Getting Fly with Brett Hoebel

A couple of Saturdays ago, I met up with some of my blogger friends to “get breathless” with Brett Hoebel at the Larchmont location of Flywheel, which is an indoor cycling group fitness studio. As soon as I arrived, I knew that I was in for a different experience than my usual cycle class at my local Y.

The studio features stadium style cycling with “leaderboards” up at the front. These flat screen TVs will show which Flywheel cycle is in the Top 10 during the fitness class. Let it be known that this leaderboard kind of unnerved me. I’m somewhat competitive by nature, but I was in a room full of fitness folks who were very much “in it to win it” during the class. As much as I wanted to crack the Top 10, it wasn’t meant to be. NOTE: During a regular Flywheel class, you have the option of creating an “alias” or fun name. However during this special class, the leaderboard just showed our bike number.

The studio is modern, bright with a nice changing area & locker section. The lockers are free & you get to pick your own number combination after you stash your gear in the locker.

The studio offers free towels & cycle shoes that you click into the bike. I like that they have a seating chart for the bikes next to the towels. When you check-in at the front, you are given your bike number, so it was helpful to look at the chart so that I could find my bike. Take note though that each bike has a number above the front wheel, so you can find it that way also.

Once the entire group was assembled, we gathered in the lobby to take a group photo before we got sweaty & breathless.

Then Brett Hoebel gave a brief pep talk in the lobby of the studio. He explained how the leaderboard worked & how these Flywheel bikes are different from other cycle bikes because they have a torque number device.

I’m used to the bikes where you just randomly turn the knob – full circle turn to crank it up/down or half-turn if you only want to climb the “hill” & change the resistance at an incremental rate. These bikes have a number, so you know your exact resistance or torque. I kinda like that because when the instructor yells out a number range as your guide, you know exactly where you should be.

About half-way through the class, Brett had us pick up a baton (found next to the torque device) & rest it on our handlebars. Then we started our arm exercises while we continued to pedal the Flywheel bike. I liked this baton. I generally don’t like to use hand weights when I exercise on a bike, but the baton was easier to grip & control (in my opinion). I liked getting an arm workout in while “burning out my legs” on the bike.

After the class was over, I was a hot, sweaty mess. But I still got my photo taken with Brett Hoebel! You may remember Brett as the trainer from “The Biggest Loser” Season 11. Brett is much more than just Jillian Michaels’ temporary replacement. Brett has his own company “Hoebel Fitness” which takes a body-mind approach stemming from Brett’s diverse experience in Eastern and Western disciplines. Also did you know that Brett has an undergrad and graduate education as a premed in biomedical science? So when he is yelling at you to get you’re a$$ up off the bike seat, just know that it is coming from a place of both love & science! Brett also has a new 20 Minute Body DVD Program coming out, so check out his website for more details.

After I was given my goodie bag of treats (thanks Kind Bar, Vega Sport, Flywheel for the treats & awesome tank top!), I met up with my Fly Girls (who were supposed to take the class, but got stuck in traffic – tsk, tsk). We grubbed out on some yummy food at a great restaurant across the street from Flywheel.

NOTE: Being that the studio is located in the Larchmont area, I really appreciated the free parking in the back of the studio. Make sure you park there & not like my friends who paid for street parking because they didn’t know about Flywheel’s parking lot. 🙂

Disclosure: I attended a media event for fitness bloggers & influencers and also received a goodie bag. Though a post was not required, I wanted to share my experience. All images are mine unless otherwise noted. My thoughts & opinions are 100% my own.