Q&A with a SoulCycle instructor: Everything you need to know about the new cult class

A popular indoor cycling program is parking its wheels in Philly next week.

SoulCycle, which grew a cult-like following in New York, is opening its Center City location on Thursday, March 16 at 113 S. 16th St.

Each 45-minute class is a full body workout that promises to burn 500 to 700 calories. That's roughly the equivalent of four and a half glasses of white wine, but who's counting?

Classes cost $30, but your first ride is only $20.

And you mentioned there's an upper body component to this workout. It's not just all about your legs.
Exactly. So the class consists of choreography and the use of hand weights so that you're simultaneously toning your upper body and your core and you're working your legs throughout — you never stop moving your legs. So it really is a total body workout.

Typically in classes such as this, if you want to see results, you have to make sure that you're riding with proper form. Can you share some tips to make sure your form is correct?
I talk a lot about core in my classes because when you're on the bike, a lot of your weight is in your core. So I'll say, "Pull your belly button into your indoor cyclinge," "Lift your chest" and "Keep your chin up." Something you'll hear me say a lot in class is "Open heart, open chest." And make sure you pull your hips all the way back so that they're positioned right over your saddle. That's another thing I see with first-timers, where they lean forward and that is definitely the wrong thing to do.

What's your favorite thing about being an instructor?
I love connecting with riders. As instructors, it's our job to be motivating and uplift riders but it is totally the riders who give it back to us. They're the ones that help us to stay motivated every single day, especially on exhausting days when you're teaching three classes. That connection is everything.

Speaking of affirmations, is there one motivational saying that you use in every class that really speaks to you?
In all of my classes I end up saying, "You are stronger than you think." That's a really big part of my life and it's such a universal idea. Sometimes we forget what we're capable of and we get stuck in this box that we create for ourselves and we don't realize our potential. Even just hearing someone other than yourself say that... it's like a light bulb goes off and you think "I am! I actually can climb this hill. I actually can sprint." I really like telling people that because it's so true.

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