Psycle Challenge: The Results

It feels like just last week that I sat down to write my Challenge Accepted post and tell you all about the challenge spin studio Psycle London had set me. But it has now been a whole four weeks since I agreed to spin three times a week for a month. I can’t quite believe it’s over. I’d become used to making my way to the new Psycle studio at Canary Wharf after work, become used to being greeted by the hot guy on reception (God I hope he doesn’t read this!), become used to sweating buckets and rocking the workouts, become used to high-fiving the instructors on the way out and become used to the lush showers & changing room facilities.

I actually feel sad now that it’s over. I am going to miss Psycle being a big part of my week. It’s just such a happy and positive environment and I seriously enjoyed each spin session. I’ve finally found a cardio workout where I’m not praying for it to end! There was only one spin class out of 12 that wasn’t all smiles for me and that’s because my head just wasn’t in it that day. Usually I would have cancelled my plans to go to the gym but booking classes at Psycle ensured I turned up, even if I ‘wasn’t in the mood’. Even in that class I had a great workout and walked out sweaty and achey, happy knowing that I pushed myself hard despite my mental barrier that day. It has to be said my favourite instructors were Lemon & Kaya, their playlists were the best!

Over the course of the challenge I learnt to push myself harder in the spin classes, I turned the dial up every time the instructor told us to, sometimes I turned it up more than we had to. I learnt how to push past the point where it felt difficult and just give a little more. I learnt that the whole 45 minutes were mine for the taking and I wanted to make the most of them. I learnt that it’s OK to sweat loads and own your sweat, you worked hard for it! I learnt not to double up on sports socks, one pair is more than enough. I met a girl (Hi Kirsty!) and her friend who had gone to Psycle to try it for the first time after reading my review and that made so incredibly happy! I met up with fab blogger Dani of MissionWorldie for a spin & a catch up.

Food wise I didn’t completely stick to the Active Detox plan set by Rhian Stephenson, nutritionist and CEO of Psycle. In the first week I was pretty good bar my sugar intake being too high, but I was focused and motivated, turning down treats at work. Then in the second week Rhian challenged me to not snack at all and I seriously struggled with that, especially as I eat lunch at 1pm, finish work at 6, spin at 7:30 and don’t get to have dinner until 9pm. There was just no way I couldn’t snack between lunch and dinner. As the days went on my motivation wavered until I completely fell off track with my eating. It taught me that being too restrictive doesn’t work for me and if I find it too difficult I won’t be able to stick to it. Going forward I am going to focus on making smarter choices as I did in the first week of the challenge but not be too restrictive. This way I’ll be able to stick to it long-term which is the most important thing for me.

Physically I don’t feel I look all that different, but my thighs feel more toned and my bum lifted slightly. After the first week I took my measurements and I’d lost a cm from my shoulders, 2cm from my belly and a cm from each calf. My legs are the last place I lose weight so I was so happy to see that after just a week. I think if I was able to stick to eating healthily then my results would be greater.

So what’s next for me? I’ll definitely be going back to Psycle when I can. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you would have seen that I’ve started Kayla Itsine’s Bikini Body Guide. I thought I was going to restart TrainEatGain’s Cutting Challenge, however I decided I needed something I can do with people and not on my own. I’m lucky to have a gym at work so a few of us have agreed to do the Bikini Body Guide at lunchtime together. I loved the support of the Psycle instructors and spinning with everyone in the classes, so I didn’t want to go back to working out in the gym on my own. Kayla’s guide is a great one that you can do with friends.

Have you been to Psycle? Have you done Kayla Itsine’s BBG? What workouts will you be doing in July? I’d love to know your goals for this month, let me know in the comments below.