JOE's Eric Lalor speaks about trying out a revolutionary new fitness experience that's going to shake things up.
Everyone who frequents a gym will know that spin classes are guaranteed to make you sweat, burn off the calories and improve your cardio fitness.
Yeah, they do all that, but they can also be boring and repetitive.
Fear not, because something new and bigger is about to be launched in Ireland and it's anything but boring. It is still spinning, but it's spinning with A distraction. Confused? Read on.
THE TRIP by Les Mills is a fully immersive 40-minute cycling workout that uses digital projection on giant ‘IMAX STYLE’ cinema size screens to create new worlds. That's right folks, you are on a exercise bike, but you're facing a big screen.
One minute you're busting your hump, then all of a sudden, you're transported into another world. It's incredibly immersive and fun.
https://youtu.be/JzTrLdNfeRE
It's like one of those simulators that you find at theme parks, except in this one, you're pushing yourself and getting fit as you go.
I went out to West Wood Club in Sandymount to try out the revolutionary exercise. I haven't trained that much myself in a while, so I was a bit apprehensive about taking this challenge on. Created by world renowned fitness guru Les Mills, THE TRIP is currently available in the West Wood clubs.
In a room full of personal trainers who were all as fit as a big bag of fiddles, I felt intimidated as I got up on the bike. Eric and Adam were our two leaders and, wearing instructor mics, they explained what was going to happen.
We took off on the journey, which lasted about 40 minutes in total. Of course it was tough, but here's the thing, it was also a huge amount of fun. It's like being inside a giant video game as you tackle steep slopes, going up and then hurtling back down again.
You can climb the side of an impossibly steep virtual glacier, sprint across hot lava flow or cycle through a space-age city.
You are pushing yourself really hard, but the trick here is that because the journey is so real and believable, you're actually distracted from your own fatigue. Without really trying, you find reserves that you probably never even realised you actually had.
The 40 minutes flew by and I was a soaking wet ball of sweat when the session was finished, but I was smiling.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I can see this taking off big time. Who knew that burning calories and working your ass off could actually be this much fun?
I hadn't trained since November before taking on the challenge, but now it has just whetted my appetite to get back into training and to join a gym again. It's time!
The first two Les Mills ‘Immersive Fitness Studios’ in Ireland opened on January 30th 2017 at West Wood Club Dun Laoghaire, and West Wood Club Sandymount. 
