Studio owner Paul Harmeling joins me to discuss Full Psycle Indoor Cycling Studio that he owns with his two other partners (Shelly Scott & Kris Pennell) in Orange County, CA.
I observed two classes when I visited and was very impressed by the diversity of the participants in attendance; from a bunch of teenage girls to professional athletes. Fantastic!
Paul's bio from their website:
Paul Harmeling
Paul Harmeling is a Co-Founder, Instructor and the President of FULL PSYCLE. If the number of fights breaking out at front desks over admission to classes is correlated with popularity, Paul is one of Orange County”™s most popular cycling instructors. With a genetic predisposition for group exercise gained from his mom Kathy, a prodigious aerobics and step instructor, and a life-long love of exercise and coaching, Paul made the move from the back of the cycling studio to the front in 2008. The upbeat, motivating music and intense, endless energy in Paul's class most resemble those commonly encountered at a Vegas pool party, with bikes and sports bras supplanting bottle service and bikinis. His class will take you to the brink of collapse and leave you in a state of euphoria. Paul has taught previously at Equinox and 24 Hour Fitness, and in 2012 was one of six instructors in Southern California selected to instruct at the Challenged Athletes Foundation”™s Tour de Cove. Paul has a degree in Biology from UCSD and Masters Degrees in Engineering and Business from MIT and UC Irvine, respectively.
Studio details:
FULL PSYCLE 230 E 17th St., #100 Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Phone: (949) 631-2222 Email: info@fullpsycle.com
Indoor Cycles: Spinner® Blade Ion
In class display system of rider performance metrics: Performance IQ
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John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
Hi John,
i couldn’t help but notice all the ‘push-ups’ on the bike in the video. I thought this was the terrain of uninformed instructors who just don’t realize how ineffective and potentially hazardous this move is. Not to mention the power loss it creates. I had the understanding that of all the new ‘fitness’ moves on the bike (bicep curls, shoulder press, squats etc.) this was the one that was deemed the worst. (Not to mention incredibly silly looking, but that is just my opinion. : ) Have I missed a new change in the paradigm of indoor cycling ? If I am misinformed, please let me know. I come here to learn!
Thanks so much.
Lula you haven’t missed anything – there’s a lot of diversity in cycling class formats. Some we’d both consider as a bit silly – all the way to super serious power training like the class I taught this morning.
Each format appeals to different audiences. My cyclists would laugh at me if I did that stuff, just as there are plenty of people who would have left my class after 10 minutes saying it’s boring… if they ever came in the first place.
As far as any safety issues to doing push-ups, I really don’t see any. I’ve taken dozens (maybe hundreds)of classes that do these and I’ve never once seen anything that would cause you concern.
IMO they’re ineffective > but the people doing them don’t care… they want to move, which is what they (the customer) wants to do, besides just sitting there and pedaling.
The beauty is that we can all decide what’s appropriate for our classes 🙂
Thanks John! Always open to new opinions!
Best-