What’s better than a night of Spinning with your favs from the gym? A night of Spinning followed by a night of DRINKING! DUH.Last night we had the first in hopefully a series of #SpinAndSip nights at Brazenhead in Brooklyn. This night was in the making for almost two months. With all of our busy schedules, my constant weddings, etc., we finally settled on October 19th as the inaugural night. I must have said that date 100 times in my classes in the weeks leading up to it. I’m sure you all tired of my constant blacklight photos and boomerangs on Instagram to promote it. The night has come and gone, and it was as fun as I imagined. We started with a BOMB@$$ All 90’s #tbt playlist in spinning (you can find it here, FOLLOW ME ON SPOTIFY!), and then we headed across the street for some libations.
I visited two bars in the area to check what kind of drink specials I could finagle, and Brazenhead won out. I went to law school around the corner, and I had hosted multiple events at Brazenhead before so I knew they were game. Specifically, I hosted multiple nights of Sex Ed Trivia for Law Students for Reproductive Justice. Lingerie, pleather knee-high-boots, garters, etc. Anyway, as usual, I am getting off-track. The point is, Brazenhead is a great space, with a neighborhood feel, TVs, and a cute outdoor space in the back. PLUS, the manager, Sasha, said she would give us wristbands and extend their happy hour pricing for us from 8-10 pm. HELLO $6 gin and tonics!!
First Stop: Spinning!
2nd Stop: Brazenhead and Wristbands!
RESERVED, B*TCHES!
#TeamDodgeYMCA! Love you guys.
Unfortunately, they don’t serve food (besides free bar snacks, like pretzels), but the manager said she didn’t mind if we brought our own food. A couple of people picked up real food for dinner, but the real MVP of the night was Jeannine, who brought snacks for everyone. In true elementary-school-teacher fashion, she brought pita chips, carrot sticks, and hummus. What a champion.
We ended up having 16 people show up, including 3 instructors (myself included). #TeamDodgeYMCA! Brazenhead was so hospitable, I could not have asked for anything more. They gave us wristbands, the bartenders were awesome, and they even reserved a huge circular booth for us in the front of the place. We played a few rounds of “get to know you” games, learned each other’s names, learned how many years we had lived in New York, a learned a fun fact about each of us. I revealed that I once brought a snow cone machine to sleep-away camp #fatkidforever. Best of all, we got to hang out with each other off the bike.
It was a blast and I can’t wait to do it again. Next time, I expect an even larger turn-out! Now accepting all suggestions for the next hashtag: #SpinAndSipTake2#SweatThenSwig#SpiritsAndSpinning#SwoleSippers
FitForFreeNYC strikes again. This time, in a dance-cardio-sweat-my-butt-off-but-my-face-hurts-more-than-anything-from-smiling way. And it was my favorite price: FREE! BollyX is my new favorite thing. Read through and I will link you to more free classes popping up around NYC through the rest of the year!
Two weeks ago, after my experience with free yoga through FitForFree, I saw another free workout pop-up on Alexa’s instagram, BollyX, and I knew I had to go. When I signed up, I did not know much of what I was getting into, besides that it was a Bollywood-inspired dance cardio class, and that they were “celebrating body empowerment & self love.” I was game right away.
First of all, you guys know I am a wedding-guest-extraordinaire (7 in the past year). But absolutely nothing compares to the Indian wedding I attended four years ago. SHOUTOUT RIMA AND VARUN! They had a horse, the most beautiful bridesmaid saris, but best of all, the DANCING WAS AMAZING. I remember sweating up a storm on the dance floor, killin’ it at all of the moves I had practiced in my room ever since The Pussycat Dolls remade Jai Ho for the movie, Slumdog Millionaire. I have been cultivating my love for Bollywood for years.
Getting to Waterside Plaza was a pain and a half, involving a subway, a crosstown bus, and three queries to three separate security guards and a lifeguard. I felt like I was actually traveling to India. Or at least a quarter of a way across the globe. But ultimately, it was worth it. And I’d definitely do it again. In fact, I already signed up for 3 more classes!!
This class was everything I hoped for AND MORE. Meredith Higgins, a BollyX Global Community Manager, was subbing the class, and she was the BOMB. Check out her Instagram! According to her bio, her motto is “take life by the lady balls and ‘Get Shit Done!’” Hell yes.
