CMFE at CYC Fitness

Bikes? Unilocal?Disco? Everything I love, all in one CMFE!
CYC is a pretty cool concept — it’s not new to the US (as it is popular on the east coast), but is really new to Texas. The studio itself is pretty nice– they have lockers, high quality bikes, and a fun disco room that lets the instructor play with lights during the workout.
They also have shoes that you can use, but that skeeves me out. I know how much I sweat in my cycling shoes so I brought my own. Think bowling shoes sweat x10.
Anyhow — the instructor was fun. Except for the Britney Spears tangent, that was weird. The lights switching from full room light, to side room light, to lights off with LED pieces everywhere were fun.
Now, with these kinds of spin classes, you sometimes get lots of «travel» or dancing on your bars where you move your body to the right with the beat. I LOVE THAT. I wish they did more in this class. Other classes at other spin studios I’ve been to do more of that, and it’s lots of fun.
However, I will say — the workout we had was great for an actual cyclist. Get up! sit down! etc.
Oh, and did I mention the bike quality? Their spin bikes are seriously awesome. They are far better than ones I’ve used at most gyms around here — it feels more like a road bike than the typical spin bike.
My only complaint… was parking.

Man was it a workout, or was it a workout! Everything was great, until I got called out by the instructor for lagging behind. I know he was just trying to motivate me, but I am not what you would call good shape.
Anywho, everyone was really helpful at CYC. They helped me with the locker and the signing in process, shoes and towels were also provided. I must say those shoes feel weird at the start and take some time getting used to. Also big thanks to Kind Bars for providing some much needed nutrition at the end.
Thanks Kelly for organizing this. It was a definite wake up call as to how healthy I really am.

This is from my review on CYC’s Unilocal page…
Ok, so I would normally NEVER, I repeat, never post my weight publicly but I think it’s important for this review.
I’m a curvy girl. Currently, I weigh 195. I have weighed this weight for several years now but I wasn’t always a Fat Amy. I used to weigh 130 – 150. I’m actually more confident at my current weight than I ever was being thin. I have spent my whole life worrying about being fat. Now that I am fat, I don’t have to worry about it! Anyways, being heavy actually causes a lot of stress on ones body and that is one thing I’m not happy about.
I have always wanted to try a spin class but was very scarred and it totally intimidated me. Recently, I watched that movie, «Here Comes The Boom» and there’s a scene where they show an instructor heading into a spin class with the lights off, disco lights flashing and loud thumping dance music. I was like man, that looks like fun. Literally, like 2 days later, I get an email about an upcoming CMFE and of course it was a sign from the fitness gods!
I was still a little reluctant and even called ahead to make sure there wasn’t anything else I needed to know as there wasn’t anything on their webpage specifically for newbies.
This being a Unilocal event, I didn’t choose my bike position beforehand online like you would normally do. They had us sign in and I thought the numbers were just for keeping records. Nope! I chose number 17 which was right in the front row facing the instructor! At this point I’m totally freaked out knowing that I’m not going to be able to keep up with the rest of the class and worried how that will look. The dude who helped me clip in my shoes, I believe his name was Rush, assured me that it would be okay. He was very genuine and friendly.
I’m all clipped in, I start to pedal and immediately I’m like oh man, I am not going to make it through this class! My legs were already burning and we hadn’t even started yet. My main goal was to not stop the entire class.
The instructor, named Keoni was VERY motivational. He is the founder of the CYC gyms and gave a little intro about himself and that he used to weigh over 300 pounds. Seriously guys, the dude is ripped now! He gets really, really into it. I loved that! At times, I felt like I was participating in a guided meditation. His music choices were awesome and a few times I started to cry. I know, it surprised me too but it was just because of the way the music was and also pushing myself like that. It was crazy. I effing loved it though! Besides the tearing up part, I was smiling the whole time. And if you know me, this is a HUGE deal. Keoni, kept yelling out stuff, pushing us on and even had a drum setup that he banged on to the beat. Everything he said was something positive. Another Unilocaler had mentioned that she just rolled her eyes at his motivational words but I LOVED them. I was afraid that it was going to be like a drill sergeant but it wasn’t at all like that. To me, Keoni came off very genuine and real. He was pretty funny too. I felt like I was a part of something.
So… I made it! I made it through the class without stopping! I wasn’t able to do all the ups & downs like most everyone else but I am so stoked I completed my goal. I will definitely be heading back.
The location is totally inconvenient for me as I live in Wimberley and I am not a fan of parking on the top of the building but hey, it’s free parking and when you find something that really gets you excited about fitness you don’t really give a shit about all that «other» stuff.
Tips: Get there early because you have to drive all the way up, like 6 levels inside the parking garage to park, then wait for the elevator down. Once you’re off the elevator & outside, turn left and there will be CYC.
Remember to bring a new towel with you into the bathroom/​shower as they don’t have new towels inside the actual room. Would suck to undress and then realize you don’t have a towel!
I already booked another class which is this afternoon! If you go to their Facebook page you can see at least one playlist for their Cycologists. I wish they posted one for each of them so you know what style of music will best suit your style. I booked with Robyn for today’s class and after seeing her playlist, I am a tad disappointed and hope I will still be motivated in class.

