Invasion of Privacy: Spin Instructor Lily Herman
Did you know that Geneseo offers free spin classes for students? Ran by certified student instructors, students can sign up for a fun group workout class right here on campus! One of those instructors, Lily Herman, gave The Lamron a look into what spin is like at Geneseo.
A recent graduate of Geneseo, Jules Wright, started the spin program at Geneseo. Lily says that “[she] give[s] all of the credit to [Jules] for establishing such a wonderful spin community here at Geneseo.” Lily started taking spin classes with Jules her freshman year, and despite voicing her distaste for cardio, Lily shocked herself when she ended up enjoying spin.
During the 2024-2025 school year, Lily realized that it was Jules’s senior year and that it might mean the spin community at Geneseo would go away with Jules graduating. Determined to keep spin here, Lily got certified as a spin instructor. Lily said, “[I] found it was pretty easy to get certified through an online program so I did that and got my certification fall of junior year, and started teaching last spring!”
Spin is a full-body workout done on stationary bikes with moves choreographed to the beat of music. Lily themes her classes around different music categories—from “dad music”, country music, to an artist's discography. When asked how she comes up with her rides, Lily shared, “I’ll just sit and listen to each song and come up with ‘choreography’ for each song, then I’ll put the songs in an order that makes sense, having a warm up and cool down.”
A group fitness class may sound intimidating to many, especially if you have never done a spin class before. But Lily wants new spinners to know “it is genuinely so fun and just a great environment to listen to music and get a good workout in! I always say just do what feels good for you and your body at the beginning of every class and I truly mean it—make the workout your own, I’m just happy you’re there!”
Lily teaches spin on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m. She also teaches every other Saturday morning at 10 a.m. The spin room is located in the hallway that connects Merritt Athletic Center to Schrader Hall. Just enter through the tiny door and you will find the room full of 15 bikes to pick from. To sign up for a class you must put your name on the spin sign up sheet, which can be accessed through Lily's Instagram page at @spinningwithlily with the link in the bio. With only 15 bikes that means classes fill up quickly. There is a waitlist to join if you do not make it on the list.
Lily stresses that it is important to show up to class when you sign up. She expressed:“It’s frustrating to me when people sign up for spin and then skip class. I always have people on wait lists and I want to make sure everyone gets a chance, so when people randomly skip and don’t let me know I get sad.” Spin classes are better when there is a full class. Lily says one of her favorite things about teaching is “when we are doing a complex combo or a hard part of the ride and I look up and everyone is in sync and doing it so perfectly, it just makes me so happy!”
Lily is a senior this year, meaning students only have until the end of this semester to experience a spin class with her. Join her for a Lady Gaga themed ride or a Mamma Mia ride! To close out the interview, The Lamron asked Lily if she planned on continuing to teach spin post-grad. To that Lily replied, “I honestly have no clue, I feel like it depends because yes, I love teaching, but I also feel like nothing could ever replace the Geneseo spin community and I might just want to cherish these memories. I’ll definitely keep spinning in some way though!” So do yourself a favor and sign up for a spin class with Lily!