It was like Zumba on crack, but with better music. It combined strength, dance, jumping, cardio, body rolls, smiles, and LOTS of shoulder shaking. According to their website, which I didn’t look at until this morning, it’s a high intensity cardio workout with “heart pumping beats of Bollywood,” that make you “feel that muscle burn and unleash your inner swagger.” Spot on. There were a lot of cardio songs, but there was also a song for lower body toning, and one for upper body toning. Those Bollywood stars must have some JACKED shoulders! On their “about” section of the BollyX website, it boasts a 500-800 calorie burn per session. According to my Fitbit, I only burned 415, but I feel like that can’t possibly be true. I was sweating like crazy! And more than anything it was SO FUN. My face hurt from smiling and laughing.
Toward the end of class, we broke into 2 groups and Meredith taught us a “performance” song, where it’s only 90 seconds of choreography, and you’re supposed to give it your all, like you’re leaving it all on the dance floor. We did the routine twice together, then she split us in two, and we performed for each other while clapping along for the other group. Meredith led each of our groups through it, and then we performed it facing the front! You can even see a clip of it in her video here. I, unfortunately, wore neon yellow so you can’t miss me messing up all the moves. But at least I was smiling the whole time! WHAT A BLAST. ABC News did a piece on it too, if you don’t want to watch me, specifically.
Luckily for you, there are pop-up FREE classes throughout the rest of October, November and December in New York and throughout the country! Go to Eventbrite and search for Free BollyX, or click here for the New York ones at Waterside Plaza, where I was!
Check out our awesome boomerang from after class with Meredith, I think we can now be considered BollyPros.
I have been teaching Spinning classes for 11 years. During some parts of my life, I was teaching 4 classes/week on the bike. And I made the playlist for Every. Single. One. Y’all remember Kazaa? Napster? They were after people like me. JK. I downloaded allll of my music legally. 😉 Anyway, I digress. Monday, that all changed; I didn’t make the playlist, Tim did!
Tim has been attending my Spin classes religiously for a year. I thought it was longer, but it’s just because he never misses a class! When his sister was in town, he even brought her along for the ride. Literally. (I crack myself up.) Anyway, Tim had never made a playlist before, but after attending nearly 100 of my classes, he wanted to try it out. I had faith in his musical choices because he tends to win round after round of Name That Tune when I challenge the class. I figured if he could identify Taio Cruz with less than 1 second played, I was in good hands.
Sure enough, he pulled through. He sent me the full playlist on google play music, and I transferred it to Spotify, where I have an unlimited membership. See? I’ve transformed into a good, law-abiding citizen. Tim knows I love a good spattering of K-pop in my class, but unfortunately the only song he picked that I couldn’t find on Spotify was Energetic by BOA. Truly unfortunate because it is a JAM. Not to worry, I subbed in another K-Pop song in its place: New Face by Psy, the lyrical genius who brought us Gangnam Style.
The playlist featured some of my favorite artists including Busta Rhymes, Major Lazer and Ariana Grande. He also included some songs I had never heard of before by great artists, like Alphabeat by David Guetta. Tim told me the drills he thought would go best with half of the songs and left the other half to my spin drill expertise. I played the new songs through about 4 times until I felt comfortable cueing them, then I called it a day. So much less effort on my part.
We had a blast, and I had to do so much less work! Since I had been promoting the class for weeks on Instagram, I had to appease my followers. Accordinglyyyy, after class we took some awesome photos and boomerangs to commemorate the occasion and post on all the social meds. Duh.
If ANYONE wants to guest DJ in the future, send over your playlists! I even take requests for single songs. The only thing is, I always reserve the right to VETO. Maroon 5… never gonna happen.
I am a workout fiend but there’s one workout I never do: YOGA. The reason being, I am one of the most inflexible people you will ever meet. I’m talking, I can barely touch my toes. However, with all of the running and spinning that I do, yoga is probably the one thing I need the most! So how did I end up reaching for my far-away-toes and attempting to contort my body into unheard-of poses on Tuesday night? Well mostly because it was my favorite price: FREE. I’m a sucker for a free workout, especially a free CLASS, which is why I started following the blog, Fit For Free months ago. The creator of the blog, Alexa Lippman, posts all different types of free and reduced-price workouts on her blog and Instagram, but for some reason, the mood struck me to try out some contortionism Tuesday.
