By Gary Nager
So, even though I work out a minimum of three days a week (and usually more than that), thanks to our new advertisers — Pura Indoor Cycling Studio in the Shoppes at New Tampa in Wesley Chapel (between Publix and Bealls) — I decided to give the sport of indoor cycling a shot.
It’s not like I haven’t been a bike rider for a long time — I completed seven triathlons in my 30s and still can be seen tooling around on my bike from Flatwoods Park to Amberly Dr. — I just never had taken an indoor cycling class before. In fact, I had never heard the term “indoor cycling” before.
Oh, I definitely had heard of another type of indoor cycling class, one which begins with the letter “S,” but had no idea this type of activity could possibly be referred to by this other name.
Pura Cycling Studio is the brainchild of co-owners and Mad Dogg Athletics-certified indoor cycling professionals Stephanie (aka “Sheila” Farquhar and Alfio (aka “Hoot”) Carroccetto. The young couple combines Stephanie’s gift for marketing and Alfio’s teaching ability (he previously taught biology at Freedom High in Tampa Palms), although both also are very buf, but slim, and obviously able to handle the rigors of teaching multiple sp….er, indoor cycling classes a day.
The studio is basically one large room with at least two dozen indoor bicycles all angled towards the instructor, who is on a raised podium adjacent to a major sound system wearing a headset microphone. The 45-minute-to-one-hour classes feature plenty of pulse-pounding music and lots of enthusiasm from Pura’s instructors.
I took pictures of one of Stephanie’s classes, but I also had the pleasure of participating in one of the classes taught by Julie Hinson, another Mad Dogg-certified Pura instructor.
Based on how the classes work at Pura, the whole key to this type of activity isn’t having mountain road or other backgrounds flashed on a wall or having a digital readout provide you with the number of miles you’ve ridden or how many calories you’ve burnt during your session.
Instead, the instructors teach and stress proper technique, especially when it comes time to tighten up the bike’s resistance knob so you can stand up off the saddle of the bike to simulate climbing hills or even mountains, depending upon how much resistance you use.
And, that’s the thing I really liked about the class I took. Julie explained that no one is going to monitor how much resistance you use during any part of the class. So, because I live in Florida, it had been a while since I had handled any type of hill. I therefore took it a little easier than I might have otherwise, just to make sure I got through the full hour in one piece.
There’s no doubt that indoor cycling can burn up to 1,000 calories an hour, but even if I only burned 300-500 calories that first time, I definitely got a taste of how everything works — and I’ve already told Stephanie and Alfio that I will likely end up cycling at Pura 1-2 days a week, as a cardio “supplement” to my regular workouts.
“Indoor cycling really is perfect for all fitness levels,” Stephanie says. “You’re only competing against yourself and we provide a lot of emotional support for our clients, too.”
Pura Cycling offers 1-on-1 fitness assessments, the ability to register for classes online, individual session fees as well as memberships, rewards just for being a member and best of all, your first class is FREE!
Pura Cycling clients already are raving about the studio, which celebrated its Grand Opening less than two months ago.
“I took the class with Luanne about two weeks ago,” says Janet, a client who is now interested in becoming a Pura instructor. “I felt a bit intimidated at first, but I have to say that I enjoyed the class very much!
Make this year your fittest ever at Pura Indoor Cycling Studio, located at 1822 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. For more information, including the current class schedule, call 501-2124 or visit PuraCycling.com.
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