Canadian woman attends 642 spin cycling classes in 353 days to fulfill her fitness goals

One spin class is hard enough – but 642?

Meet super-cycler Heather MacDonald (Canada), who knocked out over a dozen static cycling (aka “spin”) classes a week to take the Guinness World Records title for most static cycling classes attended in one year. And she did it in just 353 days!

Despite her current passion for cycling, the hairstylist from North Vancouver, British Columbia, actually didn’t take up cycling until 2021. Seeking a new way to stay fit – and like many of us, she hated cardio – she tried out a spin class at her local gym.

“The classes were really hard and it really sucked,” she told Lynn Valley Life. “But the more you go, the easier it gets. I was like wow – I am doing this! The studio was offering challenges and to stay motivated I gave one a try. Completing a goal felt really good.”

And while it certainly was challenging at first, Heather found that she was proud of herself once she stepped off the bike – so she kept coming back.

“Anyone can do this,” she said. “I literally hid in the back corner for six months. I could not find the beat. If people were up I was down. If they raised their right hand, I raised my left. It’s hard, so everyone is focused on what they are doing and no one cares what you are up to. 

“You just get better with time. Take it slow. It’s dark, you control how hard the bike is, and you start where you are and get better.”

And soon, she started to find the fitness extremely fulfilling.

“I was in my 40s and doing something new and it felt good,” she explained. “I went from a year before hating cardio to doing spin to thinking about other goals.”

Although she started by mastering her goal of 18 rides in 28 days at her local Spin Society, she knew she had it in her to do something greater – so she started investigating the title for most rides in one year.

“I didn’t tell anyone about it,” she said. “I looked up the record, sent off my application and planned to wait six to eight weeks to hear back.”

Heather, a lifelong Guinness World Records fan, had always wanted a title for herself. But as someone who lives with bipolar disorder, a mental condition that causes mood swings between highs (mania) and lows (depression), she had to consider if she was acting from a place of excitement or mania.

But Guinness World Records had approved her attempt request in just two weeks – so was it fate, or just an intense dream?

She decided to give herself six months to really prepare and think about her decision, and once the time was up, she knew what she had to do.

“My first thought was, am I manic?  Am I stable? This was so out of character that I checked in,” Heather explained. “I gave it time and applied, and six months later I was intentionally planning and I was like – you’re good. [An athlete] is who you are now.”

So she laced up her sneakers, and on 15 September 2023 she started taking over a dozen spin classes a week. Heather kept to a strict schedule, completing three 50-minute spin classes on Sunday, four on Monday, two on Tuesday and Wednesday, one on Thursday, and three on Saturday. She likes to complete 14 classes a week – never more than 20, a mistake she made once, but never again.

“Instructors were super for it and so positive,” she said, about her local Spin Society, where she took the classes. “The owner – I think – thought I was a lunatic and had practical concerns. They had questions about whether I was seeing a nutritionist, how I was preparing for it, was I listening to my body. They didn’t want me to be injured during a class.”

Yet she was careful about her sleep and nutrition – even harder, considering she has a teenager and a full-time job – and by 1 September 2024 she was healthier, happier, and a record holder.

When she saw the Guinness World Records email pop up on her phone in February the following year, confirming her accomplishment, she told the North Shore News: “I started to shake. It was so surreal.”

“Our generation – in our 40s – were raised on such horrible body image and expectations you were supposed to look a very certain way,” she said to Lynn Valley Life. “I am riding next to 20-year-olds who are struggling in one class and it’s my fourth [of the day] – it has helped me reframe how strong my body is and appreciate what my body does for me. I am strong.”

And she said the opportunity even allowed her to open new dialogues with her community about physical and mental health.

“I feel like as a society we are accepting of depression and anxiety – which is great but people hear bipolar and [gasp],” she said. “I would like to help get acceptance for more mental health. It’s part of who you are and does not define who you are.”

So she started sharing her fitness journey on her Instagram page, documenting her record attempt and how it has impacted her mental health. She told the North Shore News that she wanted to show others that any body belongs in the gym, and all the positive things physical exercise can do for your mind.

“It sort of opened the door for me to talk to people about what I have, this is how I manage it, this is how fitness has helped me, and to talk about body positivity,” she said. “All bodies are fitness bodies, and we can all do great things if we want to.”

“I learned that I’m stronger physically and mentally than I thought,” she continued. “It’s amazing when you set a goal and you accomplish it, how good it feels.”