First, a quick history of my yoga “practice” and inflexibility:
Flashback to college, when I started training to become a fitness instructor. They forced us to complete a fitness assessment with the trainers. I remember laying on my back as the trainer pushed my straight leg back as far as he could, measuring the angle. I remember him telling me to stop pushing back against him. I remember him laughing asking if I was trying to mess with him. I remember me adamantly saying, “no, I’m just that inflexible.” I remember him telling me he had never met anyone with as tight hamstrings as me. I remember trying out a yoga class that Friday, in an attempt to take the trainer’s suggestion to “stretch the f*ck out.” I remember laughing/falling on my face in yoga. I remember vowing to never return.
Flash-forward 9 years later, when I agreed to do a 20-minute yoga-for-runners class at lululemon after run club. SURPRISE! I was still inflexible and a complete yoga-dummy.
Flash-forward to receiving the email from Fit For Free about a free Lyons Den Power Yoga class at Athleta. There would be refreshing dandelion tea after class, and I am a sucker for free snacks and beverages. Plus, the email promised it would be ok for yogi-failures. Direct quote from the email:
Class is open to all levels – so whether you practice yoga everyday, or this is your very first time, everyone is welcome. Trust me, you will very likely see me fall out of tree pose, I am no pro. So don’t be intimidated if you’re not a regular yogi. This event is meant for everyone to have fun, take an awesome yoga class, and meet some new like-minded fitness friends.
Sounded legit. I like fitness friends! I figured that if Alexa, the creator of a fitness blog, was going to fall out of tree pose, I could fall out of tree pose with her! Not that I knew what “tree pose” even was…
I gathered all of my strength, literally and figurately, and I signed up. I got there early, so I could panic and talk myself out of leaving for a full 45 minutes, as one does. I watched all of these lithe females walk in with their own yoga mats, and proceeded to freak out a little more. Finally, we entered the room barefoot (good thing I got a pedicure!), grabbed a block, and picked a mat. Unluckily for everyone else, the back 4 rows were full. I was in the second row, in plain view for everyone to watch me make a fool of myself. NBD.
Me waiting for class to start. I wore the perfect shirt!
The MindBody board with upcoming classes.
You’re more likely to find me running from yoga, like these mannequins.
Descending to my yoga-death. #PowerToTheShe
We began with a meditation where we reflected and wrote on a post-it note something that was making us bitter recently so we could think about it and let go of it during class. Usually this inner-peace/reflection/contemplation/bogus is not my thing. But it has been SO DAMN HOT lately. And I was freaking bitter about it. So obvi I wrote “THE HEAT” in all capital letters. It actually made me feel better. We began to down dog, forward fold, crescent lunge, tadasana, rag doll. Not in that order. Also, I’m not gonna lie, I just googled “basic yoga poses” because I’m basic (in more ways than one), and because I didn’t remember any of the names. At one point, the amazing instructor, Christine Mahoney, said, “you don’t have to look around, everyone looks fantastic and is doing fine!” Little did she know, I was looking around because I had absolutely no idea what a “forward fold” was (and yes, in hindsight it really should have been self-explanatory).
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Anyway, TBH it was a lot of fun. It was so different than running/spinning, but the “power” part of power yoga meant it was a fast-paced class and I wasn’t bored at all, which was my primary concern. Plus, I was super busy the whole class trying to look around and figure out what I was supposed to be doing, while simultaneously trying not to fall on my face. I didn’t get a single bruise! Also, I felt looser and less tense than I had in weeks. Possibly months. Ok, years.
I’d say it was an overall success. I don’t know if I’d ever pay to embarrass myself, but I would be down (down dog?) to try it again for no cost! I even found myself googling “free yoga NYC” this morning. And one thing’s for sure, I’ll def be following Fit for Free to see if any other free classes pop up! You should, too! And follow me, because I promise to repost 😊
Friday night I died 5 times. But here I am, risen from the dead, very sore, and here to tell the tale.
Backstory: I heard about a gym called Ripped from Well and Good (review coming at another time), and at the class last Tuesday, the trainer, Courtney Paul, plugged this “super fun fitness event” he was hosting on Friday. He said the venue would be “bougie AF” and there would be “lots of hot guys there.” I was intrigued. Then he said it was FREE. My favorite price. So I RSVPed. But then I got terrified and so I invited 10 of my closest fitness buddies to come with me, and out of 10, one said yes. Shout out to Mary, my ride or die. Mostly die.