stretching the Unilocal demographic once again, i eagerly rsvp’d when the CYC Fitness event was announced. i mean, after all, i work out kind of a lot for an old geezer. i run town lake, i power walk my pooches daily, i dabble in kickboxing, weight lifting, and yoga. c’mon, what’s a little ride on a bike compared to all that?
my first inclination that perhaps i have overestimated my fitness level lo these many years was when i asked two of my favorite fit Unilocalers, keri b and jacko, if they were signing up as well — fully expecting an enthusiastic fanfare of YES OF COURSE wouldn’t miss it! unfortunately, without skipping a beat they replied, in unison, HELL NO.
uh oh.
ok so now i know two things: 1) i may be in for a world of hurt and 2) i’ll definitely be the senior member of the Unilocal brigade at this event. just me, saggin and baggin alongside all those tight taut little Unilocalstresses. ay yi yi.
but you know, i said i’d do it so off i went. my first thought as i rounded the corner at 23^rd and rio grande was «where the H am i supposed to park?» in a tone not unlike the tone used when telling those kids to get off the lawn. and then, voila’, a parking garage sitting atop the cycling studio beckoned. aww F it, i muttered, i’ll just pay to park rather than circle endlessly hoping for a street spot to open up.
i walk into the studio and immediately think «oh great» with the level of sarcasm usually reserved for greeting a «morning person». everyone inside of CYC was about 12, fit and copper-​tone tanned, and wore matching outfits with serious cycling shoes. was this going to be one of *those* places?
but wait, what’s this? the staff welcomed me — genuinely and warmly and helped me attend to every little preparatory detail with professionalism, respect, and a nice smile. no pretense here — they made me feel like i belonged, even as i tromped around, more herman munster than lance armstrong.
i got geared up, and went into «the room». i found a bike and attempted to clip my gym-​provided serious cycling shoe into the clippy thing on the pedal. success! yay!
our fearless class leader, keoni, instructed us to stand to the left of our bikes so that they could be adjusted properly. uh oh, problem. my left foot is currently inextricably bound to its pedal, apparently for eternity. this leaves me two choices: either a) stand to the left of my bike with my left leg crossed over my right leg in some sort of awkward ballet pose gone bad or b) ignore the very first instruction from the expert running the class. great start.
no amount of pulling, contorting, pushing, or twisting (or standing around leaning on my bike trying to look casual) was going to release this shoe from its appointed pedal. we were one. keoni sensed my dilemma and with a smile and a wave of his magic wand, i was freed.
once my bike was adjusted, it was time to mount. i get on, and hear the click-​click of both shoes being shackled. it occurs to me — i’m not getting off this bike until keoni says so.
right about now keoni asks if everyone has their towel and water bottle. umm. yeah, about that… see, in my haste to get to the class on time i now find myself completely waterless. and clearly i’m unable to dismount to address the situation seeing as how both feet are now permanently tethered to the pedals. but in an instant a smiling employee appears to hand me a big bottle of water. i am now good to go!
the music starts. class begins. i pedal. keoni leads. i pedal faster. keoni encourages. i sweat. keoni challenges. we jam. i’m in the zone. feets don’t fail me now. keoni instructs us to pick up our hand weights and… wait, what?
yes, it was true. there were hand weights in the little tray of my bike that had previously gone unnoticed by moi. it seems the upper appendages do not just get to go along for the ride in this workout. wake up, little sleepy appendages!
forty five minutes later, i am spent. we are done. i feel exhausted and, yet, great! time to dismount. i am once again faced with my inability to escape the satanic foot prison. this time, however, my captors take pity. i am encouraged to just slip the dawgs out of the shoes and leave the shoes dangling from the pedals for an employee to fetch. sweeter words have never been spoken. free at last, god almighty.
keoni is a master, everyone at CYC was friendly and helpful, the equipment is all top notch, and 45 minutes of asskicking went by pretty darn quickly (now that its over). i would highly recommend this class to anyone who really wants to push themselves and see awesome results.
oh! and they validated my parking! take that, you old curmudgeon.
thanks to the gang at CYC and thanks to kelly!

