Erin’s style is mantra after mantra – or maybe it’s just that it was Mother’s Day and she was feeling extra inspired. In her class, you will dance, you will sweat, and you will party all the way ‘til the end. With a varied playlist of wild and upbeat tunes, you are guaranteed to get lost in the music. Erin’s class is unpredictable, and her spontaneity keeps you guessing, but somehow the pack stays in sync (maybe because she attracts regulars). The studio at SoulCycle 19th Street is spacious but quite the maze. We recommend getting there a little early to scope out the scene. It is truly a scene!s.
Trying to keep up with Erin is a fun game for the regulars but for beginners, it could feel a bit manic when she goes full speed ahead. If you’re new to SoulCycle and can’t keep up, we recommend going at your own pace. She mentions this at the beginning of class, so don’t be afraid to do your own thing. With a background in dance, this girl knows how to incorporate challenging choreography that has you tappin’ it back whilst sprinting. She even had us sprinting with one arm behind our back and then clapping! Can you say difficult? Her arm routine was nothing short of taxing: she had us shaking for three minutes straight. Our advice: make sure to sit up straight and engage those abs.
Erin is petite in figure, but gigantic in personality and confidence. Her energy lit up the studio and was incredibly contagious. From singing tunes aloud to creating a strobe light-lit room, she kept the riders engaged by mixing it up at all times. She commanded the room right from the start and encouraged us to dig deep both mentally and physically with her frequent mantras. The good news is that she had us feeling more confident and energized than when we walked in. She is AWESOME.
The SoulCycle 19th Street location is spacious and clean but that layout can be a bit confusing if you’re new to this spot. As you enter, the front desk and helpful staff who greet you are straight ahead. The apparel is on the right and there is a long hallway down the left hand side of the front desk. As you walk down the hallway, the lockers will be on your right. There is one bathroom on the main floor and more bathrooms and showers downstairs. The studio is also centrally located to many NYC subways.
8 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011 Flatiron Spin $$$$
SoulCycle 19th Street
Flatiron Spin, $$$$
8 W 19th St, New York, NY 10011
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SoulCycleSpin
We’ve never been shy about proclaiming our love for SoulCycle despite some of the haters out there. When they launched the new, 60 minute, interval based class format, Soul Activate we were racing to get into the class and see what the hype was all about. Admittedly, we were a little skeptical, why change a great thing when you got it? Once we finally got our bike (classes are few and far between) and took the class we left with mixed emotions. We urge everyone to try the class and make your own decision but in our opinion, the new class is a tad bit over-hyped.
When you walk-in for your first Activate class make sure to listen to the staff, it isn’t business as usual.. They will help you get sorted with the proper weights, they bring out 8 and 10 pounders for Soul Activate. Once class kicked off it was like any other SoulCycle class. Our warmup was three songs and in-line with what you would expect; we rode to the beat of the music and we did basic choreography but that’s where the usual routine ended. After the warmed up we got into a long arms series with our heavy weights. There was more focus on mindful muscle activation. It was still high repetition work but more about getting into “the belly of the muscle” which to us meant building strength. After one song of weights, we expected them to make another appearance but they didn’t.
Post arms there were two interval sets which was the heart of the workout. The first set consisted of 20 seconds of all-out effort (with considerable resistance) followed by one minute of rest, which we did 6 times. When we first heard “rest”, we thought peel off that resistance and just go through the motions, but we were wrong. During recovery, we came to a dead standstill – no movement at all. We admit that we needed it to catch our breath and gear up for the next interval but it was a little surprising that we were just sitting there. After that set, we rode to a couple of songs to loosen up again before we got into the second set of intervals. This time we did 20 seconds of all out effort (again, with considerable resistance) but we only got 10 seconds of rest, which we did 8 times. This was obviously harder given the shorter recovery, and we definitely felt it in our lungs and our legs. Once the intervals were over, we had about two songs that “took us home” before we stretched and were on our way.
