I know how hard it can be to get – and stay – motivated to work out; honestly I was completely unreliable when it came to scheduling gym time for a good 5+ years post college. It wasn’t that I was unmotivated, it was just that nothing motivated me enough to continue to work it into my schedule. That is, until I joined Classpass & found the BEST studios + classes in NYC.
Once I got familiar with Classpass I realized I had hundreds of amazing workout studios at my fingertips; I found instructors that I connected with, classes I took with friends that felt like adult playdates, and studios that felt like spas but kicked my ass. And the more I found “my” studios, the more I wanted to workout. Over the last 2+ years I’ve tried tons of studios in NYC and have found my absolute favs. Before I moved (and sadly canceled Classpass) these were my go-to studios that kept me motivated enough to get out of bed at 7am & trek (in the SNOW!) to workout classes. If you’re in NYC you NEED to check them out (some are national chains too!) But if you’re not near any of these studios, I definitely recommend trying classes you think you’ll hate (see SPIN for me), find instructors you vibe with, and studios that feel like ~pampering~ as a reward for a grueling workout. Nothing, I mean NOTHING, motivated me more than the promise of a locker room sauna at the end of a workout. #willsweatforthesauna (and yes I did do a face mask in one and made the whole dang locker room my personal spa, YOLO.)
HERE ARE MY TOP 5 WORKOUTS IN NYC
CYC FITNESS
My FAVORITE of all time. I seriously wrote off spin for my ENTIRE life because I did it once and it wasn’t fun and my ass hurt for 4 days afterwards. I couldn’t understand how all these weirdo cult people were paying HUNDREDS at soul cycle & other random boutique studios. Then my cousin & best friends made me try CYC and I have honestly never looked back. It’s a 45 minute intense ride with an instructor upfront showing you the moves, and an amazing playlist bumpin’. It’s very much dance-spin; they even have theme rides every day like 90s boy bands & rihanna drake night. They stop twice over the 45 minutes to incorporate arm workouts with low weights until you burn out, and it never fails to make me sweat so much my clothes come off (sry not sry).
UPLIFT STUDIOS
This female-only studio is located in flatiron and I love it because (1) it’s small group classes of max 12ish people and they are ALL women — so you never have to worry about gross dudes staring at you as you squat or mansplaining lunges *eyeroll* and (2) They have both high intensity boot camp type workouts as well as low intensity/higher weight workouts (my personal fav). I usually can’t walk up stairs for a few days post class and 100% need a handrail to hoist myself off of the toilet; I’ve never felt stronger/more frail at the same time.
I haven’t taken FlyWheel, so this review is purely for FlyBarre. I’ve taken some classes I liked, some I hated, and one I LOVED. It’s called Power45 (although they may have recently renamed it), but it’s 45 minutes & incorporates some purebarre-esque moves, but with way more mat pilates built in. It’s less ballet & more booty bands but either way your tiniest muscles are burned the EFF out & I have on more than one occasion been convinced my legs were going to give out in the middle of class. YASSS!
SAL ANTHONY’S MOVEMENT SALON
Okay so I got INTO reformer pilates for a few years — so much so that it was basically all I was taking. If you get familiar enough to start doing advanced classes you will FEEL.THE.BURN. This studio has a sister studio (pilates on the square) but Sal Anthony’s is gorgeous and on the ground floor it almost feels like doing pilates in a stained glass church. Spiritual AF. Sadly my favorite instructor (who also happens to be voted top in the city) moved to New York Pilates & I just couldn’t cheat on her so I broke up with Sal’s. If you’re single & looking though…definitely recommend a date night with an advanced instructor.
SWITCH PLAYGROUND
Switch was one of my newer finds before I moved and the timing of the morning class didn’t work since my office was clear across town, but the classes are FUN AF. Bring a buddy since you workout in pairs & prepare to feel like you’re on some kind of fun/torturous adult playdate. It’s 20 different stations (rowing, boxing, trampoline, deadlifts, stairmaster, etc) for 2-3 minutes each. There’s multiple instructors walking around to correct (read: YELL at) you, and a POPPIN’ dj, which tbh I have openly grooved to mid-weighted squats. If you want to feel like you’re at the clerb with your friends, but instead of vomiting on yourself you’re sweating profusely through your own clothes then definitely give Switch Playground a try.
If you try any of these studios, or have others that you absolutely love in your neck of the woods, I would LOVE to hear about them!!
Keep ya girl informed 🙂
Xx
Chelsea
