Whether you’re looking to channel your inner namaste, smell like grapefruit, or sweat like a crazy person, Soul Cycle is the place to get your athletic fix. Here’s some tips on how to survive the spin workout that sweeping across Houston.

1. Choose your bike wisely. This might seem like a no-brainer because you can select your bike when you register online, but once you choose your spot there’s no changing your mind last minute. Even if it’s a 6am class and there’s 5 people in the 45 bike room, you’re still not allowed to move one bike over to be better positioned in front of the fan.
2. Hydrate beforehand. Classes are 45 minutes long and there’s not much downtime. You’re going to sweat buckets so prepare yourself and chug a water bottle before class. You won’t get much of a chance to grab sips during class.
3. Bring socks. This might sound like a no brainer, but if you’re renting shoes from the desk (costs $3), you probably want an extra layer between you and someone else’s old foot sweat.
4. Dress the part. Soul Cycle is a bit of a cult and people dress up for class. I’ve seen pigtails, leggings of every color in the rainbow, designer sports bras, and plenty of Soul Cycle gear. Be sure to wear leggings since you don’t want chaffing from the bike or your pant leg getting caught in some moving bike part.
5. Rock the messy bun. These classes are hot af and they don’t cool the rooms. So you’re going to sweat like crazy. If you’re anything like me, it’s super annoying to have hot sticky hair clinging to your shoulders. So from experience it’s best to pile it all on top and out of reach.
6. Arrive early. Especially if it’s your first class. You “clip in” to the bike and if you haven’t done this before it’ll take you some time to figure out how to snap your shoes into the bike pedals. Plus you want to make sure your seat and handle bar height is right where you want it. They’ll be employees walking around with flashlights helping get the measurements juuust right, if you do need help.
7. Check your weights. This isn’t just a spin class. There’s a 10 minute (ish) portion towards the end where you do a zillion curls, presses, and lifts to tone your arms. It might sound easy but after rep 1378 you might be wishing you had smaller weights. You can choose between 2, 3 and 5lb weights. Before you clip in, make sure your bike has the ones you want.
8. Maintain resistance. Sometimes the instructors will tell you to move your resistance all the way to the left (aka 0 resistance), but if you’re moving fast your wheel momentum might pull your knees and legs out of control and injure you. A good rule of thumb is to always move with the beat of the music and keep on enough resistance to achieve that pace.
9. Stay for the stretch! The instructors give people the option to leave class early if they want to at the end, but that’s a mistake. The stretching takes 2 minutes (plus the class was only 45 minute to start with) and loosing up your muscles after crazy repetitive movements is key to protecting yourself from injury, releasing lactic acid, and keeping you safe!
10. Recover at Local Foods. If you’re at the River Oaks location, it’s right next door. No better way to sweat out all the negativity in your life and then refuel with some healthy af snacks.

Soul Cycle Memorial opens up to the public on September 1^st, 2016. The franchise now has eight instructors (four new ones!) and you can find the new schedule of classes here.