The biggest differences between Soul Activate and a regular Soul class are the duration (60 minutes versus 45), heavier weights, an emphasis on team (which didn’t feel very authentic), and the timed interval sets. The two best difference are the 60 minute duration and the heavier weights – if they had just introduced these two elements and called it an advanced class, we would probably be more on board.
We have taken class with Emily before – she is a total rockstar. She was a great coach during class. She understood that most of us had never taken Soul Activate before and she made sure that we all felt comfortable. She pushed us hard through the intervals and really emphasized the importance of recovery when we were in those periods of rest. She tried to get us to visualize our peaceful place to further encourage our heart rates to slow. She was motivational and we would highly recommend taking your first Activate with her if you can. Emily is a Master Instructor & embodies that title so her personality and individuality came through during class. We wonder if that will be the case for everyone given the stricter structure that Activate has in place.
SoulCycleSpin
Erin is petite in figure, but gigantic in personality and confidence. Her energy lit up the studio and was incredibly contagious. From singing tunes aloud to creating a strobe light-lit room, she kept the riders engaged by mixing it up at all times. She commanded the room right from the start and encouraged us to dig deep both mentally and physically with her frequent mantras. The good news is that she had us feeling more confident and energized than when we walked in. She is AWESOME.
SoulCycleSpin
Akin’s followers are called “Akin’s Army.” They even have their own Insta handle, so you better be quick to book, because bikes get snapped up quickly. After taking his class, we totally get why. Akin is a ninja on that Soul bike. He is long and lean and he provides a hell of a heart-pounding, legs on fire Soul class – hands down one of the hardest we’ve taken. We guarantee you will do things on that bike with the weights and choreography you have probably never done before. It will be uncomfortable at times but that’s his goal because that is where progress happens. He moves quickly, so rely on the Army if you get confused at any time or if you lose your sight line – they don’t miss a beat.
He was really great and HARD. He also had 10 lb weights that he gave to some of his die-hards who were front row while we rode a song with sprint intervals with no weights followed by jog interval with right/left side narrow row). He has some serious riders. (We also tried to get 5 pounders and they were gone like 5/6 min before class). He’s also pretty easy on the eyes, not going to lie.
SoulCycleSpin
Number one takeaway: MUSIC. When class was over, we were eager to find out every song she played. Sydney’s playlist was definitely top five across the NYC instructors we’ve taken. The type of music you can expect? Electronic Dance Music (EDM) with heavy beat drops. We were fans, but if you’re not into EDM, you may want to reconsider. Sydney tied the beat drops with long/fast sprints and would scream to give that extra push. She frequently engaged riders by calling out “first row, second row, there we go back row”!! Her style was engaging and just enough, not overboard with yelling or talking. That ain’t our style.
Her workout formula? Keeping the party alive. We raged and sprinted our hearts out every single song. If you’re up for the challenge, we highly recommend trying her out. That said, if you are new you may want to take a different teacher for your first time. She is fast. She loves choreography…and her class is not chill. Enough said.
SoulCycleSpin
If you like dancing on the bike at Soul, you should check out Emma’s class. Every song (even in our warm up) had choreography. There wasn’t a Soul-inspired move we didn’t do! The ride was not dominated by fast runs or crushing hills; it walked the fine line between the two, making for an even-keeled yet challenging ride. Emma played with intervals, varying the intensity with purpose. But her cue to add resistance was a bit confusing: “add a centimeter.” Consistency is key. “Put a little on”, “half turn”, “quarter turn”, etc. should be the Soul gold standard, just sayin…..
The weights portion of the ride was a full upper body workout, and we even got into the abs with some of her moves – not mad about that! Emma’s playlist was good but some songs were a bit obscure. At least they all had a beat, making it easier to ride to the rhythm as a pack.
Emma didn’t ride with us and roamed the room as she taught. She had great energy but it can be hard to command all of that space from the floor. That’s not to say she didn’t give it her all! There was a lot of YES!, WHOOP! and GO! Emma is definitely there to cheer you on. Overall, Emma’s class is what we have come to expect from SoulCycle – definitely a solid option if you are up for it!