This event was a collaboration of Life Time Athletic at Sky, with Courtney’s special fitness baby called CPX. As he asks on his website, “are you ready for the CPXperience?” Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was. But his Instagram made it seem like it was going to be cool, there was a post-workout pool party, and I was interested in seeing the outside, all-turf space, 11 stories above ground. Plus, it was a breezy 70 degrees so I couldn’t even use the weather as an excuse. Oh, and did I mention it was FREE? I did.
But still, I was intimidated. Courtney was featured on the Bravo show Work Out New York, and he can sometimes be fun and playful, (lots of sexual innuendo), but can sometimes be f*cking terrifying, screaming at you to get your treadmill to 9.0 MPH for the sprint or he will do it for you. Luckily there were going to be no treadmills on Friday night, so I felt a little bit more at ease going into it.
A little about the workout: CPX is an “ultimate fusion of body conditioning with a circuit flare.” He says on Instagram that it is meant to “redefine HITT.” HITT is usually used in the military as “high intensity tactical training,” and I’m not sure if he really meant HIIT, or “high intensity interval training,” but either way, it was definitely high intensity. His workout (and he) has been featured in a lot of articles and magazines, you can see some links here on his website.
I arrived at Sky, where I went in a revolving door to a bougie AF lobby (he was not exaggerating). I had to sign a waiver on an iPad, check in, and receive my wristband. I felt so official. Mary and I took the elevator to the 11th floor, where we were some of the last to arrive, as usual. We grabbed mats and resistance bands, Mary got a complimentary energy drink, and we set our mats at the very back of the AstroTurf in the corner. I would ballpark about 80 people there. Not too shabby. The music started bumping and we started squatting. A lot of Courtney screaming in the microphone to keep our weight in our heels, and what seemed like 3 hours later, we moved away from legs, and on to abs. I think in reality, it was only 10 minutes. For the next 25 minutes we did squats, lunges, plank walkouts, butterfly kicks, crunches, etc., then we grabbed our resistance band for upper body toning. We did 10 minutes of bicep curls, upright rows, tricep kickbacks, partner rows in squats, etc. Finally, I thought we were getting a break. Joke was on me. We dispersed to the areas surrounding the turf where they had various benches and couches. They were not for sitting, though. They were for tricep dips, step-ups, and squats. For some reason this was my favorite part. Maybe because I just like being in proximity to seats.
Looks bougie AF even from the outside!
My admission wristband.
Some squats and lunges to start.
What I thought was a “break.” JK
We capped off the workout with some partner patty-cake planks, and partner core exercises. Check out my boomerang! Clearly staged, since I am smiling. I am a wuss and I probably stopped and didn’t do 10% of the workout. But to be fair, every time I looked around, there were always a few people taking breaks. That’s the nature of an interval class. Work as hard as you possibly can, then take a break when you absolutely must. I woke up the next day with a lot of different, obscure muscles aching, so I would say it was a success, even if I only did 90% of the workout. Ok, 85%.
Anyway, the workout was over just as the sun was setting, the apartment building/gym lit up, and we proceeded to the pool for the after-party. I had packed a swimsuit just in case, but it was a little too cold to hop in. The pools had an amazing view of the Empire State Building, PLUS they had one of those massive blow-up swan/flamingo floaties. (Check out Courtney flailing around on his Instagram after I left, LOL) I was very tempted to go in. Oh, AND they were hosting the 2017 Ultimate Hoops National Tournament. BALLIN’! It turned out this was a fancy-type bougie club. Too bad I was in spandex, with no makeup and covered in sweat. Also, the drinks were $16/piece. We stuck around for a bit for some Class A people-watching, saw some people (bball players?) getting interviewed on the step and repeat, then we took a photo of ourselves, duh, and found a place with more reasonably priced cocktails (read: cheap margaritas).
Overall, it was a successful FREE night of fitness in beautiful weather, and Calvin, the Studio Manager at Life Time Athletic gave us a free pass to try another one of their classes. I will definitely be taking him up on that! Go check out Courtney Paul’s CPXperience if you wanna get your butt kicked.
