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Amanda Hinds, 31, loved indoor cycling, but over time, she grew bored with the music and found the classes didn’t feel right for her. She gave it up.
Then, she heard about a class that was different, tried it and loved it. “I was able to relate to the instructor because she was younger and Black, like me. She played hip hop, bounce and Jersey club music,” Hinds tells TODAY.com.
Hinds took more of those classes, and she realized she wanted to be that person on the podium, leading the other riders. COVID-19 derailed her plans, though. Her gym closed, and she bought a Peloton bike but quickly stopped using it. She gained a lot of weight.
“A little after COVID, I went on vacation, and I couldn’t even walk. My feet hurt just from walking and standing. My athleticism was really bad. I went to the doctor, and I saw that I had gained 100 pounds in a year. I couldn’t believe it. I was so frustrated and disgusted with myself,” she says.
Since then, she’s reached her dream of becoming a cycling instructor, lost 80 pounds and improved her fitness and stamina. She shared her inspirational journey on TikTok in a video that went viral.
Here’s how she got there.
She reconnected with her dream of teaching cycling classes
One day, Hinds decided it was time to dust off that Peloton bike and get back in the saddle. “I told myself, ‘Stop being afraid of the bike. It’s hard. Just try it. Take it day by day,’” she says.
“That was a big pivot in my fitness journey — admitting that something was hard, but could be done. It’s supposed to be hard, and it’s not going to be hard forever. Our bodies can do it. It’s just our minds telling us we can’t. When you’re trying to grow and challenge yourself, you have to remove all of that noise.”
That was a big pivot in my fitness journey — admitting that something was hard, but could be done.
Amanda Hinds
She would ride at home without following along with the classes. “I would make a playlist and record myself talking out loud: ‘Hi! This is Amanda. We’re going to warm up now.’ I was scared I would be tired, and I would have to stop. I knew that would discourage me. I didn’t think I could do it,” she says.
She took it song by song and step by step. “I didn’t think about the whole 45 minutes of a class,” she says. If she felt out of breath after two songs, she would take it a little easier for the third song.
As she got stronger, she considered auditioning to be an instructor. But she hadn’t lost any weight. She texted a friend for advice: “My friend texted me back and said, ‘Amanda, I don’t think you should wait. I think you should just try it now.’ So that’s what I did.”
It wasn’t easy. She got turned down several times. “One gym took a chance on me, even when I didn’t believe in myself yet,” she says.
She overcame self-doubt
“The first time I taught. I had imposter syndrome at an all-time high. I was nervous and scared. The day before, I wondered if I could really do it or if I deserved it. I wasn’t confident,” she says.
“I thought, these people are going to see me walk in this class and think, ‘She’s our instructor? I’m smaller than her. I’m probably more fit than her. How is she going to teach me anything?’ A lot of negative thoughts came into play when I taught my first class,” she says. But everyone supported her.
Since then, she’s honed in on her fitness, aiming to improve her health and performance. That helped build her confidence so she could be herself. “I talk and act a certain way, and I didn’t have to put on a mask. I could play the music I wanted to play. I thought I had to tone my personality down, but I didn’t have to change who I was,” she says.
She kept instructing, took other classes so she could keep learning and practiced on her bike at home. Eventually, she transitioned to leading CycleBar classes near her home in Belleville, NJ. “As a plus-sized woman of color, it feels so empowering to be up on that podium,” she says.
Seeing someone who looks like me, people think, ‘If she can be in this space, I can be in this space, too.
She inspires and motivates her students
Hinds is transparent about her struggles during classes. She tells her riders when she feels like she wants to stop, so they know they aren’t alone: “I know about their doubts and self-criticisms. I’ve been there. I feel like I can read their minds.”
People also tell her she makes them feel safe. “Sometimes you feel intimidated when you walk into a class, and you don’t see anyone who looks like you. I’ve been there, when it’s a majority white people or skinny people. I’m thinking, ‘I don’t think I can do this. I need to get a bike all the way in the back.’ Seeing someone who looks like me, people think, ‘If she can be in this space, I can be in this space too,’” she says.
“A lot of riders tell me they feel like they could conquer the world after my class. And I tell them they absolutely can.”
She focuses on fitness and wellness, not on the scale
Along with indoor cycling, Hinds recently started running. She signed up for a half marathon, and she’s already running four miles straight: “If you told me last year I was going to be jogging for an hour, I would not believe you. I’m definitely proud of myself when it comes to my fitness level.”
And she’s moved away from the attitude she had about her diet and her weight, which she realized wasn’t healthy.
“I would eat a certain way, or not eat at a certain time, because I wanted to see this number tomorrow,” she says. If she had a cookie or a piece of cake, she would feel like she threw the day away and binge eat.
“But it’s not about a number on the scale. It’s a way you feel so you can do your best. Maybe weight loss is part of that, and maybe not. The point is, it’s fitness,” she says.
Now, she focuses more on what she eats and on being patient with herself. She enjoys healthier foods, like salad and grilled chicken. And if she wants pizza, she’ll have it, but she’ll have one slice with a salad instead of three slices.
“I still have my ups and downs. But now if I want a cookie or a slice of cake, I give myself that, and understand it’s OK,” she says. “It’s a slice of cake. It’s not the end of the world.”
She admits she has more work to do to be kind to herself. “I have to step back and look at how far I’ve come, not only with my weight loss. I’m living my dream of being a cycling instructor and motivating myself and others. And I know that the more patience and trust I have in myself and my journey, the further I will go.”
