We love water at the Shoppe and we encourage you all to drink as much water as recommended. For those of you who have attended our Sweat Cycle classes or any indoor cycling class for that matter, you know that you sweat A LOT during that hour. And if you do not hydrate properly pre and post indoor cycling class, it is extremely detrimental - you will find it next to impossible to complete class, you will feel overheated, and after class you may find that you feel sluggish and overextended throughout the day. On the flip side, if you drink the amount of water you need, you will find that you sweat a whole lot more during class, feel unaffected (to an extent) by the heat of the class, and are able to feel energized through the rest of your day. We cannot stress enough the importance of water and proper hydration. 

For those of you who are not sure how much you should be drinking, we have broken it down for you below. Please note, the 8 glasses of water a day is probably more accurate for folks who do not spin…especially at the Sweat Shoppe..

Instructions

Things You’ll Need

maybe a calculator

1. Weigh yourself and write down or note your weight.  
2.  Take the number of pounds you weigh and multiply that by 2/3.  That is the number of ounces you should drink everyday. For example, if you weight 150 pounds, two thirds of that is 100 and that is how many ounces you should drink daily.
3. Add 12 ounces of water for every 30 minutes you work out.
4. Make a plan for how you will drink that much water every day. The easiest way to ensure you drink the right amount daily is to buy a reusable container that you can refill throughout the day.
5. Figure out how much water the bottle/container holds and then divide that amount into your total amount of water per day that you figured out in steps 1-3. For instance, if the bottle you use holds 16 oz. of water and you need to drink 100 oz, you would divide 100 oz/16 oz. and learn that you need to drink about 6 and a quarter bottles per day. You can then plan out your day. You can drink one at breakfast, one between breakfast and lunch, one at lunch, one between lunch and dinner, one at dinner, and one before you go to bed. Think about your day and plan out when you will drink your water!

Read more: How to Calculate How Much Water To Drink Daily | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4555330_how-much-water-drink-daily.html#ixzz1Ze71PuO0

This post is dedicated to the riders out there who fear the weight of the wheel.

Without the weight of the wheel, just as in life, one cannot be challenged and therefore growth is limited. I have heard many riders express fear that riding with a weighted flywheel will “bulk” their legs. Before discussing further, at the Sweat Shoppe we believe that riding is not just about the physical transformations, but also the mental/spiritual/emotional changes that can occur when challenging oneself in class. With that said, in the hour we spend riding in a class, we move, we breath, we sweat and we suffer to a degree. We suffer because we face our fears and push past them to reach a higher level of understanding ourselves. That is and should be the goal.

We live in Los Angeles. We are surrounded by forced reminders of what we “should” look like and how we “should” live our lives. And so, it is understandable that fear comes into play. The weight of the flywheel is all about ying and yang. Balance. Push and pull. A perfect pedal stroke consists of an equal amount of energy pushing down and an equal amount of energy pulling up. If we spend too much energy pushing down or up, we create an imbalance. Enter bulky thighs. Given, we are not physiologists and cannot guarantee that focusing on perfecting your pedal stroke will immunize against bulky legs. Everyone is different and we should always do what is necessary to take care of oneself. However, upon entering the spin room, leave fear out of the equation. Focus on creating more balance in your ride. Find the ying/yang in your pedal stroke.

And remember…Fear should never be part of the equation, as it will never be part of the solution.

Peace, love n sweat