My Favorite NYC Fitness Classes

As a result of my oh-so-dramatic 30 day fitness challenge, along with my normal routine of yoga classes and running, I tried the following classes in New York City:

• TRX
• Physique 57
• The Bar Method
• Hot Yoga
• Flex Barre
• Rowing Class
• Soul Cycle
• Barry’s Bootcamp
• Hip hop dancing
• Crossfit
• Shrink Session
• Kickboxing

These were my 4 favorite classes:

Barry’s Bootcamp.

I’d heard about Barry’s for a long time, but never had the guts to try it until my fitness challenge. I’m obsessed with it now. It’s my favorite thing!!! One hour, alternating sprinting/running at an incline on a treadmill and weights on the floor, it’s a total body workout set to awesome music. Disclaimer: I’ve only taken Noah Neiman’s class and I pretty much only plan to take his classes in the future. I never thought I’d be into this type of workout, but Noah makes it super fun….and let’s be honest, looking at him just motivates me. So hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. :)

Hot Yoga.

I became addicted to hot yoga at Modo Yoga during the fitness challenge. Hot vinyasa yoga is different than Bikram yoga (where the same series of postures is practiced in every class). At Modo, something about the sweatiness, the heat, the mirrors…it’s just a crazy, wild time. Any teacher will do.

Soul Cycle.

Soul Cycle!!! Another one of those things I never really wanted to try, I just dismissed it as some cycling fad and I hated cycling. But then I took Akin Akman‘s class and my life was changed. Just like Barry’s Bootcamp, Soul Cycle is set to great music in a dark room with a hot teacher leading the whole thing…I honestly walk out of his class with no recollection of anything that happened except that it was the best dance party ever.

Hip Hop Dance.

I had been taking hip hop classes at Mark Morris in Fort Greene since January so it technically wasn’t a new workout during my challenge. But it’s one of my favorite things now even though I’m still a MAJOR beginner. My teacher, Wayne Daniels, is super legit. It’s my biggest challenge and I’ll keep showing up for it because it makes me a better person because it kicks me out of my comfort zone so hard.

Those 4 classes, along with non-hot yoga and running outside in the park? That’s my ultimate utopian workout buffet. :) 

Other thoughts:

TRX – really hard and a good workout, but I’d rather be in Barry’s Bootcamp.

Barre classes (Bar Method, Physique57, Flex Barre): I get why it works, I could feel the soreness the next day, but the whole thing just doesn’t excite me that much. For whatever reason. Maybe they need some male instructors. 

Crossfit: I learned some good things trying Crossfit, and I’m all about efficiency…but ultimately I kinda freaked myself out being in a Crossfit gym. It made me want to run home and do something girly like paint my nails and watch the Notebook.

Rowing class: Just…not that into it.

Kickboxing: Fun, and I’m totally down to go again. I laughed the whole time I was punching things. Good way to get any aggression out. 

Shrink Session: This was kinda like Intensati. The dancey parts were fun but yelling positive affirmations during a workout just isn’t really my thing.

What are your favorite workout classes? Any recommendations on what else I should try? What’s on the menu at your utopian workout buffet? Let’s hear it.

If you wanna follow the NYC fitness scene, look no further than my friends at Well+Good NYC.