Guys, I am so sore. I don’t think I can clearly express this feeling. I am basically immobile. Here’s what happened: Tuesday, I was going to see a free movie pre-screening with a friend after work (shout out Fatima for the free pass, and shout out Ryan Reynolds for being so adorable). Since I knew I couldn’t go to the gym after work, I decided to go to a 6:30 am class that my friend Hannah was teaching. I used to teach this same exact class, Les Mills Grit, at 6:30 am on Thursdays. But then I found my sanity, realized that it did not make rational sense to wake up at 5:30 in the morning, and I gave my class to Hannah. She now teaches at that ungodly hour TWICE A WEEK. She is a stronger person than I am. In more ways than one. Anyway, I met her outside her apartment at 5:30 am, in the dead of night, and we took the subway down to Brooklyn. Les Mills Grit is a high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout, and the strength version of Grit uses a barbell, weight plates, and body weight to improve strength and build lean muscle. In theory. In REALITY, what it does is KICK YOUR ASS. And your quads. Mostly your quads.
I actually used to teach this class.
Brooke and I taught Grit Cardio on the street once.
The fearless Dodge Y Grit instructors
Rep Your Country Les Mills Grit Release
Yesterday, Wednesday, I was incredibly sore so I went to Peloton (remember my blog about that place?) in an attempt to shake out my legs. I was planning on having terrible stats, since I could barely move. I actually ended up performing incredibly well, top ten in the class, and beat my personal best overall output. This was mostly because my legs were physically unable to move quickly, so I just ramped up the resistance. Today, my legs are EVEN WORSE.
Here are a few things I am unable to do, thanks to being a cripple:
Walk. Now it’s more like a wobble. Or waddle. I swear I used to be able to walk without looking like I was wearing a full diaper.
Use the bathroom. It’s going to be an uncomfortable week doing the pee-pee dance until it is ABSOLUTELY necessary. Maybe I SHOULD wear a diaper.
Pick things up from the ground. If I drop something, I am considering it a “pay it forward.” Maybe I’ll make someone’s day. Unless It’s a dollar. Then I will struggle.
Stand up from a seated position. I need handicapped railings at my desk. STAT.
Bend or crouch.
So basically, all I can do is sit. And I can’t get up. I’m like the woman on that Life Alert commercial from days of yore. 1987 to be exact. If you need me, you know where to find me. Exactly where I was when you left me.
Hannah (right) kicked our butts. Chelsea (left) is the newest Grit instructor at the Dodge Y.
I have been a gym rat for 12 years now, but also, I have basically always been poor. At least since I was 18. As of yet, my mint.com has not saved me the thousands of dollars I had hoped, so meanwhile I’ve perfected the art of joining the gym for free or for a reduced price. Most recently, I was in Pennsylvania helping my mom after she had a hip replacement (full blog on that coming soon), and I needed somewhere to work out for 7 days! So how did I do it? There are two key components: research, and lies. And a bit of persuasion.
The ultimate #winning move for a free gym has been teaching fitness classes. Not only do I get to use the gym for free, but I also get PAID to work out. Clearly this is not an option everyone would like to take advantage of, but if you want to talk to me about becoming a fitness instructor, I’d be happy to chat with you. There are basically only advantages. Anyway, if you don’t want to work out in front of 30 people, and talk the whole time, here are my ways to join a gym for free.
My first place I scope out is always Planet Fitness. Technically, they are $10/month and there is no commitment. However, they have been getting smart recently, and now there is a $69 initiation fee and a $39 annual fee, even if you cancel after one month. So no commitment? More like a commitment of $118 + as many months as you want. No thanks. Every once in a while, though, they waive the fees, and it really is $10/month. So do your research and check if they are running any specials. Also, if you have been a member previously (read: if you have ever paid $10 to them ever in the past), try and sell yourself as a RETURNING member, reinstating your membership. Then they sometimes waive the initiation fee. Of course this is complete and utter bullshit and word-jenga, but it sometimes works. I paid $10 to them 3 years ago when I went to my parents for a week-long Christmas vacation, and therefore, they waived the $69 fee the next time. I’ll take it.
