Tuesday, November 12, 2013

SoulCycle Review

As a long-time indoor cycling enthusiast I had become bored with the same instructors, the same pace, the same size puddle of sweat that was underneath me, suffice to say it had run its course. Which is a shame, indoor cycling is an amazing workout and will give you probably more bang for your buck than any other workout and that includes you p90X. So after having given up on it what is brought to my attention but SoulCycle, but seriously it is another version of indoor cycling so what is the difference? It didn’t take long to find out.

Anytime you see people lined up to take a class that gives you an inkling that this just might be something good and SoulCycle was that and much more. The cycling portion of the class kicked my butt to say the least, my legs were fried when the class was done but SoulCycle gives you more of a workout than your leg. They incorporate arm exercises as you are cycling, using an assortment of exercises while you are cycling having you push up and down to give you an upper body workout. Then under the seats there are tiny barbells and like me you just might chuckle the first time you are told to grab them, they seem so light what could they actually do. Well you will quickly find out as your shoulders and arms begin to burn and you think of nothing more than throwing them away if you could find the energy. I don’t know the calories burned, but you will be hard pressed to find a better workout.

That is not all there is to SoulCycle and the “Soul” portion to me is likely why people keep coming back in droves. Indoor cycling to me was always about the soundtrack, give me some loud Incubus and you could keep me going for fifty minutes, but with SoulCycle I can’t even remember a song. Oh yes it was some upbeat if I had to guess some current music but this class was more than music, the music was really an afterthought. The setting, the instructor, the energy, all of that encompasses you and you are taken to something different than you have experienced in any other workout. To best describe it would be something along the lines of a spiritual uplifting session as your instructor roams the room to insight you to go into your soul, your heart, find something inside that not only pushes you to make it through this class but also so make it through the day, through life. The thing about it is that it isn’t anything fake or phony, somehow the energy of everyone in the class is locked in that room and shared and the instructor helps to raise you to a new level. If you are looking for a way to kick start your day this is it. If after a SoulCycle class you don’t know want to go out into the world in kick some ass in whatever your walk of life is, well check and make sure you have heart.

SoulCycle seems to be taking over New York and Los Angeles and I recently visited the Beverly Hills location which is just stunning. A first-class setting with showers and all of the amenities you need to refresh yourself. The Beverly Hills location is located at 9465 Wilshire Boulevard and for other locations visit: www.soul-cycle.com