SoulCycle: Cycling to Your Beat
Imagine this: a quivering sensation through your legs, a pulsing in your arms, and a curling through into a smile on your face-the sweat rolling off your forehead as you look into the dimly-lit mirror with pride. In a session of SoulCycle, anticipate all this and more as you feel sore in new muscles you didn’t even know you had.
Founded in 2006 on the Upper West Side of New York, SoulCycle offers an innovative and exciting way to break a sweat. Through one hour indoor cycling-aka “spinning”-classes, SoulCycle has created a fun new way to bike, while creating a brand of its own.
Co-founders Elizabeth Cutler, Julie Rice, and Ruth Zukerman self-funded their project, with a large amount coming from Cutler's investment in Izze Beverage Co. With Villency Design Group’s signature SoulCycle stationary bicycle design made to relieve discomfort in traditional bicycle seats, participates are able to smoothly transition between cycling, weight lifting, and resting throughout their session.
To get a glimpse of the SoulCycle phenomenon, I decided to join the movement myself. Going with my roommate, we signed up for an 8:30 am class with Instructor Naz in the Chicago Loop location. Approaching the building, I could see the neon “soulcycle” sign almost blinding my eyes. Once signing in and grabbing my fitted SoulCycle clip on shoes, I arrived at a locker, grabbed what I needed and proceeded to join the class. As soon as an employee helped me lock into my bike and set up my seat, I knew it was starting. The variety in music, ranging from Jay-Z’s "Run this Town" (Onderkoffer Trap Remix) to Logic’s “1-800-273-8255” was an interesting mix, engaging me from the peak of the workout to the cool down period.
From lifting yourself off the bike (a majority of the workout) to using light weights to work out your arms, this 45 minute session definitely woke me up and invigorated my spirit. Celebrities from the likes of Selena Gomez to David Beckham have turned to the SoulCycle craze and found a way to cycle to their own beat. Trust me when I say I could feel it in my legs and arms a few days after (but mostly what I felt was a sense of pride!).
Me and my roommate after our class!