Option Number Two: research and haggling skills. If you learn one thing in this blog post, learn this lesson: absolutely NEVER pay the first prices quoted at any corporate megagym. The first gym where I taught after college was LA Fitness, and it always blew my mind to hear what members were paying. Why? Because it was NEVER the same price! Research is key here; don’t be afraid to ask people what they are paying before you join! It cannot hurt to go into a gym consultation (AFTER USING THE FREE PASS, see below), with some info, so you can say “$50/month?? My friend Linda pays $39.” They can’t dispute that, because it is true! Also, lesson number three as stated above: initiation fees are complete bullshit. Gyms use initiation fees for two purposes, 1. To get more money from people who are afraid to counter it, and 2. So they have something to take away during their “membership drives” without losing any profit. Listen to me here: if you pay a gym initiation fee, you are a sucker. Lesson number four: PRETEND YOU’RE POOR. Or maybe you are poor! If that’s the case, don’t be afraid to say it. They will work with you. Let me reiterate here though, this is for megagyms like LA Fitness and YMCAs. SoulCycle doesn’t give a shit if you’re poor and doesn’t want you there. How will you buy their branded and upcharged lululemon?
My free gym for the week.
If I didn’t take a selfie, did it even happen?
They also got a big kick out of themselves.
Really though, they think they are hilarious.
Next option: new gyms. This is America, the land of the fat and constantly-dieting. Therefore, there are ALWAYS new gyms popping up. Pretty much any gym offers a bargain or free trial pass to get you in the door. Little do they know, you be going OUT the door in a few days, when the trial pass is over. This is where the lies and charm kick in. When I first moved to New York, I didn’t join a gym for 2 months. I was trying to get a gym to hire me to teach, and I didn’t want to waste money on a membership when I knew I would have to cancel once I started teaching. Let me tell you, I did not miss a single day in the gym. Between New York Sports Club’s week free pass, The YMCA’s multiple guest passes, my friends’ free guest passes to Equinox, free first classes at niche studios throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan, I had very toned legs, and a full wallet.
Most recently in Pennsylvania, my mom had heard about a new Anytime Fitness, where her manicurist is a member. I checked them out online and BAM, free 7 day pass. (They also have a Groupon right now! Do your research, guys.) I was only going to be in Pennsylvania for 5 days, so that was perfect. Only catch here, you had to be local. Well guess what, my mom is local, and we still have the last name! (If emoji bf doesn’t step it up, I may be able to use this fact to my advantage forever.) I filled out the form online, used my mom’s address, then I armed myself with a believable and half-true story, and an inquisitive, “I’m trying to decide which gym to join” face. The first day I tried to go to the gym ready to pretend to listen to a pitch, there was no one there. Anytime Fitness is 24/7 for members, but if you’re on a free pass, the manager has to be there to let you in. Although the door said someone would be there until 2 pm, it was 1 pm and the door was locked. As I stood at the door pondering my options, a guy left the gym and held the door open for me. Don’t mind if I do! I walked right in and had a great 2 hour workout. Lesson here: just loiter in front of the door of a gym. Someone will eventually leave.
The next time I went to Anytime Fitness, the manager was there and he showed me around. The whole thing took under 5 minutes. The lesson here: when they ask you if you have questions, it’s ok to say no. The only real question you have after all, is, “when can I start my workout?” As it turns out, I didn’t have to use my well-spun story of lies at all. I told him I had “just come from New York” (true) and when he asked how I heard about the gym, I told him my mom’s manicurist is a member (also true). He didn’t ask for my ID or anything! I had taken my mom’s license, just in case, but it turned out all I needed was my winning smile. 😉 The manager told me that not only would he knock $30 off the initiation fee (again, always tell them you are poor), but also, he said he would extend my free 7 day pass to be 14 days. Dang! I almost slipped and told him it was too bad I’d only be in town for 5. But I just smiled and nodded. Today is my last day in Philly and I’m a little sad to let my 9 remaining free trial pass days go to waste. I used their cable machines, the TRX, the kettle bells, the Open Stride, and even their virtual studio to take a step class. I would actually recommend this place. After some serious haggling, of course, and definitely without an initiation fee.
No frills, but it had everything I needed, and you can’t beat the cost!
If I didn’t take a selfie, did it even happen?
They had this crazy virtual class system with a huge projector.
I took two separate step classes on different days! Not as good as my own, but still.