Holy crap, that was no joke. And I’m no wuss. I run up hills, slog through hours of Austin summer outdoor training on the bike and the trail, swim in lakes for a mile, and throw heavy weights around the gym. As they say… I workout…
All the spin classes I’ve been to have been fun ways to change up my cycle training, but nothing crazy. So I went into this class having done 30 mins of cycling, 1h30 running, 30 min swim and figured I’d take it easy to end my day.
When I was «in the desert, with 4 feet of sand, at 118 degrees», I wasn’t sure whether I was going to puke, cry, or faint. It was awesome. Keoni rocked the class so hard I didn’t care, it was a blast. I loved the low lighting, loud music, the energy, and the class format (weights on a bike? clever!)
Everyone was super friendly and the facility was great. Only complaint was the locker room got a wee bit crowded after everyone poured out of class but whatevs. This was awesome. Also loved the validated parking!
My poor +1 though, it was his first spin class ever (and he had trained with me all day), so I had to clue him in that most spin classes are less awesome but also less intense. To manage expectations and all that. :)

This was my first Unilocal Elite event and what a great way to meet people after an extremely sweaty work out!
I’ve never taken a spinning class and wanted to try it out. It’s also very conveniently located in West Campus, where most UT students live… including me! Although I didn’t have to worry about parking since I live literally a block away, CYC «validates» parking with tokens.
I brought my friend as a +1 to the event. The lady at the front desk was extremely friendly and got us situated. Another guy gave us a tour of the facility and showed us the lockers where we could store our belongings. We got our spin shoes and went into the room. The owner, Keoni, personally helped us adjust our bikes and gave us a quick run down of the class.
The class kicked my ass. I don’t think I’ve ever sweated so much from a work out. My shirt was drenches when I walked out of that room. My legs felt like noodles and my sits bones felt bruised from the hard seats (maybe I’m not sitting on it correctly). Keoni was in the lobby to greet us with a smile and a hi-​five. He was extremely motivating throughout class; I don’t know how he does it.
Big thanks to Keoni and CYC!

Wow what a fun way to burn tons of calories! Keoni was an amazing motivator and afterwards my sister & I were saying we wish he was around for all of our workouts to push us to our limits. This was only my 2^nd cycling class at a studio and it’s not usually my favorite but I was really glad I came. The workout was very high impact and high energy. The music was fun to listen to and there was a nice variety so it didn’t feel like 45 minutes. The studio is nice and very loud and a bit crowded inside the locker area and the spinning room itself. I saw that they offered earplugs so I guess that’s an option if you can’t handle the noise. My ears were ringing after! I would like to come back to CYC once in a while for a great cardio option. The free snacks and water bottles were nice after although I have to admit I ran away when they mentioned taking a photo because I was so drenched in sweat! Thanks Kelly for giving me a reason to workout (hard) on a Saturday that I’d normally take off ;-).

This was a fun event and good diversion for a Saturday afternoon. I found the high-​energy vibe kind of cheesy, but that’s my loss, not the fault of the instructor. I did dig the music and mood lighting.
Check-​in was a little scattered, but they took good care of us. The bikes were a smidge too close together for doing arm exercises, but otherwise the setup was ok.

I feel like I’ve never actually had a workout until now. No seriously, and I’ve taken all of those kickboxing/​weight lifting/​step classes at the gym (although never a spin class before). I’ve done all those fancy at home DVDs and I can honestly say I’ve never been drenched in so much sweat ever.
I was totally terrified I wouldn’t be able to keep up and would embarrass myself but fortunately there are people of all fitness levels here. There were a few moments during the class where I was SO tired I just wanted to give up, but the combination of the instructors awesome motivation and energy, and my inability to unlock my feet from those stirrups allowed me to stick it out to the end. I am SO glad I did!
The free lockers and shoe rentals are awesome. The music was great and I actually had fun working out (I didn’t even know that was possible).
I would definitely go back even though this place isn’t near home or work and is full of college students. Although I don’t think I’d pay $ 20 per class. If they email me any specials or discounts I’ll probably take them up on it. All in all this was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon and an amazing way to get fit.

