A Thursday morning class opens with the lights dimming in the cycling studio. Almost all of the 20 Schwinn bikes are filled. A beat starts coming through the speakers and the instructor, Liz Kamp, who is also the owner of New Trail Cycling Studio, tells the class it is a local band, Wylder—one of the members actually takes classes at the studio.
From her position on a slightly raised platform at the front of the class, Kamp speaks instructions and tips throughout the 50-minute sweat session. She doesn’t call out, yell out or bark out anything. This is a safe space. Safe meaning no one’s stats are streaming across a board. No one is being spotlighted to push harder. Actually, the barely there lighting doesn’t even allow you to see what others are doing. Your goal at New Trail Cycling Studio, a boutique fitness spot that opened in Lake Anne in November, was designed that way.
“A lot of the boutiques have very svelte, intimidating looking instructors,” says Kamp, who has a background in psychology and has worked in the fitness industry since her college days with a final goal of having her own space where she could bring the community aspect into a boutique setting. “You walk in and you think, ‘Should I be here?’ ‘Do I have to look like them?’ And I just wanted to get rid of all of that and create a space where people of all ages and sizes could come in and feel like we want you here. Be here, have fun and be you.”
She not only accomplishes that as evidenced by the participants of the Thursday morning class—clients of all ages and sizes who walked out sweaty with smiles on their faces—but she did her research on making sure the workouts are efficient and effective by focusing on music. Studies have shown that exercising to music helps people push longer, keep a beat and synchronization, and maintain a better mood.
“To make (the workouts) the most efficient and effective, we stick to exercise science principles that have been studied enough at this point,” says Kamp. “We are incorporating that to make (the workout) fun but also to up the ante on everyone’s performance.”
After each class, participants can refresh with cool eucalyptus towels and then look forward to the email that is sent with their personal stats from the workout: duration and distance, calories burned, energy exerted and power level and RPM, both your average and max from the class.
Classes at New Trail Cycling start at 5:30 a.m. with the last class at 6:30 p.m., and include a house ride for every level and age and a 55+ class two days a week. Currently there are 14 classes a week, but Kamp hopes to offer 20 by the end of the first year, including classes for teens.
In the future, Kamp plans to expand the studio’s events, such as First Friday rides followed by happy hours and community-building offerings like running groups and outdoor cycling meetup groups. In the future, also look for complementary classes that can be done in conjunction with a cycling class, like strength, barre or yoga.
Eventually, Kamp does want to expand the location locally into other fitness avenues. “We can provide for all areas of fitness, not just cardio,” says Kamp. // New Trail Cycling Studio: 1641B Washington Plaza, Reston; $12-$22 per class based on frequency
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