Keoni Hudoba-Midas Strikes Again, Except Now Everything He Touches Turns to.. Yellow?
SoulCycle yellow, that is. You betcha - Keoni is the newest teacher at Soul. "You've already reviewed Keoni twice," you whine. Um, deal with it. I will take every excuse I can get to hang out with Keoni. No, seriously.
...And, per usual, this class absolutely rocked. If you want to know more about how I feel WRT Keoni, check out my DRENCHED review here (http://blog.rateyourburn.com/blog/post/2012/02/01/class-review-drenched-with-keoni-hudoba-24-hour-fitness.aspx) and my Barry's Bootcamp review here (http://blog.rateyourburn.com/blog/post/2011/11/26/class-review-arms-abs-with-keoni-hudoba-barry-s-bootcamp.aspx).
On Keoni, as a Soul teacher:
He's born for this. He has crazy energy, pulls off silly dance moves, yells at us with the deep Keoni voice, and makes great eye contact. And honestly, he's built to instruct. He gives you that gooey feeling, like "I want to be part of this."
Music was really unique, and well-timed with the moves. Heard some We Are Young (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv6dMFF_yts) in there, a little Rage Against the Machine, and a bunch of other cool stuff I wasn't familiar with.
On the actual class:
- Lots of out-of-the saddle work and pushups; sometimes the speed got too fast for me in the double-time pushups, but generally the pace was great.
lots of side-to-side dips (right elbow down, left elbow down) that make you look like you're doing a silly dance. They were fun.
- Arms section. Was so. Hard. Honestly, I forgot to get my usual 2- or 3- pounders at the beginning of class, and I was feeling lazy, so I just used the 1s.. and it was plenty. The man next to me was groaning like an ox. And you know what? I'm okay with that. This is the first SoulCycle class ever that actually left me sore.
- One criticism: we did some crunch things with the weights, and they did not feel good on my back. That's the only part I would remove from the class.
Let's make it religious
Per usual, Keoni had a trick or two up his sleeve. During the last song, shit got HEAVY.
"You're on a flat road now," Keoni said, turning the lights off, leaving us with candle light. "You need to pass 5 people. As we go, I'll tell you who you're passing, and I want you to put on as much resistance as you need for that person. Listen to your neighbors breathing. And be honest."
- "Someone who treated you badly in highschool." Oddly, even though I certainly wasn't the most popular in high school, the only person I could think of was someone who I treated badly in highschool. Huh. Sorry about that, girl. Then I thought a little harder and thought about my high school boyfriend. "Na," I thought, "you were kind of an idiot back then so you can't really blame him for breaking up with you." Keoni really got a little inner monologue going, anyway.
- "Someone who broke your heart." I thought back to my most recent fling (um. Like a year and a half ago. Dammit I am terrible at this game). The dude just kind of lost interest, and I was irrationally affected by it. "Fuck that guy, I'm awesome," I thought. Resistance UP.
- "Someone who didn't believe in you." Here's where I got a little emotional. Because I couldn't think of ANYONE. My family, my friends, my coworkers - everyone in my life supports me, even when I do crazy things like quit my job to build a website for fitness instructors. How fucking lucky am I. Resistance UP.
- "The people who gave you life." RESISTANCE UP RESISTANCE UP RESISTANCE UP RESISTANCE UP RESISTANCE UP. You wanna bring my mama and my daddy into this, Keoni? IT'S ON LIKE DONKEY KONG.
- "The only person who matters - YOU." Needless to say, everyone went crazy. Keoni absolutely blasted the music. Some dude started crying. It. Was. Awesome.
What is with the Creepers Sitting on the Floor.
So this was my first "community ride" and I don't know, maybe this is a thing - does "community ride" mean we invite the community to come sit around on the floor as the rest of us spin? The whole class I kept thinking, now THAT is fucking dedication. There weren't enough bikes for you, but you said what the hell, I'm staying, muthafuckas.
Also, one of the women on the floor seemed to think the music was way too loud for her liking, and was plugging her ears, which was beyond weird - like, you're not cycling, but the music is too loud for you? Why are you here? WHAT IS HAPPENING? Anyway, I got a huge kick out of the floor-sitters, and would appreciate more floor-sitters in the future.
Hot. Like, the Temperature.
I didn't notice it last time I was at this studio, but now I get what BeFit was talking about - this room was HOT. I asked Keoni about this later and he was like, "I know right? I love it!"
The heat/steam spraying off my body resulted in an almost immediate fogged mirror, and Keoni proceeded to write things in it. Here's a criticism: Keoni, could you please write more neatly? I can't read your sloppy-ass writing. < 3
Rique!
It was pretty awesome to be seated in front of Rique Uresti, who I watched like a creeper for the entirety of the ride, copying his every move. Um, yes. I am obsessed with working out near other instructors.
In sum:
Keoni will start having classes for real mid-April (that's the word on the street). Advice to you: BOOK EARLY.
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