Meet Alex

Fitness + Wellness

Apr 19

Written By

Meet Alex, an Ascend Underground coach and the assistant athletic trainer for DC United professional soccer team. A former track star with a degree in Kinesiology and Master’s in Athletic Training Sports Medicine, Alex has been obsessed with movement from the beginning.Alex's love of running has inspired her career in health and fitness, and she wrote her thesis on injury prediction. When she’s not coaching, she’s training for her next race or alternating between strength-specific injury prevention exercises and circuit-style lifting. She is a certified strength and conditioning specialist who’s worked with college football teams and women’s soccer and basketball teams.In short, she knows her stuff.We talked to Alex to get her take on Ascend Underground, the latest addition to the Ascend Cycle family. We found out what she loves about coaching HIIT and strength training, her favorite moves, and the music she wishes would make a comeback.[divider height="30" style="default" line="default" themecolor="0"]

What is Ascend Underground, and what kinds of classes are offered?

Underground is a second studio designed to build strength. It integrates Ascend’s signature love of cycling with high intensity strength training. Here you get the best of both worlds – the strengthening and burning cardio on the bike, and the ability to work with various free weights and equipment for a total body workout, while moving in and out of your peak (maximum effort) zone. These workouts leave you feeling breathless, sweaty, and hungry for more.

HIIT and strength training regimens seem to be everywhere – can you find something like Underground at any gym or fitness boutique?

Honestly, no. The biggest difference I notice is the community – at Underground, we know you! We care about you! We learn your weakness and strengths and help bring out the best in you. And, we work out with you! When we are not teaching, you can bet that we are taking classes too, both upstairs and down. We never ask you to do a workout we couldn’t do and we are not afraid to dig deeper and push ourselves with you. We bring the core values of cycling from upstairs (RPMs, challenging drills, musicality) into the Underground so that you can get the best of both worlds.

Why is strength training an important part of a workout routine?

In brief, strength training decreases risk of injury, preserves muscle mass, controls weight, and reduces risk of osteoporosis. As a cardio junkie myself, I know how important strength training is to any exercise routine. You can read more about the benefits in my blog post on the AC blog.

Do you ride upstairs at Ascend Cycle? Why?

YES! I ride for variety, for prevention, and for cross-training. Pounding the ground on my runs can take its toll on your body. I often ride upstairs not only to get lost in the music but to keep my body guessing. Remember, steady cardio and running is good, but if you are not keeping your body guessing you will plateau in progress, get burnt out, or injured. I need to show my legs some love. Upstairs (at Ascend Cycle) allows me to get the cardio workout while pushing in and out of training zones and peak zones to both challenge my body and protect it at the same time.

What’s your favorite move/drill at Underground?

Cleans – a little bit of power, a little bit of lower body strength, a little bit of explosion, and a little bit of upper body. It’s well rounded, so to me, it’s perfect.

What’s your favorite part of coaching at Underground?

Getting in the finisher with my classes! I want to share those final moments with my class. That last final drill after the bulk of the class is done is the last chance to leave it all behind, the last chance to make yourself better. Whether it’s abs, a quick glute burner, or injury prevention exercise, I want to be a part of that. I don’t think there has been a finisher that I have not done with my classes.

What music gets you pumped up for your Underground workouts?

How about a genre? I’d like to bring back the entire skater punk rock era – Fallout boy, Blink 182, YellowCard, Jimmy Eat World.

What makes Underground different from other places you’ve coached?

At Ascend, you get to be the best version of yourself. Whether you Ascend upstairs on the bike, or dig deeper Underground, you are part of a family that is going to push you, teach you, motivate you, support you, and dig deeper right alongside you. Here, you are never alone. At the studio, you are the best version of you and surrounded by your Ascend family.