"Ride your bike like you live your life!" It's just one of the many inspirational quotes you'll hear from instructors during Soul Cycle classes. Work hard. Keep Consistent. And results will come. Both inside and out.

The boutique fitness studio group has a cult following. And I must admit... I have been bitten by the Soul Cycle bug too. Students ride to the beat of the music by candlelight. Among their fans... instructors have rockstar status... and if ya just take a look... rock hard bodies too! ;-) I'm happily an advocate for 'em... and have been telling anyone who will listen about the 'tap it back' syndrome I've been suffering from... for several years now! LOL

Classes are typically 45 minutes long. Most of the time students are in perfect unison... dancing along to the pumping playlists... meticulously designed and choreographed by instructors. Each class also includes one song for a weighted toning section. Students use one to five pound weights and do overhead presses, bicep curls, tricep extensions, rows, etc... Again all choreographed to the beat of the music. It's so much F-U-N! The only extra equipment you need for class is a pair of clip-in cycle shoes. You can rent them at the studios or you can buy your own.

Soul Cycle a real social scene too! Instead of always going out for drinks to catch-up with friends... I love to go take group exercise classes with my besties. Along with enjoying each other's company... we end up being fitness accountability partners too.  

When I moved to New York City five years ago Soul Cycle was already dominating the fitness market. Celebrities like Kelly Ripa and David Beckham would often be spotted getting their workout on at Soul Cycle. But it has been really cool over the years to watch the Soul Cycle crew grow. In fact, they just opened up a studio in Aspen, Colorado. So if you're the winter wonderland skiing type... You can get your fix before or after you hit the slopes now!

I chatted with the PR team and they tell me, "16,000 riders take classes everyday to release stress, burn fat, tone muscle, find joy in movement, and change their bodies and lives." They say other familiar faces in their classes... "Lady Gaga, Madonna, Oprah, and Bradley Cooper." Dang!! ;-) The PR team says in the next few months their group of 70 locations will be expanding! I'll bet the celebrity sightings will be expanding too! ;-) Studios will be popping up in Bellevue, WA, Los Gatos, CA, Austin, TX, Philadelphia, and Toronto. They say Toronto will be their first international studio. I'm crossing my fingers Soul Cycle will open a boutique here in Sydney, Australia (where I'm now living). I think they would kill it! The fitness scene here is quite vibrant.

I have personally watched Soul Cycle transform lives through exercise and positive thinking. To give you an inside look at this fitness craze... I asked one of the New York City Soul Cycle instructors a few questions about why the workout is so trendy... and why it WORKS! Here is Emily Turner...

AK: "People come to your classes from all over Manhattan and the outside burbs… Why do you think you have been able to build such a strong following?"

ET: "I'm such a big believer in the thought that "your vibe attracts your tribe" and that's the principle I've built my classes on. I stay true to me and people who vibe with me, stick with me. I also believe that everyone has it in them to be an athlete, but we are all on different levels in our fitness journey - so I do everything I can to make my class accessible to everyone." 

AK: "Name 3 songs from your favorite class playlist right now!"

ET: "Whole Heart by Gryffin, Young Bombs & Bipolar Sunshine and Never Give Up by Sia."  

AK "How many calories can you burn in each class?"

ET: "Around 500"

AK: What makes SoulCycle a class people don't get sick of doing?

ET: "It's always different. My class changes based on what's happening in my life. If I'm training for the marathon you better believe we are climbing sick hills and running the hell down the other side. If I'm seeing a bunch of shows, it's all about the music. If I'm heavy on yoga, I might get a little deeper. I think people stay because SoulCycle is built upon a "freedom within a framework" approach.  It's never the same, yet the goal is always to walk out feeling better than when you walked in." 

AK: "How can people stick to fitness goals/resolutions?"

 ET: "I believe the best way to conquer a goal is simply to tell someone -- and to hang out with people who inspire you!!!!!! Which is why I hang out at SoulCycle."

www.soul-cycle.com