A Portland, Ore., exercise studio has added a special spin to its cycle workout program.
At Corner On Fitness, exercisers can combine stationary biking with foreign-language instruction. Currently, conversational French, Spanish and Japanese are offered.
The classes were created by the studio`s owner, Ellie Hodder, a music teacher turned fitness instructor.
”A typical (stationary biking) class includes a lot of dialogue, and the more I thought about that, and teaching techniques, it seemed a perfect combination,” she says.
Hodder has recruited language teachers to conduct the five-week sessions. Pairing cycling and instruction has been ideal, says Hodden, who earned a master`s degree from Southern Illinois University.
”It`s an easy way to give people with lots of different fitness levels a good workout … and because there`s less balancing involved (in the workout) they can focus on the learning aspect.”
Hodden, whose studio specializes in serving overweight women and other non-typical fitness clubgoers, says cycle learning classes have been so successful that she plans to add pedaling courses in healthy eating and film appreciation.