Underwater Cycling Makes A Splash In New NYC Fitness Studio
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- When it comes to cardio exercise, swimming and spinning are both popular options -- so popular in fact, one fitness studio in Tribeca decided to merge the two.
Aqua Studio, on Franklin Street, uses specialty spin bikes designed to give users a full cardio workout while partially submerged in a 4ft. pool of water.
"It's a great workout," trainer Ed Hall told CBS2's Kenneth Craig. "It's fun for people who are serious about fitness -- and people who are just curious. "The resistance you get from the water and the hydrostatic pressure of the water pressing back against you as you move through it makes it more challenging."
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The fitness center is the first of its kind in the United States. Aqua Studio founder Ester Gauthier decided to bring the unique workout to Manhattan after seeing how underwater cycling flourish in Europe.
Now, the fitness craze is slowing creeping into the American exercise market.
Marathon runner Diane Morris said the underwater training helps give her extra resistance training.
"You feel like you're peddling under water, you do," Morris said. "Because of the resistance amd then you're using your upper body too. The resistance of the water with your upper body, you get a really good workout."
According to Aqua Studio, the exercise can help burn up to 800 calories an hour while cycling in the water.
