Student spin instructor paves way for dance-inducing workout
Student GroupX fitness instructor Mia McCarthy utilizes a spin bike to create a workout that feels more like a dance party. TIFFANY LE, Staff Photographer
The pulsing of LED rainbow lights dancing across the room, the vibrations of Kesha’s hit song “Die Young” blasting through the speakers and the scent of determination (with a touch of perspiration) is what Mia McCarthy experiences four times a week.
While that may sound like something that happens at a Las Vegas nightclub, a festival like Coachella or even a fraternity party, the energetic environment is actually the product of one of McCarthy’s spin classes on campus. McCarthy, a senior dance and business administration double major, devotes a majority of her time to the Henley Hall Fitness Center as a GroupX instructor for spin.
Henley gym offers a variety of free classes — like pilates, kickboxing and yoga — as part of their student-led GroupX series. McCarthy found her calling for spin by taking several classes with her dad in her hometown of San Diego and began training to become an instructor in the spring of 2020, a semester after the fitness center reopened. With a background in dance and a love for EDM music, spin turned out to be a perfect match for McCarthy.
“Pairing (spin) with teaching dance, I really like working with people and motivating people to become the best versions of themselves possible; through spin I have found that,” McCarthy said. “Music is such a big part of my life: I love EDM and hip-hop and finding ways to incorporate (those genres) into the class and adding choreography. It’s a lot like dance.”
Starting out as someone who could never get into spin, McCarthy discovered places like SoulCycle and Grit Cycle, where it’s not just about sprinting and climbing hills on a bike, but more so the choreography and pedaling to the beat of the music. McCarthy told The Panther what makes spin so different than any other form of group fitness class is not only the feat of dancing on a bike but also that the instructor is right there with the students gasping for breath during the workout.
“I am literally up there suffering with the students,” McCarthy said. “We are all pushing our bodies out of our comfort zone — that sense of unity and that we are all going to get through this together is what is super motivating for me. We are dying on the bike on a Monday at 6 p.m., and we are going to get through it.”
Students take advantage of the free GroupX classes offered on campus by riding to the beat of the music at a spin class. TIFFANY LE, Staff Photographer
When McCarthy was preparing to teach her first class two years ago, she was terrified. She spent hours practicing on the bike, talking to an empty room, making sure she had the right queues in for choreography and addressed her insecurities of teaching people older than her.
“I started teaching dance when I was 16, so I was always very used to it, but I was always working with people that were younger than me ... up until 13 years old,” McCarthy said. “When I started teaching spin, since I was a sophomore, I was like, ‘Crap, there are going to be seniors in here, and I am going to have to tell them what to do.’ … Eventually, I had to brush off those insecurities and fears of leading (an older) group of students aside, because I wanted to make it a fun class, and I needed to fake my confidence.”
Now, in the middle of her first semester teaching classes again, McCarthy strives to create a warm and welcoming environment for her students by being the best possible hype woman, dad-joke connoisseur and dancing queen all in one.
“I do try to dance on my bike, point at people, call them out and try to make it as interactive and positive as possible,” McCarthy said. “The whole goal of the class is just to have fun. If you are there with your friends, I’m blasting fun music, and it’s just to keep up as best as you can and modify if you have to. I always emphasize doing what’s best for your body.”
McCarthy’s dedication to making everyone feel welcome is what led to countless students returning week after week to her classes. One of her regulars is undeclared freshman Sofia Correnti, who said it is because of McCarthy’s bubbly and enthusiastic personality that Correnti continues to come to all of her classes.
“She is always super supportive of everyone, and is always like, ‘You’re killing it middle row,’ and things like that,” Correnti said. “I definitely recommend taking Mia’s spin classes because she is really supportive and creates a happy environment for everyone.”
Some of McCarthy’s favorite songs to blast in the spin studio are “‘Let it Rock” by Kevin Rudolf and Lil Wayne and “Room to Fall” by Marshmello, but she said she always asks her students what their recommendations are for songs to dance to in order to keep them involved.
To further increase engagement, McCarthy is hosting a whole week of Halloween-themed spin classes today through Oct. 29 — that indeed include candy. She’s also eager to host other themed sessions in the future where participants can dance on the bike to their favorite pop queens in an Olivia Rodrigo vs. Taylor Swift ride, strengthen and tone their arms on Weights Wednesdays and ride out to their mom’s music in Throwback to the 80’s.
McCarthy will graduate from the university this May, but she said she is planning on continuing her spin-a-holic obsession by auditioning for studios like Cyclebar in San Diego, where her upcoming nine-to-five corporate job at an aerospace company also resides. While curating playlists, coming up with a variety of choreography and making sure everything is squeezed into a 30-minute window is a challenge in itself, McCarthy’s job as an instructor is something she will always adore because of the joy she sees it bring to fellow Panthers.
“(Being an) instructor is not just about teaching the choreography and calling out the queues and resistance intervals; it’s (about) putting a smile on (students’) faces, making them laugh and creating that environment where they want to come back every single week,” McCarthy said.