There is no other way to spend Thanksgiving than to eat everything on your plate and then go back for seconds or thirds. That’s what makes it so great. We eat so much with no regrets. Now that this much needed break is over, it’ll be time to get our butts back in tightening business.
I’ve had a ClassPass for a while now and really enjoy the fact that I can take a variety of classes whenever I want to. Just some quick background knowledge, ClassPass is a subscription service that allows you to take any excersice class at their partner studios (they have hundreds just in NYC). It’s great for people who want to try a variety of workouts from boxing to aerial silks. For those that are interested in checking out some studios, I took the opportunity to note down the best studios I’ve tried on ClassPass.
For the Yogi:
I found Yoga Vida, Yogamaya, and Sky Ting Yoga to be beautiful spaces with great yoga instructors. I took signature flows at each studio, feeling stronger both physically and mentally. For a more workout type of yoga, try a heated flow. The best places I’ve tried hot yoga at was Y7, as well as Sweat Yoga. At Y7, you do vinyasa flows to hip-hop music which I absolutely loved. The studios are quite small, but their Upper East Side location is larger and has showers. At Sweat, which just opened their NY studio, there are showers as well and the studio is probably one of the cleanest I’ve seen. It’s brighter than Y7 where you flow in the dark and there was even a dog named Holly walking around the front desk. They also hand out an ice-cold lavender infused towel during shavasana, which makes it all worth it. I’d recommend anyone interested in trying Y7 or Sweat to have some knowledge of yoga before going in. Basic knowledge would help since both studios have you flow on your own for some parts of class. If you’re looking for something totally different, I’d try ANYA or OM Factory for some aerial yoga! That’s if you like hanging from a ceiling of course.
Image via @yogavidanyc
For the Barre Girl:
Physique 57 was definitely the hardest barre experience I’ve had, but my body thanked me. I felt the burn even days later! I recommend Physique 57 if you want a great toning workout, but it’s definitely challenging for beginners. Pop Physique was a much easier class for me, but also enjoyable and and a good work out. Overall, I’d try Physique 57 if you have barre experience because I think it was more worth it as an overall work out, but Pop Physique holds as a good second.
For the Pilates Lover:
New York Pilates takes the cake for best pilates studio I’ve ever walked into. They have three studios – one on West 3rd, in Soho, and on Bowery. The Bowery location is their newest, but all three are absolutely gorgeous. The instructors I’ve had have been really helpful at giving me hands-on advice since I haven’t used a reformer before. The classes were both fun and challenging butt-tightening, core toning workouts. New York Pilates is an A+ studio that is worth trying for sure.
If you’re tired of SoulCycle:
Try Swerve! The reason why I love Swerve is because of the team effort. You’re separated into three teams and cycle to try to have your team get better and better. At the end, they send you your stats and rank in the class automatically to your email to see on your own time and by your own eyes. It makes me want to beat my rank each time. Another plus is the fact that I can order a smoothie before class and it’s ready to drink up once I’m out. Talk about refreshing! Notable mention: AQUA. It’s cycling, but in an indoor pool. I still was able to sweat while also feeling cooled out and my knees were not as stressed as they would be in a regular cycling class. Super different experience and I loved it.
Image via @swervefitness
If you’ve always wanted to row:
Rowing is underrated. It’s something that I’ve actually never tried and I regret waiting so long to check it out. CityRow and East End Row are two studios that are strictly rowing. They both use water rowers, which mimic the sound of actual rowing! It definitely helped with putting me in the element. Both studios incorporate yoga and strength training in their classes so you’re not just rowing the entire time. The exercise works 80% of your muscles, so including all the extra work off the rower, it’s truly a full body work out. I definitely recommend it, especially if you want to move away from cycling.
A tip for the fitness freak on a budget: Try to find community classes that are either free or donation-based. You’d be surprised as to how many studios have these. I certainly try to take advantage and find them to be just as great as regular classes. Also, we have great classes right here at Fordham! The Ram Fit Center has classes for every day of the week, minus weekends. I know there are so many other studios worth trying in the city that I have yet to. That’s just New York for you. If you ever try any of these classes, I hope you have the same enjoyable experience as I did.