Blue and purple lights flash in a dark room, and hype music blasts through the speakers. It’s not a dance club. It’s a cycle class at the Reynolds Gymnasium.
Senior Delaney Wiegel has been teaching indoor cycling classes at Wake Forest since her sophomore year. She specializes in beat-based cycling, also known as spin, which utilizes a specialized stationary bike with a weighted flywheel to create resistance. The exercise also has a twist – its pace is determined by the beats per minute of accompanying songs. Wiegel leads 45-minute outdoor spin classes and enjoys teaching the rhythmic, music-based routines to groups of students.
A longtime passion
When Wiegel took her first cycle class in eighth grade, she hated working out. Her mom was very active and always tried to get Wiegel to run or play sports. Most of the time, she refused.
Story continues below advertisement
But one morning, Wiegel’s mom woke her up and told her they would be going to a cycling class. Wiegel couldn’t fight back and, to her surprise, didn’t hate the class. From then on, she looked forward to cycling at Spoke Fitness, the studio she still frequents in her hometown of Rochester, N.Y.
“I don’t feel like I’m working out, but my heart rate is up, and I’m out of breath,” Wiegel said. “I wasn’t clocking that I was working out because I was having such a good time.”
When Wiegel arrived at Wake Forest, the gym enrolled only one cycle instructor and offered few classes. Wiegel approached the instructor after one of these classes and asked to take over his position when he graduated that spring. Wake Forest later developed its indoor cycle program and now requires an audition and certification for instructors.
Wiegel strives to recreate the positive environment she experienced in her first cycle classes.
“I saw how much joy it brought me as someone who found her groove in wellness and working out through cycle,” Wiegel said. “I realized that there was such a toxic stigma around why people work out. It was always from wanting to lose weight or getting ready for a vacation. I absolutely hate that mindset. You can be healthy without being toxic, and you can look and feel your best by doing it with things that you love.”
Participants in Wiegel’s cycle classes say they enjoy her emphasis on making fitness fun. Senior Grayson Weavil said she started attending to support her best friend, then fell in love with Wiegel’s teaching style.
“I am not a huge workout person, but [Wiegel]’s classes have actually transformed my mindset about how fun working out can be,” Weavil said. “I honestly used to dread the idea of going to the gym or a workout class, but I’ve really developed a love for cycling because of [Wiegel’s] classes. I actually enjoy going and she makes me feel great when I go to her class.”
Though cycling may not seem to align with Wiegel’s Business and Enterprise Management major, she has a zeal for the activity. After graduating in May, Wiegel plans to move to Houston, Texas, for a position in commercial real estate at Marcus & Millichap. She plans to continue cycling in her new home city.
“Whether I teach right away or not, I’ll always carry cycle with me through being a student,” Wiegel said. “I cycle two different ways. Obviously, I teach, and then I also strive to be a student a lot because when I’m a student, I push myself further than when I’m teaching.”
Spinning up the perfect class
The first step in preparing for spin class, according to Wiegel, is creating the perfect playlist. It’s a strategic, detailed process – different stages of the workout, including warm up, sprint, slow climb, job and oblique, require songs with different beats per minute. Wiegel said she finds the best music through SoundCloud remixes. She also enjoys curating a theme, whether that be rap, Taylor Swift Eras Tour or Tate McRae – the latter being Wiegel’s personal favorite.
Upon arrival, Wiegel practices her choreography, connects to the speakers and turns on colorful LED lights in the studio. At the beginning of each class, she ensures the participants know her studio is a judgment-free zone.
“I always say, ‘if you are going to judge the people around you, my classes aren’t for you,’ Wiegel explained. “And I say, ‘whatever you do today, as long as it’s your best, I’m proud of you. Whether that’s sitting the entire time or going full out, you showed up, and the hardest part was walking through the door. So, I’m proud of you.’”
Wiegel said motivation is vital during difficult workouts.
“In the final sprint or during the arms I’ll always be like, ‘we are absolutely blessed to feel the burn, because it means we’re alive,’” Wiegel said. “We’re living, and that’s a blessing.”
At the end of every class, Wiegel tells her students to put one hand on their heart and one on their stomach so they can feel their heart beating and their stomach rising and falling.
“I tell them that we don’t come here because we’re trying to get rid of a negative image we’ve told ourselves we see in the mirror,” Wiegel explained. “We come here because we want to show ourselves we’re capable of growth, both inside and outside the classroom, and we can do hard things. I figured if I could start teaching and spread that mindset and even help one person, then I’ve done my good deed for the world.”
Weavil expressed admiration for her friend and teacher.
“[Wiegel] is by far the most wise, intentional and bright person that I’ve ever met,” she said. “She has this unique outlook on life that makes you so innately grateful for the circumstances you’re in. She makes me feel so confident about myself, and she is somebody who truly celebrates me as a friend.”
