Lifestyle

Virtual Spinning | with Esquared

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When I saw Virtual Spinning on Esquared, I was immediately intrigued. So intrigued that I signed up for an 8am class on a sunny Monday morning. Yep, I’m that sad. And to make it even better, I was completely alone in the class. I know, hysterical.

But why was I there you may ask? Why on earth was I choosing to exercise on a Monday morning. Well Esquared got in touch and asked if I wanted to review the app and let’s be honest when it comes to exercising, we need a little incentive. So with a free class or two thrown in, I thought to myself that this would be a good opportunity for me to keep up my fitness plan.

Now I’ve done the traditional spinning class but I have never tried virtual spinning. It sounded like some new space-age fitness class, so I booked myself in via the app that morning. Using the Esquared app is easy to use and the process of booking a class is fairly simple. Once you’ve created an account the map will find classes that are near you and the more you zoom out of the map, the more classes show up in those areas.

So at the moment, the app only seems to be partnered up with venues around London and the outskirts of the city, reaching as far as Milton Keynes and Southampton. There’s probably plans to expand this further with gyms across the country so I’ll be sure to update you on it, if and when it happens.

All the classes vary in prices and can include anything from basic access to gyms and pools up to 60-75 minute classes. You can tailor your search to various activities and I think the app is catered for those who perhaps don’t enjoy going to the gym and would rather take part in one or two classes a week. I also think it’s great for those who have a busy lifestyle and don’t want to spend hundreds of pounds a year on an expensive gym they’d only use a few times a month.

So I booked myself in onto the virtual spinning as I traveled into London. You can book up to the last minute providing there are spaces the class. The activities are a lot more varied and unique than I thought they’d be with classes such as martial arts and ballet. I turned up to the gym around 15 minutes before the class was due to start just so I could get set up and familiar with my new surroundings.

The Jubilee Hall Gym was actually a bit of surprise to me because it’s tucked away in a corner of Covent Garden but inside, it’s massive. With high, glass ceilings, it had so much natural light and warmth shining through which I love. Their membership is £58.95 per month, which is in the mid-high range. The only thing it doesn’t have is a swimming pool which I think a lot of people look for when paying that much.

So as I explained earlier, I was completely alone in the class, which for a virtual spinning class was weird. It was a dark room with a disco ball and lights randomly flashing so I felt like I was about to take part in a one-woman raving sesh.

The personal trainer that sat on reception and who took me through the gym and to the studio, kick started the class as it hadn’t started automatically. I was then left to my own devices. Now I didn’t think I’d enjoy it as much as a class with a trainer but it was actually so much fun. You are basically watching a pre-recorded video and just cycling alongside it. I was given the option by the personal trainer before it started to do either the peaks and valleys course or the 10 mile challenge. Obviously I chose the peaks and valleys, I’m not THAT keen on exercising.

The class was only 35 minutes long which was a great time for me to slot it in before work. I think the usual 45 minutes that I’m used to is good too but with getting showered and changed, a slightly more condensed version is useful to have.

Overall, I really enjoyed the class and I think I got a lot more out of it than I would if I were just cycling on my own in the gym area. I think the app is so simple to use and with some extra credit left, I’ll definitely be trialing some other gyms out to see how it compares with my own.