I’ll admit it I am addicted to Soul Cycle. But it’s more of a love/hate relationship. It’s one of those classes where glance down at your watch and think God help me… it’s only been 5 minutes.. ARRGGGHHH I have 40 more to go. Yes! it is that intense… And the sense of relief when at the end you finally get to click your shoes out of your bike… pure bliss.
It’s just an experience from the minute you walk in the door until your stumbling out on to the city streets afterwards. This class isn’t currently offered in a location close to where I live… I actually have to travel to NYC to feed my addiction. Which generally occurs when I need to head to NYC for work… so I will ditch my family to travel up the night before (knowing full well that I could probably fly in the morning of ), crash on my friend Tracie’s couch… all to get up at 5:45AM to take this crazy spinning class with her in NYC.
So the first thing that happens is you’ll want to grab a bottle of water (which you will finish prior to the end of class) and a pair of clip on shoes. Tracie has her own pair – I haven’t quite convinced myself to purchase my own pair… yet… But I did fall in love with these (they are only $85.. yes only – I’ve seen pairs for $150.. so I’m being reasonable in my “wants“)
cycling shoes i need... ok want....
Then you head into a room that looks like this:
Image from Soul Cycle website
Well, except there will be no light except what’s put off by a small candle at the front of the class. Yep that’s right – no light. You’ll spend a minute or two adjusting the seat, handle bars, etc to fit your needs. Then click your shoes into the bike for an experience like no other..
You’ll warm up – depending on the instructor it may feel more like you’ve just launched full steam into class versus a low and steady warm up. Oh and did I mention you’re not just sitting on the bike riding along… nope you are up and down in the seat doing what feels like riding lunges; doing pushups against the handlebars while trying to maintain a pace set by the instructor; using 1 or 2 pound weights to give your arms a chance to get in on the fun. (Oh and 1 pound may not sound like a lot of weight but when the reps are high and your riding a bike – you’ll want to scream “Uncle”.)
Oh and I can’t forget the steam… the first time I took the class and they closed the doors, I thought oh my goodness now they are pumping in steam. (Similar to a hot yoga class). But no that not steam – well not machine generated steam. That is the steam from all of the people in the class giving it their all… making it feel like you are trying to bike ride in a sauna. Thankfully the music is a great combination of hip new songs and classic older ones that keep you moving.
By the end of the class you’ll know that you could not have possibly worked any harder… even trying to clip your shoes out of the bike will seem challenging. (I’m always a little bit nervous that my shoe will get stuck and I’ll end up flailing to the ground knocking over people and bikes on my way – so far I’m managed to keep myself upright)
Every now and then you catch a celebrity or two in class with us… Kelly Ripa even did a segment on her show about the class – which I’ve embedded below so you can see that I’m not exaggerating 🙂 (Note: For those of you receiving this via email.. you’ll have to go to our site to see the actual video)
To summarize – the class is an experience you will never forget – in the moment you’ll be thinking you must have lost your mind when you signed up… only to find yourself doing the exact same thing the very next time your in the city. I’d have to say out of all the exercise classes I’ve taken (and i’ve done A LOT).. this is by far my favorite.
I believe in their newsletter they mentioned they were expanding… so check out their website http://soul-cycle.com to see if there is a class being offered close to you.
Then let us know what you think….
Happy Cycling..
