leaning position you were holding on the bike, and should feel like a release through your upper back body as well as an opening for your chest.

Perfect The Pose:

Your front knee should be stacked directly over the ankle, with your thigh bone almost parallel to the floor. Energize the back of your back leg up. Find space in your side body first with an inhale, and then breathe into the back of your rib cage while lifting your sternum to shine your heart up. Soften your shoulders.

2) Figure Four Chair

What It Looks Like:

One shin bone is stacked on top of the other thigh bone with your knee out to the side. Your hips are pressing back evenly and you are hinged forward. Hold for 30 seconds on each side.

Where You Should Feel It:

You will mostly feel this in your glutes, as well as in the hip of your top leg.

Perfect the Pose:

Try to get your thigh bone parallel to the floor, press your hips behind you, and hold a neutral spine as you hinge forward. Find opposition – let your bottom leg press up and your top leg be heavy. Hold your gaze on the floor ahead of you.

3) Quadricep Release with Side Body Reach

What It Looks Like:

One flexed ankle is in your hand with your knee pointing to the floor. The opposite hand is reaching up.

Where You Should Feel It:

You should feel a good stretch through the quadricep of your active leg, and a pull through your opposite side (ideally from foot to fingertips!).

Perfect the Pose:

Your lifted foot is flexed to protect that knee, and your hand and ankle are pressing in toward each other. Keep your knee behind your hip, hug your inner thighs toward each other, and slightly tip up your hips. Your opposite hand is raised; energetically press your foundation foot through the floor and reach your fingertips up in opposition. Drop your shoulders away from your ears, and take big smooth inhales into the side of your waist. Hold on each side for 30-60 seconds.

I have many more stretches up my sleeve and love to get hands on with guests who are looking to target a specific area or perfect a certain posture. Please find me after class if you have any questions or comments about how and why to stretch most effectively!

Couples Who Sweat Together!

“Couples Who Sweat Together, Stay Together”

Couples who spin together, sweat together. And couples who sweat together, stay together! In honour of Valentine’s Day, we are celebrating one of our favorite Cadence couples. Jen and Greg have been spinning together at Cadence for three years. Whenever we see their names on the class list, we know they’re going to show up with smiles and positive energy. We’re motivated by the love and joy they bring to class, and inspired by their commitment to riding as a team.

We chatted with Jen and Greg to find out more about how spin fits into their relationship.

How is it that spin came to be such a central part of your relationship as a couple?

We’ve been together for 15 years and have been married for 8 months, and even though we found Cadence later in our relationship, it’s been an awesome way to stay connected. Greg found Cadence after suffering a low back injury from boxing; as soon as he learned that spin would be fine for his back, he signed up, and I [Jen] later joined him on the bike. Now, we can’t imagine not doing it!

What do you love about spinning together?

Maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle is something that we both enjoy and value for our physical and mental well-being. Cadence is a place where we can both reach our fitness goals in a non-competitive environment, and have fun together at the same time!

How does class feel different when you’re by each other’s side?

It’s a great feeling to ride beside each other! Whenever a good song comes on that one of us likes a lot we’ll look at the other one like yeeessss – this is my jam!

Are you competitive with each other or are you cheering each other on? Or both??

A little of both! We support and encourage each other, but we’d be lying if we said we don’t sneak a peek at each other’s consoles afterwards to see who had the higher WATTS for the ride!

How do you coordinate your schedules so that you can commit to spin together regularly?

We make it a priority! At the beginning of each week we set a schedule that will work for both of us. Saturday at 10:45am is a must, and we’ll do a Sunday class and a weekday evening class. Then, it’s all about holding each other accountable!

Are there any other activities that you do as a couple?

We love to travel together! We’ve been to Europe, South America, Dominican Republic, and Mexico, and we’re looking forward to travelling to Asia together at some point! We also see a personal trainer twice a week and he creates couple-style work outs for us in the gym. Plus, binge watching Netflix original series together is a favorite past time.

What's Up with the Rhythm Ride?

“Music Guides the Ride”

Rhythm Ride FAQs

We introduced the Rhythm Ride onto our schedule at the beginning of 2018. Here are some Frequently Asked Questions (and answers) about this new Cadence ride!

How is the Rhythm Ride different from Classic Cadence?

