Student cycling instructors boost morale, guide high-energy classes
Teaching cycle classes at Barnes Center at The Arch has become second nature to some Syracuse University student instructors. These workouts are a way to exercise while making money. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
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They seem like other college students — juggling classes, coursework and extracurriculars. But when the studio lights dim, the speakers start blaring and the sweat begins to pour, Syracuse University student cycle instructors become hype coaches, personal DJs and motivators for 45 minutes.
“For me, (the goal) is always that the rider walks out feeling successful,” said Julia Seitz, an SU graduate student and a cycle instructor. “The goal is just to have people feel good about themselves and be like OK ‘I did that and at least I tried it for five seconds.’”
SU’s Barnes Center at The Arch allows students to work as fitness instructors for a range of classes, including cycling. There are around 16 cycling classes each week. The instructors are paid and every prospective instructor must complete the NETA, a self-paced fitness certification course.
Growing up, Seitz said she was not much of an athlete, but that changed during her senior year of high school, when her brother encouraged her to join a cycling class with him. Her only intention was to survive the class and never go back.
“I remember the instructor was incredible and so motivating. I had never heard someone talk to anyone like that before,” Seitz said. “It was so uplifting and it was all about positive self-talk and all this stuff and I was like ‘Oh my gosh I didn’t even know I could do this, I didn’t even know I could think like this.’ It changed everything for me.”
Other SU student instructors were initially drawn to similar class mantras. SU senior Maddie Hurlbert began cycling with the free stationary bikes in Barnes Center gym and attended her first spin class with friends her sophomore year.
“The energy of everybody in the class always just kinda gets me through,” Hurlbert said. “In the middle of my class, if I was in a bad mood that day, I’d be like, ‘Guys, my day has completely turned around.’”
Syracuse University senior Maddie Hurlbert began her cycling career with the free Peloton bikes at Barnes Center at The Arch. Now, she instructs her own spin classes for other students. Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
Soon, she found herself attending classes once or twice a week. During her junior year, Hurlbert impulsively decided she wanted to start teaching and signed up to learn.
The 45- to 50-minute classes attract student instructors because they’re an opportunity to make money while getting in their workout for the day, Hurlbert said.
“Who doesn’t want to get paid to do cardio?” SU sophomore and cycle instructor Jack Spies said.
For some student instructors, teaching cycle classes has become second nature, SU junior Jasmine Padilla said. While she is studying abroad in London, Padilla said she is “going crazy” without regularly teaching spin classes at Barnes Center.
“Teaching keeps me in this like creative flow. It’s so good for me and I don’t ever want to lose that,” Padilla said.
While every instructor is different, there are some aspects that tend to stay true. Most cycle classes contain a variety of phases, usually starting out with a warmup, then increasing levels of tension in the “climbs” as the class ramps up and ending with an “out-of-saddle” sprint.
To match this format, most instructors curate their own playlists for students to follow along, playing songs from all genres anywhere from reggaeton to country, Padilla said. They ride the bikes according to the song’s beats per minute.
Spies said teaching classes allows him to give other people the “great feeling” he gets when he works out. An instructor’s biggest superpower is to be honest and vulnerable because there is someone else in the room who is inspired by their hustle and determination, Spies said.
Spies got certified to teach at the Barnes Center in December 2024. He said he appreciates that they don’t tell the instructors how to structure their classes. He was always looking for a class that had a happy medium focus on metrics and riding along with the music.
When Padilla was preparing to teach her first class in August of last year, she would head to her hometown gym’s cycling room at night. She spoke out loud to practice her instruction — as if a class was there.
“I was so nervous for my first class, but I had already done that exact playlist like 10 times over back home,” Padilla said.
For some student teachers, cycle classes have brought structure and routine but also a confidence boost, Hurlbert said.
When Hurlbert began teaching, she was worried people wouldn’t take her seriously because she didn’t fit the traditional “influencer fitness model” stereotype. But Hurlbert soon realized that typecasting wasn’t necessary for her to teach a good workout class.
Some student instructors plan to continue teaching classes, Seitz said. After her graduation in May, Seitz expects to keep cycling; it’s one of those things she is always going to make room for, she said.
“I want to teach as long as I physically can,” Seitz said. “I’ve never done something for so long in my life.”