Peloton is my new spin-obsession (spin-session?) I have officially been teaching fitness classes for 11 years, and I don’t plan to stop any time soon. What that means is, I am VERYYY picky when it comes to the exercise classes I attend. Why should I pay $32-$40/class when I get PAID to do exactly the same thing? Plus, I have a gym in my building. This is especially true when it comes to Spin classes. You will RARELY see me pay to Spin since I teach 2-3 Spin classes a week, and don’t even get me started on SoulCycle and what a waste of money it is. So why, you may ask, did I drop $100 last week at Peloton, and attend 5 classes in one week in addition to my normal gym routine? Because Peloton is AWESOME. That’s why. Also, because I completed their Summer Fit List challenge and got TEN CLASSES FOR FREE. More on that later. But first, let me tell you about the bike, the concept, and the studio.
Peloton has their own bike, and it is a “cutting-edge” piece of equipment that “combines the very best of fitness and tech.” I stole those words from their website. But I can vouch for them, too. Each bike rides incredibly smoothly (made of carbon and steel), works with Delta-clip spin shoes (they are free to rent with each class), and there is a massive iPad-like screen on each bike to track metrics. The home bikes have huge screens, like a TV (photo below). They sell the bike to people all over the world, and it comes with a hefty price tag ($1,995 plus a $39 per month subscription fee). But then, you get access to unlimited live-streamed OR on-demand classes. When you ride in the studio, they constantly shout out to people who are “at-home riders,” and it adds a sense of larger community. Examples: “Hey Sven in Copenhagen!” “Alex in Moscow, congrats on 100 rides!” “Sarah in LA, Happy Birthday!”
When you ride in class, you have the option to ride as a guest or sign in. The iPad (a much smaller version of the big screen they have on the home-rider bikes) then tracks metrics such as cadence (revolutions per minute), output in watts, and resistance. Also, it tracks your total output in KJ on the leaderboard. The leaderboard shows how you are doing throughout the class, as well as how everyone else is doing throughout the world. My goal is always to be in top 15 during class, but I don’t always succeed. Also, keep in mind that hundreds of riders take the class after it is live, on-demand at home, so my ranking usually drops drastically afterward. I have mentioned before that I’m not so big on competition, but I do love seeing how I compare against myself, and sometimes, I can compare myself to others to give myself an extra push. You can always “hide” the leaderboard from your screen if that’s not your thing. The tracking is eerily accurate, unlike some other bikes. Also, after the class is over, you can log into the site and see all of your stats from past classes and compare your progress. Even my one class from 2015 is still up there. You can also follow your friends, like on twitter, and see their workouts, compare performances etc.
Some people argue that they don’t like Peloton because the instructor teaches to at-home riders more than riders in the studio, and I would say that is true, it’s usually about 70-30 or 60-40 depending on the instructor. It’s a personal preference, but I don’t mind it at all. In fact, I like that the instructor gives you guidance on where your cadence and resistance should be and then lets you get in your own zone with the music. Maybe it’s because I am self-motivated in my workouts, but I don’t need the instructor in my face the whole time. I like the idea of 40% guidance and a slammin’ playlist, and I can challenge myself for the other 60% just by looking at my own stats (or some light competition with my peers on the leaderboard).
Peloton is an international phenomenon, but they only have one studio, and lucky for me, it’s in NYC. And it’s beautiful. They have a clothing showroom in the front, plus a few bikes to try out, then you can check in, receive your free shoe rental (COUGH COUGH SOULCYCLE COULD LEARN HERE), and then you go into this beautiful lounge area. They have couches, a juice/smoothie bar (for purchase), water that is infused with different fruits every day (for free), and a relaxing spot to wait for your class that is not a gross locker room. Oh, also, they livestream the current class (if one if going on) on the TV, so you can see what the at-home riders are seeing. You can even hop on the bike and ride along if you’d like. Pretty cool. The locker rooms are awesome too. They have showers with all of the fancy products, and they have pretty much anything stocked that you may have forgotten, from tampons to deodorant to flip flops.
Beautiful studio in the heart of Chelsea.
Live-Streaming the class prior, you can even hop on that bike in the lounge and ride along!
Close-up of the bike with the big home-rider screen.
