Options abound for fitness classes

Cycling, TRX and a ballet-inspired class are great options for indoor fitness

High-calorie holiday dinners are right around the corner for Thanksgiving and Christmas so now is a good time to start thinking of how to shed unwanted pounds during the winter.

As the weather gets colder, people are starting to take their workouts from outdoors to inside. Since there’s strength in numbers, group fitness classes could be the key to exercise success. A quick look in fitness magazines or at exercise trends would reveal that spin, TRX and barre are some of the most popular workouts for 2016.

A new fitness studio in Upper Providence called TORQUE happens to offer all three. Owner Summer Fatzinger said she chose the name TORQUE because it means momentum — and moving is exactly what people do at the facility.

SPIN CYCLING

At TORQUE, an indoor cycling spin class almost feels like a night in a dance club. There’s dimmed lighting and people ride to the beat of music. The instructor leads the class in upper body movements as people cycle away but also acts as DJ for 45 minutes to keep up the motivation.

“It’s like a dance party on a bike,” Fatzinger said.

She said the dark atmosphere helps people not to be so self-conscious when they’re cycling.

“When you take away those senses, when you take away that inhibition, when you take away that worry then you can get the most out of your workout and you can actually let go,” she said.

The studio also offers a Spin 101 class every first Tuesday of the month for beginners. The class is an introduction to the fun cycling exercise and goes over positioning and how to set up the bike.

Meghan Callen, of Hatfield, said she was pretty nervous when she first took a spin class at TORQUE but quickly began to enjoy the high energy class.

“To take 45 minutes out of a day to regroup, sweat it out to great music, push through the obstacles, and ride together as a team of women encouraging each other, well, there’s just nothing else like it,” Callen said.

TRX SUSPENSION

TRX suspension training uses hanging resistance bands and a person’s own body weight to create a total body workout, said Fatzinger.

TRX founder Randy Hetrick was a Navy SEAL commando and developed the first version of TRX suspension equipment as way to maintain his physical condition while on deployment. All members of the U.S. military use a TRX conditioning program according to the TRX website www.trxtraining. com. The TRX website also sells suspension equipment that can be set up at home.

BARRE

“Barre is like a ballet-inspired toning exercise,” Fatzinger said.

Participants of the class use a ballet barre to do different balletinspired exercise that lead to lean and tight muscles. People that take a barre fitness class use their own body weight as resistance and target the muscles in their arms, thighs and abs.

TORQUE also offers fusion classes for people that want to combine spin and barre, barre and TRX or spin and TRX.

“What we do together in a class at TORQUE is very symbolic of how we should all live our lives when we walk out of those doors, and I’m proud to know and be a part of this wonderful group of individuals who make our community a better place,” Callen said.

Fatzinger said she opened TORQUE so it could be a safe place where people could escape the challenges and obstacles of life.

“This isn’t just a workout studio. This is a place where people come to feel better about themselves,” she said.

When the studio opened in September, something called the TORQUE Movement began. Fatzinger said people recommend someone that’s going through a trying time and needs some uplifting for the movement. The nominated individual then gets to take two weeks of classes for free. After that person completes their two weeks then they recommend someone else to take their place.

“This is just providing a small bit of hope and happiness,” Fatzinger said.

TORQUE is located at 1610 W. Main St. in Upper Providence. People can reserve spots in the classes two weeks in advance. People new to the studio get to take one free class. For more information, visit the website at www.thetorquemovement.com or call 484-961-8295.

Additional indoor cycling, TRX and barre fitness classes are offered in the region. For example:

• Fit Ryde is an indoor cycling and fitness studio in West Chester. The studio uses indoor biking stations that tilt and lean and people ride it to resemble an outdoor road bike. For more information, visit the website at www.fitryde.com/index.html or call 516-425-3289.

• The Penn Oaks Tennis & Fitness Club in West Chester has Barre Fusion classes available. The classes are open to members and nonmembers. For more information, visit the website at www.pennoakstennisandfitness.com/barre-fusion or call 610-399-3800.

• Focus Fitness Main Line is a fitness studio in Bryn Mawr that offers spin and TRX classes. For more information, visit the website www.focusfitnessml.com or call 610-5255515.

• The Tone Zone is a fitness facility that has two locations in Conshohocken. The studio has several types of barre and cycling classes. For more information, visit the website at tonezone4me.com or call 216-325-3340.

• Wyomissing Fitness and Training studio has spin and TRX classes. For more information, visit the website at www.wyofitness.com or call 610-743-4039.

“To take 45 minutes out of a day to regroup, sweat it out to great music, push through the obstacles, and ride together as a team of women encouraging each other, well, there’s just nothing else like it.” — Meghan Callen, of Hatfield

For more healthy living stories, visit the Fit for Life website www. pottsmercfit4life.com.

MICHILEA PATTERSON — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Summer Fatzinger, owner of the fitness studio TORQUE in Upper Providence, leads an indoor cycling class called spin. The class was done in a darkened room with energetic music playing in the background.

MICHILEA PATTERSON — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA A group of women take an indoor cycling class called spin at the recently opened fitness studio TORQUE in Upper Providence. The studio offers TRX and barre fitness classes in addition to spin.

MICHILEA PATTERSON — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Women do resistance suspension training using TRX equipment during a class at the fitness studio TORQUE in Upper Providence. Participants of TRX classes use their own body weight as part of their workout.

SUBMITTED PHOTO — MEGHAN CALLEN Instructor Julie Acree leads a barre fitness class at a recently opened studio in Upper Providence called TORQUE. The muscle toning class uses a ballet barre.