642 classes: North Vancouver woman smashes Guinness World Record on the spin bike

Heather MacDonald (right) broke a Guinness World Record after completing over 600 spin-cycle classes in a year. (Courtesy: Heather MacDonald)

B.C. woman Heather MacDonald will never again be stuck for words when asked the dreaded question, “What’s a fun fact about yourself?”

Laying claim to a Guinness World Record is about as impressive as unique accomplishments get.

In September, the North Vancouver hairstylist pedalled her way into the prestigious register after smashing the record for the amount of static cycling classes attended by a person in a single year. MacDonald tallied 642 classes in total, stealing the crown from the former record holder and surpassing her own goal of 600 in a year.

It is a feat made all the more impressive considering MacDonald’s first foray into spinning.

MacDonald, like anyone who has attempted a strenuous stationary cycle in a dimly lit room with no prior spinning experience, initially hated the class. That was in 2017, and MacDonald wouldn’t give it another bash until 2022.

“That time around it just stuck, and I absolutely loved it,” she says.

The second attempt was so successful that when MacDonald’s static-cycling haunt, the Spin Society in North Vancouver, created a challenge for its members to complete 18 classes in 28 days, she chose to take it on, and smashed it with ease.

She created her own challenge of 100 classes in 100 days and, upon completion, began to ponder what else she could be capable of.

“I searched for the current Guinness World Record for spinning and it was something like 585 classes, set in 2020. I thought, well, I can do that,” she says.

Without telling family or friends, MacDonald shipped an application off to the organization explaining that she hoped to challenge the current record and complete 600 classes in a year.

On Sept. 15 2023, MacDonald kicked off a gruelling spinning schedule that saw her taking on 15 classes a week. Most weeks, she would clock three classes on a Saturday, three on a Sunday, four on a Monday, two each on Tuesday and Wednesday, and one on a Thursday. Fridays, she says, were rest days.

“I worked with a personal trainer beforehand so my body was prepared to do this kind of thing, and I worked with a nutritionist for a couple of months just to work on getting enough protein and carbohydrates and everything to fuel my body throughout it,” she says.

MacDonald says she didn’t sustain a single injury, and could have even carried on further if it wasn’t for the admin she had to endure. The most difficult part of the whole process, she says, wasn’t the strenuous exercise or toilsome pedalling, but the laborious task of recording her activity each day.

“You have to video record your first two to three minutes of every class, which right away has challenges because nobody else in class wants to be recorded, especially with the flash on in a dark room,” she says.

Each session had to be uploaded to the Guinness World Records website, as did copies of a handwritten logbook that had to be signed during each class.

“I had copies of every single instructor certification. I then had to have two independent witnesses at the end watch all the videos and fill out a witness form,” she says.

As for accomplishing the actual exercise goal, MacDonald says it came down to a simple question of mind over matter.

“Yes, it’s physical, but it’s all in your head,” she says.

“It’s just telling yourself that ‘You can do this.’”

Seven months on from breaking the world record and MacDonald is still spinning. Eight classes a week is her new normal, as is crushing two classes in a row. It now feels “silly,” she says, to do just the one.

She does admit she is done with clocking 15 classes a week and will never attempt another behemoth record again. The toll of being in the studio and away from her family, she says, was too much.

Instead, MacDonald hopes to focus her attention on supporting the community that rallied around her throughout her year-long challenge. As someone who lives with bipolar disorder, MacDonald hopes to use her newfound platform to help others who may be battling their own issues with mental health.

“When I started this, it was just a personal journey. It was about goal-setting, it wasn’t to become famous or anything, but it did give me a chance to be open about the messaging around mental health and just how much exercise helps,” she said.

“I’m grateful that I was able to talk to people about those things that I go through. If I can do that, and help one person feel better about themselves or inspire them, then that’s amazing.”