One: it is almost a requirement that you sing along to the music! And Two: it is a requirement that you have a lot of fun!
The founders of Soul Cycle on the Upper West Side have hooked NYC teens with an exercise class that’s turned into an exercise craze. The Soul Teen workout lets students design their own play list of workout music and the Soul Teen instructor emphasizes fun over fear and strength over weakness. And classes are packed.
Co-owner Julie Rice, a mother herself, explained the “aha” moment in finding a way to mix the fun into teen fitness: “The key is to give kids an experience that is fun, and then you can really set them on the path to living healthier lives. Soul Teen is all about fun. The addition of age appropriate music that kids are connected to—no, obsessed with—is an easy way to get them motivated and own their workout.”
Obsessed is an understatement! Girls race into the studio fifteen minutes prior to class, clamoring to see if their song requests made it to the workout playlist. But once clipped into their bikes, the aspiring DJs become focused on one thing: spinning.
Soul Cycle sees its mission as not only to teach fitness lessons but also life lessons. Setting goals in the studio that carry over to the outside world is what makes Soul Cycle unique. Soul Teen students meditate on being a better sibling, finishing their homework on time, remembering to display patience and managing their excitement. The Soul Teen learns good balance on and off the bike. While the workout intensity can be modified for the young, growing bodies, the level of dedication between instructor and students is always at peak level. The instructor comes off her bike and approaches each student individually, pushing students to their highest level of achievement. Shuffling through a music medley of dance to hip hop to introspective grrrrl rock, the instructor encourages the Soul Teens to find their innate iron man. As instructor Stacey Griffith tells them, “You would have never walked through the door if you didn’t have that strength in you.”
--
Soul Cycle (NYC) 117 West 72nd REAR LOBBY New York, NY 10023 212.787.1300
Soul Cycle (Hamptons) 264 Butter Lane Bridgehampton, NY 11932 631.537.3630
www.soul-cycle.com
nike22