The Classic Cadence ride is grounded in a formula of heavy hills and simple speed drills, filled with high intensity intervals. Music guides the ride, but there is no upper body choreography and minimal lower body choreography. The Rhythm Ride relies on the same philosophy as Classic Cadence, with more choreography sprinkled throughout. Alignment, safety, and strength conditioning remain priorities, but you will move around on the bike a bit more and “dance” to the rhythm of the music. Also, the entire ride is on tempo, so there are no intervals where you speed past the beat.

Why did Cadence decide to introduce the Rhythm Ride?

We love to continuously evolve and grow, and are constantly asking ourselves what the next new venture will be. We felt that our community (you!) would be interested in shaking up your riding routine with a class that has a little more bounce to it, and we want to make sure that we are always giving you what you want. We think the Rhythm Ride will be a fun way for you to surprise/challenge/amaze yourself by trying something new!

Can a beginning rider start with the Rhythm Ride, or should they do Classic Cadence first?

We think that either would be a great first experience! Our instructors always teach to all levels, and cues for proper alignment on the bike will be a priority in both classes. The console is available but optional, so you can read your RPMs on the screen if that helps and motivates you. An added benefit of the Rhythm Ride being your first spin experience is that you can let loose and move to the flow of the beat (the entire ride is on tempo)!

How can I decide if Classic Cadence or the Rhythm Ride is best for me?

Well, we hope you will try both! Both classes will give you an awesome work out and a great musical experience, and we’ve worked hard to ensure that both rides are accessible and beneficial (and fun) for every type of rider. On a day when you want a more focused, athletic ride, try Classic Cadence. On a day when you’re in a party mood and want to move a bit more, try the Rhythm Ride. But ultimately, our aim is to make both rides fit seamlessly into your work out routine.

Who teaches the Rhythm Ride?

Our resident rhythm experts, Pauline and Francine, are our current Rhythm Ride instructors. Both ladies have significant experience with the relationship between music and movement, and have worked together to develop this ride into the treat that it is. More instructors will be trained on the Rhythm Ride in the future, so let us know if you love the class and we will do what we can to offer you more Rhythm Rides on the schedule!

Welcome to our Blog!

“I bring the music, you bring the sweat, and together we make magic.”

Hi! I’m Olivia. You may have caught me on the bike sometime over the past couple months; I’ve been teaching at Cadence since October. Wow, has it been a blast so far! Cadence riders are unparalleled when it comes to intensity. Don’t get me wrong, every one of you has been warm and friendly, but when the lights go off and the music comes on, y’all become beasts. It’s inspiring.

After my first class at Cadence, I knew I had to bring more to the table. Cadence riders aren’t on their bikes to dance and bounce; they want to learn, to grow stronger, and to see results. When I was told after that first class by a couple of Cadence regulars to push them harder next time, I was thrilled. (Challenge accepted, by the way.) This is what I’d been looking for: riders who want to block out the world for 45 minutes and get work done.

That’s not to say we don’t have fun doing it. There are whoops and hollers and the occasional sing-along; there are laughs and cheers and a constant effort to find more ways to move on the bike. But the bottom line is that the Cadence rider, no matter their riding level, shows up to improve on their last ride. It’s 45 minutes of sheer sweaty madness.

Let me take a hot second to introduce myself. I’ve been teaching fitness for two years. During grad school, I started teaching barre classes as a way to be both mobile and social – two things that the stagnant, isolated grad student desperately craves. I instantly fell in love with group fitness; I discovered spin shortly after, and on a whim got my teaching certification. Fast forward a couple years, and I now am a “full time” fitness instructor(/freelance writer).

I love how a class allows you to feel the energy of those around you while still having your own focus and your own pace. And I love being the one on the leader bike who gets to design a ride that challenges you, and to cheer you to the top of each hill and the end of each sprint. I feel inspired every single ride as I watch you push yourselves.

I bring the music, you bring the sweat, and together we make magic.

This blog is a new space that hopefully will carry that magic off the bike. We want to extend those wonderful post-ride conversations outside of the studio. So, here you can expect to find instructor interviews, recipes, playlists, insider spin info, client highlights, community events, motivation, and so much more. And, we want to hear from you about what you want to see. Let us know questions, curiosities, concerns, and we can have a conversation right here.

In the meantime, I’ll catch you on the bike! You can find me teaching five times a week: 7am and 930am Monday, 7am and 630pm Thursday, and 1045am Saturday. I’m always happy to chat – about suggestions for our rides, new music finds, blog ideas, or just how your day is going and what you’re doing this weekend – so please feel free to come say hi!