FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Yes, most people will want to bring a bottle. We have a water fountain and bottle filler station.

Yes, towels are provided and mandatory. If you are cycling, when you sign in, you will be given a red towel for yourself and a black towel for the floor/bike. If you are in the circuit training class you be given a red towel for yourself.

No, we do not have showers here. It is such a residential area that we decided the space was better used for studio space.

Yes, we have open cubbies big enough to fit a bag/backpack/etc.

A staff member will assist in signing you in when you get to the studio. They will also give you towels and help you find your bike or station.

There are numbers on the bikes and at the circuit training stations. The staff member at the desk or your instructor can also help you find your way.

Don’t worry. The bikes are a breeze to set up. The instructor and front desk staff will be able to help you with proper set up. It’s not an exact science, but there are some general rules that can help. Each time you come in, ask questions and gain some knowledge about it. Soon you’ll be able to set yourself up on a bike anywhere.

Cycling shoes are a great idea. The pedals are equipped with baskets for normal athletic sneakers and also for cycling shoes with spd clips. We encourage you to ride with cycling shoes because it enhances the workout. If you don’t have shoes you will still get a killer workout. Try it out and if you are going to stick with it, get a pair.

Yes we do recommend them. An awareness of the level of work your cardiovascular system is performing is great. We always encourage you to take opportunities to better understand your body and performance in all avenues of fitness. Cycling is really conducive to using hear rate monitors, its easy to see and you can talk or think about your level of exertion in beats per minute as the instructor moves you through the features of a workout. The bike has a console attached to them that will read a heart rate strap if you are wearing one. The consoles also give an estimate of calories burned with or with out the heart rate strap but if you wear one the estimate is likely to be more accurate. With that said it is not required and many of us have excellent fitness habits and health without using such tracking devices.  We do not sell them at Lavation at this time.

Yes, think of indoor cycling as a sprint and your outdoor rides (60-90minutes+) as endurance activities. It’s an opportunity to compress high intensity and high resistance in a short amount of time. The Anaerobic energy systems will be taxed to the max inside. This is also a great environment to teach your system to better clear out Lactic acid and/or use it for energy when needed. The increase in the anaerobic systems capacity will also mean that your cells burn energy more efficiently while riding at a lower longer aerobic level adding longevity and endurance to your rides too.

Most often times than not, person should be fueled for this type of workout. We are all so different in our needs and ability to break down different foods. Proper nutrition is a little science and a little art. A good place to start is about 200 calories 2 hrs before you ride. A combination of protein and carbohydrate. Some of us can break down heavier meals quicker and some of us need more time to break down lighter meals. Consider this a jumping off point for an exploration of what may work the best for you. If you are waking up crack of dawn and don’t want to wake up at 4am for a meal, try something a little smaller and quicker to digest so the body, liver and blood sugar can get rolling. Try fruit or maybe a protein or meal replacement shake of some kind. 

A common estimate of calories burned during steady state cardiovascular exercise is 100 per 10 minutes. This varies greatly from person to person for many reasons. Size, body composition, level of conditioning, intensity. It is not unreasonable to assume you will burn between 400-600 calories in a 50min session. As you ride different features (seated sprints, standing climbs, etc.) in your workout, you will notice the variance in heart rate through that time. We tend to burn fat as energy when we are working aerobically (vs anaerobically). This is at about 50-65% of our max effort. Cycling often works your system in the anaerobic levels, about 65-90% of your max effort, and then brings you back down toward the aerobic levels for some recovery before taking it back up again. Don’t be sad, the result of working your muscles in the higher anaerobic level is more mitochondria in the cells. These are the engines that metabolize fat stores at other time of the day when we are in lower aerobic activities. Yes, you just increased your metabolism overall. 

Don’t be, if you are taking a shot at getting into fitness for the first time or getting back into fitness after a long break, cycling is the way to go. It’s non-impact which helps take care of your joints, great for the cardiovascular system, will build good leg strength and the best part……you have complete control of your intensity the entire time. Take a class, start slow and see what you feel like. You will not stand out in a class if you take a little resistance off to make sure you are progressing in a reasonable way. Work smart. Work hard.

The 5 cardiovascular machines were selected for their heart rate raising abilities and because they incorporate full body movements. They are high quality, easy to use, and will offer a consistent heart rate challenge though out the entire loop. Individuals at all levels, novice or expert, will get the right level of challenge here. The 10 other stations are pulled from multiple exercise formats. We use movements for agility, strength, power and flexibility. We will use exercises for all layers of the abdominals, upper body, lower body and full body.

 

 

 

 

We strive for balanced routines. What does that mean? It means we carefully put together exercises in a way that address the body in the proper proportions of work in the proper areas. We address medial and lateral areas of the body and balance the front to back of your body with a valuable ratio of work for each.

We will not just hand you exercises because they are common, easy to use and seem sexy. We create our loops as if they are exercise prescriptions and with specific purpose.

Yes we do. An awareness of the level of work your cardiovascular system is performing is great. We always encourage you to take opportunities to better understand your body and performance in all avenues of fitness. With that said it is not required and many of us have excellent fitness habits and health without using such tracking devices.

There are three energy systems. ATP+CP, Glycolytic and Oxidative. Who cares? What do you need to know? The first two are Anerobic (energy without oxygen) systems, or short term systems, no fat is burned here. The last one is your aerobic (with oxygen) system, or long term system, fat can be burned here. 90 seconds of work is long enough to challenge the first two anaerobic systems, dig into the aerobic a bit and drive adaptation or improvement.

More often times than not, a person should be fueled for this type of workout. We are all so different in our needs and ability to break down different foods. Proper nutrition is a little science and a little art. A good place to start is about 200 calories 2 hrs before you train. A combination of protein and carbohydrate. Some of us can break down heavier meals quicker and some of us need more time to break down lighter meals. Consider this a jumping off point for an exploration of what may work the best for you. If you are waking up crack of dawn and don’t want to wake up at 4am for a meal, try something a little smaller and quicker to digest so the body, liver and blood sugar can get rolling. Try fruit or maybe a protein or meal replacement shake of some kind.

A common estimate of calories  burned during steady state cardiovascular exercise is 100 per 10 minutes. This varies greatly from person to person for many reasons. Size, body composition, level of conditioning, intensity. Since HIIT has a warm up, cool down and bouts of rest, it is not unreasonable to assume you burn 350-450 calories in a 50 minute session.

Just a touch of fat is burned during class. We tend to burn fat as energy when we are working aerobically (vs anaerobically). This is at about 50-65% of our max effort. The goal of the circuit is to work your system in the anaerobic levels, about 65-90% of your max effort. Don’t be sad, the result of working your muscles in the higher anaerobic level is more mitochondria in the cells. These are the engines that metabolize fat stores at other time of the day when we are in lower aerobic activities. Yes you just increased your metabolism overall.

There are many reasons why a participant would not be able to perform one or more of the exercises. That may include being uncomfortable, having an injury, lacking joint mobility or flexibility, etc.

That’s ok. Work smart. Work hard. We have alternate exercises posted on the wall so that if you need to substitute one or more of the exercises you will choose one of the substitutes and continue to workout. That way you won’t loose your workout flow. We want to do everything we can to keep you moving but moving well.

This is a group setting with 15 exercises and 15 participants. The instructor will help as much as possible but that’s a lot of bodies to look out for. We care a great deal about supporting safe long term exercise habits. We encourage you to ask questions, use the alternate exercise, understand and learn your own limits, and it’s the main reason why there are tablets at each station to help guide you through the correct movements.