My sister invited me to come to this spin class at CYC. I like to work out, but this was my first spin class, and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t excited. I’ve ridden road bikes on long, fast rides, but this was completely different.
The check in area was a little disorganized and insanely loud. You had to put your heads together, mouth to ear, and yell in order to communicate.
I liked the clip-​in shoes and locker area. CYC seems to have spared no expense in sound systems, lighting and equipment. We were crammed in there tight, it was really hard to get around the bikes, the term fire hazard crossed my mind. The staff was helpful in getting the bike fitted to my body and my shoes clipped in.
The class itself was fun but I found it a little corny. Keyoni was a great motivator and clearly put a lot of effort in to the playlist and layout of the class. Keyoni did seem to single out and yell at certain people in the class, I’m glad he didn’t yell at me! The high energy and music did help me power through tough times in the class.
I loved the Kind bars at the end, and the water bottle was cool, but it melted in my dishwasher when I washed it that night. I had a good time at the event, and may try another free class at Cyc, but I don’t see myself paying $ 21 for a class there outside of a special event. Overall, it was a great, sweaty workout and I’m glad I tried it.

After class Keoni asked his «athletes» what did they think of the class. When Keoni greeted me with a high five and asked me this question my response was I feel like I just got my ass kicked. And I wasn’t kidding.
Keoni’s energy and encouragement are non stop throughout the class getting you from the warm up to the finish line. The method takes a little from many other workouts yet is entirely unique. The two pound weights reminded me of the barre arm workouts. Two pounds sound light but you will reach muscle failure. A few times we closed our eyes and imagined landscapes and sensations like sand through our feet and a breeze which reminded me of yoga. Later we turned on the resistance and at the peak of the workout imagined a blazing desert sun reminding me of Bikram. We also got a full on dance party on our bike with towels twirling in the air reminding of zumba. Keoni challenged us all not to be perfect but be better than we were yesterday. He called us «athletes» which helps envision ourselves as such instead of labeling ourselves something negative. Keoni’s teaching style is extremely motivating and I got such a high from this 45 minute class. I will definitely be back.
Make sure to bring a water bottle, you will need every last drop of water during the class. They provide lockers with easy to use built in keypads to secure your belongings. There are changing rooms and showers. I am not sure if they do this regularly but they provided our group a token for the upstairs parking garage making parking a snap.
Thanks CYC and Kelly S. for introducing me to this awesome workout.

The class was a trip, and it’s all thanks to our rocking instructor, Keoni. I wasn’t sure what to expect — while I had done spin classes previously, this is not your average spin class. This is a high-​energy, upbeat and out of this world experience. According to Keoni’s profile on the site, he created the «CYC Method, a high energy, entertaining, 45 minute, full body road trip» and I don’t think you could describe today’s experience any differently. If you have a fear of sweating, get over it and get to Cyc Fitness. The cycologists are SUPER friendly and helpful and there is no need to feel intimidated. You control your workout and what’s even better, the lights are low in the room and the music is pumping, so you really are focused on yourself only and not distracted by others. It’s all about you and it clears your mind… it’s a high energy yet zen-​like experience.
Couple of tips: Arrive 15 minutes (or more) early like they said — you’ll want time to get to the top of the University Towers parking garage (it’s a long six floors up and down, but the parking is FREE with tokens Cyc provides), sign in, score your free locker, put on your free loaner shoes (it brings back memories of going to a bowling alley) and get your bike ready to ride. Then, of course… there is getting your shoes to clip into the pedals and wanting to get comfortable with the bike and your blood flowing. Also — DO NOT forget to bring water with you! I left mine on the counter on my way out to class, so was able to buy one there… but don’t think this is a workout you can do without some good old H20. There is a place to put your water bottle on your bike for easy access — just bring any standard water bottle and it will do the trick.
THANK YOU to Kelly and Unilocal for getting us moving and fit at this fantastic place, to the full staff at Cyc (especially Kate and Keoni) for their helpfulness and generosity (giving us the class as a trial run and water bottles as souveniers to boot), and to KIND for giving us some protein bars after our killer 45-​minute journey.
In a nutshell, this is a FUN workout, but you are definitely working hard throughout — it challenges you physically, mentally and emotionally to power through and really make the workout the best you can.

That was a fun workout ever! It is the most exciting spinning class I have ever took. I mean not many spin classes out there taught it like Keoni did. Most of them do not have the high energy and spirituality such as he did. At the end of the workout, I was basically drenched in sweat. The room is small and there are a lot of bikes. So if you don’t like being close to people when working out, well you have to get over it. Keoni brought about the community and tribe aspect to the workout meaning everyone is in this together. Also he brought up how he used to weight 327 lbs and now he is a lean, mean spinning instructor machine!!!
Shoes are provided by CYC and there is a free locker for your storage. Large lobby area to wait. I want to come back here and take a class there again. If I want to go to a spinning I want to go here and nowhere else.