No one is disputing its success.

Since 2006, SoulCycle has opened 47 locations in North America, with plans to open 50 more studios worldwide. According to financial filings, the $34 per class cycling chain is churning out fast profits and, last month, announced IPO plans to go public.

There are plenty of boutique cycling competitors, Peloton and FlyWheel included, which have yet to achieve SoulCycle’s cult culture status. So, what gives? What is it that makes this workout so attractive?

Having spoken to countless students and instructors, and experiencing the “energy of the pack” myself, it turns out the head games being played in class are ripping pages straight from sports psychology.

Motivation

"Visualize what you want, look it straight in the eye, and go for it!" shouts
Emma L., the fitness model-slash-SoulCycle instructor at New York’s 19th Street studio. From the looks of it, she’s taking her own advice – crushing a warp-speed cadence from her candlelit pedestal platform.

We’re only 15 minutes in, and I’m already out of breath, my blood pumping so hard I can almost hear it. I can’t, of course, on account of the go-big or go-home mix of gangsta rap by Kendrick Lamar and electronic dance music by ZHU.

Bounce to the beat. Get your freak on. Because it’s dark in here, and no one can see you. Towards the end of this 45-minute aerobic jam session, Emma turns the lights back on, revealing SoulCycle mantras painted in bold, shouty capital letters all over the walls: "Take Your Journey. Obsessed. Addicted. Athlete. Legend. Warrior. Renegade. Rockstar."

Suddenly, I hear the words “Great job, Jennifer!” barked from the front of the room. This shocks me out of a sweaty, adrenalin fueled daze. What? The instructor knows my name? This is New York City – who does that?

Paid therapists, that’s who. And, apparently, SoulCycle; according to the company website, instructors are trained to incorporate inspirational coaching into their classes. Staff members are also encouraged to remember students, greet them by name, and often shoot them complements in class.

It may all seem a bit silly, but motivational cues – visual and auditory - are a basic tenet of sports psychology. “When people are individually recognized in a group, as on a sports team, it increases their internal motivation,” said Dr. Michele Kerulis, director of Sport and Health Psychology at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. “We also use visualization in sports psych. It strengthens neural pathways. For instance, when you’re just thinking about a muscle, it fires up as if you were using that muscle.”

Intensity

The loud, fast-paced music played at SoulCycle is another basic sports performance tool. According to a recent psychology study published in Scientific American, music distracts people from pain and fatigue, elevates mood, and may even promote metabolic efficiency.

Taking this to the next level, SoulCycle instructors incorporate out-of-saddle choreography to their classes. You’re literally dancing to the music (as was my 80’s flash-mob experience at the Beverly Hills studio.) Back in New York, things can get a bit more aggressive, where punching the air with hand weights while cycling is considered a normal approach to urban anger management.

“The danceable music keeps you out of the saddle, and the choreography distracts you. Your mind is not on the pain,” said Stewart Manger, 47, an interior designer based in Manhattan. “But make no mistake; it’s a very intense workout for 45 minutes straight, and there’s a definite survival aspect to it.”

A self-professed fanatic, Manger opted for SuperSoul – the VIP package of 50 classes for $3,500 that essentially buys you first-dibs with popular instructors and puts you first on waitlists. Yes, waitlists, in studios that cram in 50-60 bikes and average nine classes per day (which helps to explain this company profits.)

On the other hand, the repetitive, addictive quality to these workouts can have downsides, if not balanced with other activity.

“There is a lack of emphasis on the need for stretching or other cross training. Without that, our muscles don’t get a chance to lengthen. Overtime, that puts undue stress on joints, causing pain and other dysfunction,” said physical therapist Morgan Manasse Borsen, who has treated SoulCycle coaches for low back pain, IT band syndrome and Piriformis syndrome.

Group Think

Physical risks, however, haven’t kept Borsen, 31, from taking classes. A big draw, she says, is the sense of community: “Every knows each other. In today’s day of social media, email, and virtual meetings, the personal touch can really go a long way.”

More than just name recognition, there is science to support SoulCycle’s “energy of the pack” mantra. The earliest experiments in sports psychology show cyclists racing against other cyclists, compared to racing against a clock. Those racing against live competitors have better performance. In groups, cyclists try harder. Professional cyclists know this well; it’s the psychology of the peloton. And SoulCycle is capitalizing on it.

“We ride to the beat of the music, in unison as a pack, and feed off each other's energy. We encourage one another,” said Sydney Miller, a SoulCycle instructor based in Manhattan. “Being in that room amongst 50-plus likeminded people helps you push yourself harder and further than you could on your own.”

I took a class this week with Miller, at the new Bryant Park location. She was wearing a tiny tank top that read “Sexy Corner.” Turns out, that’s the name of a signature move (part of the choreography) that isolates abs and oblique muscles. The title isn’t a coincidence.

Pleasure Play

The high-priced, eye-candy spandex, peddled in the front of each SoulCycle studio offers a hint at the in-class environment. The lights go off. The music turns up. Soft candles flicker below the instructor. And everyone’s sweating. Sound hot? Sure, it’s a workout. But it’s also well designed to play on your brain’s pleasure centers.

“Chemically, the neurotransmitters dopamine and endorphins are being released during intense exercise. These chemicals are often associated with confidence and a sense of satisfaction,” said Dr. Kerulis, of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

Recent research from the Journal of Human Sexuality, published by the University of Arkansas, points to a direct link between exercise and sexual desirability. But Dr. Kerulis puts it more simply: “In general, what you’re getting from frequent intense workouts is a healthier lifestyle – and that just makes you feel sexier.”