Let the music move you at Pulse fitness
Co-owner Tammy Stocker, front left, joins in a round of spinning at Pulse.
Dana Sabatucci leads a Surge Cycle class at Pulse.
Pulse owners, from left, Sheetal Patel, Tammy Stocker and Stephanie Miller
Walk into Pulse, and the fitness studio’s name describes what you’ll feel with the surge of dance rhythms, accompanied by the sights of colorful lights and high-energy video images.
“The music pumps you up. I think that’s what really motivates you,” workout enthusiast Melissa Papa said following a Surge Cycle class – it’s pretty much like it sounds – at the recently opened Peters Township business.
“And the instructors. They don’t let you quit. You don’t want to quit. Even when you feel like you’re dying and want to give up, you keep pushing for them.”
Among the cast of instructors are Pulse’s co-owners, Sheetal Patel, Stephanie Miller and Tammy Stocker. And they’ve equipped the studio with sound and lighting systems to emulate the fun, exuberant atmosphere of a fashionable nightclub.
“Plus it’s dark, so it makes people feel comfortable,” Stocker said. “It’s not like a bright light, where everyone’s pointing out how many jumping jacks and jump squats you’re doing. As long as the instructor can see your proper form and positioning on the bike, that’s all that really matters.”
Spinning classes feature prominently at Pulse, where two long rows’ worth of stationary bicycles dominate the main room. But the quest for fitness extends to other techniques, from Pilates and Tabata exercise routines to “boot camp” workouts using steps, ropes and medicine balls.
“It’s good to mix it up,” Papa explained. “You don’t want your body to get tired of doing the same thing over and over again. We’ve recently been doing Pilates, and it’s kicked our butts. But we like that. It’s a good pain.”
A Cranberry Township resident, she makes the drive south at least three times a week to exercise with friend Sonia Koupiaris.
“I live nearby, and I love supporting our hometown people here,” Koupiaris said about Pulse’s owners. “And it’s a great place to meet up and be social, as well as get a good workout.”
Guiding them in their Surge Cycle workout was Dana Sabatucci, who has been a Pulse instructor since the studio’s November opening.
“It’s basically a lot of sprinting, a lot of isolations,” she said. “We do pushups. We dance on the bike. We have fun. You don’t even realize 45 minutes went by.”
And of course, there are the benefits:
“It’s fantastic for your body,” Sabatucci said. “People can burn up to 800 calories in a class.”
Participants can track their progress on a sizable leader board positioned above and behind the instructor.
“You can look on the screen and see the RPMs at which you are riding,” Peters Township resident Jamie Sadowski explained. “You can see how far you have gone, mileage-wise.
“This particular class works on a lot of sprinting, but there are other types of classes, too, where you include arm weights,” she said. “So it really can be a full-body workout.”
Those who work out at Pulse can count on support from their fellow fitness seekers.
“It doesn’t matter if you’ve come here for months or you just started,” Maria Duval of Canonsburg said. “We accept everybody, and it’s just like a big family. It’s so positive.”
Stocker expressed a similar viewpoint.
“All shapes and sizes are all welcome here at all fitness levels,” she said. “And wherever people want to go, we try to get them there.”
Pulse will raise money for the Peters Township-based nonprofit Watchful Shepherd USA with a Race to Break the Cycle of Child Abuse, scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon April 30. For more information, visit www.watchful.org and click on the “Pulse” icon.