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I maxed: Reporter survives Imax’s new spin class — just

I maxed: Reporter survives Imax’s new spin class — just
Photo by Stefano Giovannini

Sweating over stories and dealing with spin and backpedaling is part of any reporter’s day — but never quite so literally as when I agreed to try out cinema chain Imax’s new Dumbo gym, where customers work out on exercise bikes in front of a giant video screen.

One thing that isn’t typically part of a reporter’s day? Time to stay in shape. So when the company invited me to try a class at the Plymouth Street studio on Thursday, I just hoped all the time I spend walking to community board meetings and running for buses to collect police blotters had kept me in good enough condition to conquer the phenomenon that is spin class.

After all, how hard could pushing pedals in front of Imax movies really be?

The first clue came during the head honcho’s introduction.

“This is not entertainment — this is a workout,” Imax Shift’s chief executive Bryan Macovici warned the assembled journalists.

The second came when I learned I am apparently the only 25-year-old woman in New York who has never taken a spin class before — at least judging by instructor Jesse Alexander’s surprised reaction when I told him it was my first time.

Still, when the lights went down and the screens fired up, it really did seem like entertainment.

The visuals tricked me into thinking I was somehow defying gravity and riding across a tropical oasis. The music, which rotated between rock, hip-hop, and ear-grating electronic dance music bangers, sounded crisp as it pulsed out of the Imax speakers.

I pedaled along as we flew over the jungle and through outer space, boasting to myself that I wasn’t even that out of shape.

It wasn’t until the 20-minute mark — when Alexander said, “We’re going to have a Kendrick Lamar moment,” and his song “Backseat Freestyle” started blaring over the speakers — that I started to notice the beads of sweat pouring down my face and my legs burning.

I wished Imax had installed fans and misters for a truly immersive jungle and seaside experience.

About 30 minutes in, I started to feel nauseous. The bagel I’d eaten for breakfast was moving around my insides. But I refused to give in, convincing myself that being the reporter that threw up all over the Imax Shift floor would make for an even better story.

I just tried to concentrate on making it through the rest of the class without christening the auditorium, and the visuals in front of me were a welcome distraction — even if it was increasingly more difficult to focus on them.

I wondered how anyone could ever enjoy staring at themselves in a giant mirror as they did this and rejoiced that I got to watch a movie instead.

Finally, after 45 minutes, the class was over. I left the studio sweaty, red-faced, and exhausted — but nevertheless surging with endorphins and feeling motivated to get back on my fitness game.

Living on a reporter’s salary means I don’t have exactly have the moolah to pay for multiple Dumbo Shift classes a week — they start at $31 a session — but I would definitely go back a few more times when I have the cash. And that’s no spin.

Reach reporter Lauren Gill at lgill@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260–2511. Follow her on Twitter @laurenk_gill
Hit the floor: Gill is all tuckered out after traversing the galaxy, oceans, and jungle on her spin bike.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini