4 Things I Learned at SoulCycle (Hell on Wheels)

As someone who works out daily and takes a spin class about once or twice a week I was excited when I was invited to a SoulCycle class by the beauty girls, 'Beauty Spin' they call it.   Going into it I thought it would be a fun Friday night activity to do with some of my collegues (bloggers and publicists) outside of work.  Little did I know, what I was really about to experience.  This was no bike ride in the park. Here's what I learned:

Every good spin class has an MC

At my gym, the spin instructor dictates the class, and hops on and off his bike to keep it moving.  However at SoulCycle, they have one person up on the bike taking the class the whole time demoing what we're supposed to be doing (and thank God, because we did some cray moves!) and then they have the MC.  The MC is the only reason I got through the whole class.  Danny Kopel was his name.  Between dancing through the bikes, head banging, using the instructor's bike as a strip pole and keeping us motivated I'm not sure who was sweating more me or him.  He was everything!

Any spin class I took before was a complete joke

I've spun at several locations in NYC besides my own gym and have a spin strategy.  Get a seat closest to the door so I can leave when I get ADD.  I always find spin boring!  There was no announcement of long climbs, short jumps or intervals.  Instead, we just killed it.  Killed what?  I'm still not sure exactly what happened as I felt like I had no choice, but to do what I was told.  The best part, there was no way out.  I'm still not really sure if that was good or bad actually, but it would have been rude to leave.  I had to suffer through 45 minutes of hard core spinning and I did it.  Endurance is one thing I want to build.

You're suposed to pull up on the pedals

Did you know that?  I always pushed down on the pedals, which is the devil!  I learned that to prevent your legs and butt from bulking up while you spin, you're supposed to pull up on the pedals to concentrate on toning your abs.  My thighs would like to thank every spin instructor I've had before who never told me that!

Sweating with your friends makes it OK (almost)

After 45 minutes of working and sweating like I've never done before, I was doubtful I could ever take that class again.  It was beyond challenging, but I loved the energy.  After collecting myself, I realized I would love to try it again, but only with the beauty girls.  I need the crew to make me go and look forward to the next attempt!

I See You Baby, Shakin' that... Spin Class, It's All About the Music

There are two things that get me through a spin class: determination and music. To get fully in the zone, I need explosive house music blasting through the room and use the climaxes of the beats to bring me back to focus whenever I may drift off.  Tonight, I tried a new instructor at Club H Fitness and she played Z100's Top 100.  I was ready to walk out until she introduced a dance... It was too good.  The song, "I See You Baby, Shakin' That Ass," came on and she instructed us to all run standing off of our bikes (in position two for those of you spinners) and when the chorus came on, "I see you baby, shakin' that ass..." we had to bend over on the handle bars (into position three) and pretend we were shaking our asses.  No lie.  I wish I captured it on video.

The first time the chorus came on all 30 of us or so participated.  The second time the chorus came on however, four of the nine guys stayed standing straight up.  I knew it. Too cool for school.  Once they realized they looked stupider standing while we were all hunched over shaking our asses, they joined right back in.  Yes, spin class made fun without house music.  I didn't think it was possible.

Truth is, in spin class you'll work up to seven percent harder when listening to music synched to your pedal stroke, according to a study by Costas Karageorghis, Ph.D.  The faster the beat, the faster you'll pedal.  Makes sense right?  For me, it's all about adrenaline.