Spin Sculpt: Everything You Need to Know About the Latest Fitness Trend
It's going to make you sweat.
Love your spinning class but looking to kick it up a notch? Studio SWEAT‘s Cat Kom has an answer to that. The San Diego-based personal trainer and entrepreneur created a spinning fusion workout that is guaranteed to make you sweat and keep you toned. It’s called Spin Sculpt, and it combines everything you love about spinning with the benefits of strength training.
“One of the things I found from spinning so much was that I couldn’t find the time for strength training,” she tells Organic Authority. “Spinning is such a great workout but there are only so many moves you can do with it. You can be creative with workouts when it comes to your resistance and speed but I wanted to keep it interesting.”
Soon after opening up her first gym in Washington State back in 2005, she came up with the idea of combining strength and spinning classes, which would later become her trademark Spin Sculpt. The idea was to do a full body strength class coupled with spinning all within a one hour class. It was so successful that she started selling out each class with wait lists.
When she moved to San Diego and opened Studio SWEAT in 2010, her clients back in Seattle missed her Spin Sculpt work so much that they requested workout videos from her so they could continue to work out and be trained by Kom. From there, stemmed Studio SWEAT onDemand, an on-demand solution that allows users to stream Kom’s Studio SWEAT fitness classes, including her popular Spin Sculpt, anytime, anywhere.
If you’re obsessed with spinning and want to tone and strengthen your body with weight training, here’s what you need to know about this fusion workout that is not only time efficient but will also make you sweat.
Why Try a Fusion Workout?
“Everyone needs the benefits of both cardio and strength,” says Kom. “And this workout combines them. It’s been proven time and again you should be doing both.” Kom doesn’t agree with the cardio fiends who say cardio is best or those lifters that don’t believe in leaving the weight room.
“You need a well-rounded exercise program. This is one way to get it done in one swoop. If you’ve been stuck to the same cardio routine or have never weight lifted in your life, your muscles will atrophy. This program is ageless. I don’t care how old you are, if you can pick up a weight, I want to encourage that. Weight training is important.”
Kom says her program is suitable for a wide variety of fitness fans and beginners.
“While there are many varieties of fusion workouts that combine cardio and strength training, the beauty of the Spin and Sculpt class is that it’s low-impact. It’s perfect for those who are beginners and those who like to go hardcore.”
What Makes Spin Sculpt Different
While Kom admits various that gyms have adopted a similar method of training that blends spinning with strengthening, she says the difference with her classes lies with the attention on form.
“Other workouts that use spinning and strength, you’ll see that they have a little weight rack near the bike and then you’ll use the weights while you’re spinning,” says Kom. “But any type of strength move, whether it be a lunge, a squat, anything, you need to be aware of your form. And if you’re doing a shoulder press on a cycling bike, you can’t possibly focus on good form.”
She adds, “When I see those classes when they’re doing tricep kickbacks on bikes as a trainer I cringe. Doing shoulder presses or any strength move on a bike is just not safe. Any trainer worth their weight shouldn’t be advocating that.”
In Kom’s class, students get off the bike to complete their strength workout. Not only is it safer and more effective, says Kom, but when you’re doing any kind of resistance training on the floor “there are so many more moves you can do then while you’re on the bike.”
The Format
Whether you’re taking a Studio Sweat Spin Sculpt class in-person or online, Kom says she gives the instructors the freedom to mix up the class however they want as long as they have a proper warmup. Instructors can start with resistance training or start with a ride.
The most popular formats, says Kom, is when clients bounce back and forth from the weights and the bike. “So you’re on the floor doing some weighted squats and lunges before hopping back on the bike for a six-minute sprint. Then you’ll go back to the floor for some triceps work and go back on the bike for a hill ride. It’s amazing how much work you can get done within an hour.”
Kom says the instructors are dedicated to providing a full body workout every time you work out, which means you’re hitting everything from the shoulders to the calves. From standard lunges to curtsy lunges to bicep curls to shoulder presses, you name it, and you’ll be doing it.
Students always know the appropriate equipment beforehand too, says Kom. While the resistance moves run the gamut, they usually require equipment as simple as a pair of dumbbells or a resistance band.
If you’re interested in checking out a Spin Sculpt class, you can always visit Kom in San Diego or take a class via Studio SWEAT onDemand. There, you’ll find a variety of classes ranging from 20 minutes to 90 minutes. Online memberships range from three months to a year.
No matter which class you decide to try, you’ll most definitely sweat.
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