W.O.W! Working Out With Kelly Ripa

 
KELLY RIPA, SOS EDITOR CLAUDIA LEBENTHAL, STACEY GRIFFITH
 
PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS BY DEBBY HYMOWITZ

 
From daytime television to morning television, Kelly Ripa has been making her presence known on the airwaves since 1990. We first got to know her as Hayley Vaughan on ABC’s “All My Children”, before becoming the co-host of “Live with Regis and Kelly” in 2001. Now the solo host of “Live with Kelly”, Kelly Ripa has proven she’s a force to be reckoned with and not just on the small screen. Packed into a 5’3” frame, this media powerhouse is a whole lot of muscle and endless energy, all of which I’ve witnessed plenty while riding with her over the last few years at SoulCycle.

The bubbly personality we all know and love on television is balanced by a sarcastic wit that fellow riders at SoulCycle experience on a regular basis. There is no diva here; Kelly is just a fresh-faced, funny, and approachable spin mate who didn’t hesitate to say yes when I worked up the nerve to ask if she’d be on Style of Sport. Her only request was that she didn’t have to wear any makeup. ‘How cool’, I thought, ‘How real! How Alicia Keys!’ The daily application of makeup is one part of her job that she is happy to skip when not required.
 

CLICK IMAGE ABOVE TO WATCH US IN ACTION!

 
For this installment of “WOW: Working Out With”, Kelly and I “doubled” at SoulCycle with one of our favorite instructors, Stacey Griffith — a star in her own right whose book, Two Turns from Zero, comes out this March. Anyone who rides with Stacey knows we are a tight knit group. The “double” seems to be a phenomenon unique to SoulCycle where riders just can’t get enough, taking not just one, but two classes in a row.
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Gabby Reece talks to SoulCycle’s Stacey Griffith

 

Left:Debby Hymowitz; Right:Courtesy of Gabby Reece

I STARTED GOING to SoulCycle about four years ago, beaten up and kind of broken by my first NYC Marathon. Unable to run, having finished with a stress fracture in my femur, I was looking for a replacement to give me those running endorphins and keep my marathon physique. I’d heard the buzz about SoulCycle, but really the only thing I cared about in a spinning class was good music played loud–which was surprisingly hard to find in NYC. Give me that and I could pedal forever.

Conveniently, SoulCycle had just opened on the Upper East Side in Manhattan near my house and so off I went to my first class. What I found was much more than I expected. It had the hip vibe of a cool club, but one where everybody was welcome. The whole look of the place– the candles burning in the spinning rooms, inspirational graphics on the wall, the cheerful albeit insanely crowded waiting area–drew me in. The teacher, who didn’t even know me, called out my name in class, and I instantly felt like a regular. Yes, there was great music, but there was other motivation too. There was a roomful of people having fun, and I was hooked.

It wasn’t until about a year ago that everything really started to change. Stacey Griffth, one of the founding SoulCycle instructors, began teaching a regular 7:30 am class, a perfect time for my schedule. Beaten up by my second NYC Marathon, and again desperate to keep that runners high and body, I started going about three times a week. I knew of Stacey’s cult-like following, and her classes were legendary. Getting in was tough. Class sign-up for the week opened Monday at noon, and her classes were usually sold out by 12:01. Read More

 
 

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