This is for those of us who enjoy an intense, sweaty workout over sitting in a doctor’s office on a couch to cope with our problems. One thing I have found to be true when it comes to dealing with frustration, problems or just a bad day, is that a good workout seems to always do the trick. It is the thirty minutes or an hour that you take for yourself to accomplish whatever you want, while feeling however you want. Whether it be burning off that slice of cake you shouldn’t have eaten, forgetting about the test you probably failed or getting over a tough break-up, for some reason, getting your blood pumping and heart racing makes everything a little bit easier to deal with. In this case, it is the forty-five-minute, disco-like dance on a bike that feels better than any therapy session you could go to.
1. Cost
Believe it or not; it is more cost effective. According to Good Therapy, the average therapy session can cost you anywhere from $75 to $200 per one-hour session. Albeit, at $30 a class, Soul Cycle is not exactly the most cost effective exercise class if you are looking to save a little dough here and there. However, in comparison, $30 for a forty-five-minute spin class is less expensive than up to $200 for one-hour of therapy.
2. Calories
The last time I checked going to therapy didn’t help you lose anymore inches around your waist-line. In your therapy session, remaining mostly sedentary isn’t doing all too much for your body. In spin class you are climbing, sprinting and grooving to today’s biggest hits, all while toning and sculpting your body. Feel like you’re not getting enough out of your session? You don’t have that worry while spinning, because there is a handy little knob on the front of your bike that lets you make your workout as intense as you need. Looking back is a thing of the past. Looking forward is all you are doing while on your bike.
3. Crying
Soul Cycle just happens to be the perfect place to let out all of your emotions. Excitement, anxiousness and sadness all have an outlet here. Spin class allows you to connect more deeply with all the emotions that you are feeling. This plethora of emotions comes from the tough week that you need to put behind you or maybe just the tough day that you need to shake off. Once you get to the end of your ride, all the bottled up feelings are released. After all, you are sweating so much that no one knows the difference between your sweat and your tears.
4. Cute instructors
It is the only place where your workout instructor is probably much cuter (and cooler) than your therapist. They are the one you are always looking up to (literally). Their carved muscles and perfect cycling form leave little to be desired. Having trouble moving past your old lover? Spin instructor to the rescue. If you aren’t interested in them in that way; they will still encourage you to be the best you that you can be and serve as your inspiration to push yourself just a little harder.
5. Candle light
Worried about missing the element of ambience (commonly found in therapy sessions) in your workout? Look no further because the pleasant candle-light and comforting scent your therapists’ office offers just so happens to at Soul Cycle, too. Except, instead of a warm, cozy scent, it’s a bright, fresh, grapefruit scent that is bound to perk you up no matter your mood. The dim lighting and candle light make it possible for you to workout in peace without worrying about anyone watching you too closely (unlike your therapist writing down your inner-most thoughts on the dreaded “notepad").