Spinning is taking over the world. What turns a first-time customer to a regular rider are the energizing workouts that challenge physically, and strengthen mentally. Each class has a main instructor stationed at the front of the room, and riders surround him or her in a semi-circle formation. Everyone rides as a pack on stationary bikes, and each session has intense cardio and weight workouts incorporated in it.
A BIG part of what makes spin classes so fun are the instructors – the people who shout inspirational mantras and play hype music to keep you going for the entire 45 minutes. And it’s no secret that these spin instructors also have some of the most enviable bods on the planet.
Photo courtesy of @teamelectricph on Instagram
As a self-diagnosed spin class addict, I wanted to investigate how spin instructors, besides their intense daily workouts, keep healthy. So I decided to interview 4 instructors (Yessa Yu-Caparas, Jam Muñasque, Abel Jose, and Raisa Ver) from Electric Studio, the first indoor spinning studio in the Philippines, to ask them what a typical spinning instructor eats daily.
These were their surprising, salad-less responses:
Yessa Yu-Caparas
Photo courtesy of @yessayu on Instagram
Her Healthy Eating Mantra: Find the right balance for your lifestyle. Overexercising can be as bad as being sedentary and depriving yourself of good food can lead to overeating. When you find what works for your body and mind, stick to it.
Her Usual Breakfast: My go-to breakfast is Starbucks’ tuna pan de sal and a skinny caramel macchiato if I don’t have time to make breakfast at home. When I do, I love avocado toasts, scrambled eggs or Greek yogurt with honey and granola and a shot of espresso.
Her Usual Lunch: I love poké bowls for lunch but usually I go for a bowl of noodle soup from my favorite Chinese restaurants.
Her Usual Snack: I try to snack on healthy things like fruits but I can’t deny that I absolutely love my pastries and coffee. I also crave frozen yogurt all the time.
Her Usual Dinner: Steak with a side of buttered vegetables and pasta is my favorite dinner, paired with a glass (or two) of red wine. But my usual dinner is Korean food takeout.
Jam Muñasque
Photo courtesy of @jamunasque on Instagram
Her Healthy Eating Mantra: The food you put inside your body will eventually show outside. Being healthy is an effort of your whole being – everything from your sleep to your food to your exercise needs to work together.
Her Usual Breakfast: I usually eat fruits (mostly oranges and apples), oatmeal, and coffee.
Her Usual Lunch: My go-to is grilled chicken breast or salmon with quinoa or vegetables.
Her Usual Snack: I usually snack on fruit or crackers with peanut butter.
Her Usual Dinner: I love steak! But I can’t really have it every night, so I just eat it whenever I can.
Abel Jose
Photo courtesy of @abeljos on Instagram
His Healthy Eating Mantra: It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.
His Usual Breakfast: Greek yogurt, 4 eggs, cacao nibs, goji berries, bananas with honey, and hemp protein.
His Usual Lunch: I usually eat either chicken or fish or beef as my protein, but pair my choice with broiled vegetables and quinoa.
His Usual Snack: I usually have two snacks in between breakfast and dinner, and they’re either raw almonds or cashews and apples. Also, if I ever wanna treat myself, I go for soft-serve ice cream and cheese.
His Usual Dinner: I pick either to have steak or grilled chicken, but usually pair whatever my choice is with spinach or beans.
Raisa Ver
Photo courtesy of @raisaver on Instagram
Her Healthy Eating Mantra: As with everything else, take anything in MODERATION. Always keep yourself hydrated with water. Personally, I’ve cut back on taking soda for almost 10 years now because it just leaves my belly feeling bloated. I take it from time to time (with alcohol, in moderation too, of course).
Her Usual Breakfast: My early morning workout brekky is usually a classic Filipino breakfast – rice, tocino, eggs, and at least 2 glasses of warm water. Cold H2O makes me feel that it’s harder to engage my core (which I try to do on or off the bike).
But, if I have an early workout, I usually turn to a banana, BCAA, and a glass of water. My post-workout nutrition within 15 minutes after the workout is a protein shake. Then, an hour later, I’ll eat my usual breakfast.
Her Usual Lunch: Pork barbecue and rice! Or for busy days in the office, a Kani sandwich with mangoes and seaweed, potatoes with bacon bits.
Her Usual Snack: Potato Corner fries, taho (which is a drink made out of silkened soy with sweet syrup and tapioca pearls), or siomai.
Her Usual Dinner: If I’m teaching an evening class, I have the same pre- and post-workout intake as what I would eat in the morning. But after, I’ll eat either rice with prawn sinigang (a Filipino soup made out of prawn in a tamarind broth with bok choy, radish, and tomatoes), or crispy pata! Or freshly cooked ramen.
After interviewing Yessa, Jam, Abel, and Raisa, I was surprised that the word salad wasn’t uttered once. Honestly, I was expecting a lot of lettuce, kale, and broccoli to be incorporated into their responses. But their answers definitely made me feel better about my meal choices, so I celebrated by grabbing a grilled cheese sandwich after (everything in moderation, right?).
It was nice to learn that any aspiring health nuts didn’t have to necessarily give up their favorite treats, since each spinning instructor had his or her diets composed of the unhealthy and the healthy. But their responses also highlight that you can’t live your life off fried chicken nuggets and candy – you still need your vegetables, fruits, and protein. Balance!