My name is Freddy J. Garcia, and I had the honor of serving in the United States Air Force for 20 years. A big part of the military lifestyle is physical fitness, and I attended my first Spinning® class at the Peterson Air Force Base Gym in Colorado in 2005. I grew into a big fan of the Spinning program and became a Certified Spinning Instructor in 2006.I had the privilege of being selected for a deployment to Bogota, Colombia to work in the United States Embassy, supporting Colombia’s counter-narcoterrorism and the global war on terror efforts.The work was incredibly rewarding, but came with extremely long hours. The hardest part about any deployment is not spending time with your family. Before departing for my deployment, I knew that the Spinning program was going to be a big part of my daily routine, not only to continue training my body, but to help lift my spirits and to help me cope with the fact that I missed my wife Stacy and my son Austin.When I arrived in Colombia, I started working out at the local gym and attending Spinning classes daily. Around that time, Segeant Robert Taylor arrived for deployment at our unit, and we became good friends. Robert was looking to achieve the highest score ever in his physical training test, so we started attending regular Spinning classes. I wanted to show my office mates the incredible benefits of training with the Spinning program, so I asked the gym manager if I could teach a Spinning class for US Embassy personnel. After checking my credentials, the manager allowed free access to non-gym members to come participate in the class. Robert and I made our first profile together. The class was a lot of fun, and even some of the local Colombian gym patrons asked the manger if they could participate because they liked the music that was blasting from the speakers. With Robert providing the music and me teaching the class, our class became very popular among the US Army, Navy and Air Force personnel. After just a few classes, all of our participants understood the incredible benefits of the Spinning program firsthand. Robert accomplished his goal of improving his physical training scores while deployed, and although he is now retired from the Air Force, he continues to be a big supporter of the Spinning program. As for myself, I also retired from the Air Force but continue to teach Spinning classes for US Air Force personnel and their dependents at Peterson Air Force Base.I wanted to conclude by saying that the Spinning program has not only helped train my body all these years, but it was also there to provide me with comfort and mental clarity when I needed it the most. The Spinning program lifted my spirits when I was feeling down, and it can do the same for you. I am extremely happy to report that our son Austin E. “Bear” Garcia attended his first Spinning class last Saturday and really enjoyed it!Are you an active duty soldier who benefited from the Spinning program? We want to hear from you! Contact us at news@spinning.com and your story could be on our Community page!