Leeds Girls Can Ryde Takeover

On Thursday 19^th October L1 Performance didn’t know what had hit them when a small army of Leeds Girls Can ladies took over their Ryde studio.  L1 Performance is a beautiful gym on Wellington Place in Leeds and let me tell you, they put on a good Ryde class. Ryde is essentially a spin class. Spinning is an activity that is very popular but if you’ve never tried it before the thought of high-speed, high-intensity cycling might make you feel a bit queasy? I have been to spin classes before but not for a long time, the Ryde session reminded me what I've been missing out on.

I arrived at L1 early, ready to meet some new ladies and suss out the situation. I was greeted by the friendly L1 Reception team and sent to be kitted out for the session. Everybody was given a pair of spin shoes, you know the kind that cyclists wear that clip onto the bike pedals. The studio itself was incredible, neon and flashing lights, it felt more like a bar or club than somewhere to exercise. Our instructor was called Natalie (@natalieledgardbrowne on Instagram) and she was incredible. She had created a Girls Night In playlist for us to Ryde to.

Our session was very sweaty, very challenging and very fun. We did a combination of sprints, intervals and we had some dumbbells to do some upper body weights with, all to a combination of Beyoncé, the Weather Girls and all your other favourite girl power tunes. Natalie really pushed us but equally made sure that everybody was comfortable and happy. Depending on your ability and fitness you could go at a pace that suited you, you were in control of the resistance of the bike, the speed that you went at, when you needed a water break. No matter how you were feeling, you could push yourself as hard as you wanted to which made for a really personalised session for each individual. We all walked out of that studio with our heads held high, knowing that we had gone as fast as we could have done.

Many of the ladies who came along said that it was their first time taking part in a Ryde class and that they would be sure to go to more in future. Natalie runs all sorts of themed Ryde classes which keeps it fresh, fun and entertaining. Thank you to Natalie for such a fab session, I was VERY sweaty by the end of it and thank you to all the wonderful ladies who came and gave Ryde a go!

Em x