The classes are amazing, too. They have metrics rides, theme rides, intervals and arms rides, low impact rides, etc. Like any gym, people will have their favorite instructors. So far, my favorite has been Alex, but that may be because it was a Y2K Hip Hip playlist, and any class that begins with Pass the Courvoisier has got my vote. But sometimes you can also be surprised. I went to a class subbed by Christine that was actually a canceled DJ ride, so I didn’t know what I was in for. It turned out it was a pop interval class, with songs by Little Mix and *NSync. I could not have been more pleased. It was also my second-highest overall output ever. So much fun! I highly recommend theme rides if you know the kind of music you’re into. I’ve taken classes by 7 different instructors, but the playlist is still my biggest motivator.
Now on to this challenge I just completed. Every once in a while, Peloton comes up with incentives for people to work out in the studio, and it definitely worked for me. This year, the #SummerFitList consisted of a postcard you needed to get stamped 10 times, for ten different things. If you’re thinking, “wow, 10 classes at $32 a pop is a LOT!” You are right. But they weren’t all classes, and with some strategic planning, I was able to complete the challenge in only 4 days, purchasing 4 rides. The ten things were:
Take a 6 am class
Take a Live DJ Ride
Take 2 classes in 1 day
Post a picture on social media with an instructor, tag @peloton and #SummerFitList
Take an 8:30 pm class
Take a theme ride
Sit in the front row
Take a 60-minute class
Take a 20 minute class
Bring a reusable water bottle to class
Summer Fit List
COMPLETE!
Now guys, I am a penny pincher, so I tried to get my money’s worth. First, I went to a 20-minute class and brought a reusable water bottle. The 2:30 pm classes are walk-in only and they are FREE so I got 2 stamps, no cost. Then on one day, I did a 6:30 am class (check) and an 8:30 pm class (check), which happened to be a theme ride (check), and also was 2 classes in one day (check), and I sat in the front row for both (check check) AND then I posted a photo with Alex on my Instagram afterward, with all necessary hashtags (check!). That was 6 stamps in one day, and only paying for 2 classes! I was able to pull off all stamps by only paying for 4 classes. And what did I get??? 10 FREE CLASSES. That’s right, $320 of free classes. Written another way, I paid for 4, and got 14. Not too shabby. Were my legs (and something else) completely sore after? YES. Did I miss out on a lot of sleep? YES. Did I get incredibly sick after? YES. Was it worth it? YES!!!
Good news is, the first class is FREE. BETTER news is, if you want to sign up through THIS LINK and take 3 classes, I can get a free class too. DO IT DO IT! We can take them together!! More Peloton!! I’m serious, check out those exclamation marks. Let’s get fit together 😀 If you take one spin class in NYC, this is the studio I would recommend (after my own classes)! USE MY LINK!
Free 20-minute class with Ally Love and Fatima!
Me refusing to touch Christine after a VERY high-output class.
What’s your idea of a good workout? A combination of cardio and strength moves utilizing state-of-the-art treadmills and rowers, all while tracking your exertion and heart rate on TV screens? Burning more calories even after you leave the gym? If so, then Orangetheory Fitness is for you.
Orangetheory Fitness is an interval workout backed by science, designed to keep your heart rate in a target zone that spikes metabolism and increases your EPOC or afterburn calories. In theory, the more you can keep your heart in that zone, the more splat points you get (more on that later), and the more calories you will burn after the workout is over. It’s a little complicated, but that Wikipedia link on EPOC explains it pretty well. Nothing like citing to a good Wikipedia article. Erin Andrews (another wiki link) is one of their spokespeople, so obviously it works; look at her! Also, she’s a Gator so I’m biased. Throughout the workout, you wear a heart rate monitor, or you can choose not to, and you can track calories burned, percentage of max heart rate, and OTF “splat points”, based on the amount of time you spend in the orange HR zone. My favorite part of this workout is that the point is not to burn out and go “all out” in the red zone the whole time. You leave feeling like you got an awesome workout, but you don’t leave feeling like you are going to die, or barf in the lobby on the way out. This has happened to me before (cough cough TONEHOUSE).
Anyway, as I mentioned last week, I recently went to OTF with my brother when I went to Washington DC, and we had a blast. One of my best friends from college is a head trainer for OTF and now trains and manages the trainers of the region, so I knew I was in good hands taking her class. This was not my first rodeo, however. I had been to Orangetheory a few times before in three different states: New York, Virginia, and Florida. The cool thing about OTF is that every day, the workout is the same in every studio around the country, so it doesn’t matter if you are traveling often. But even better, the workout is different each day! I have been to a class where they had an endurance day, a class that was a sprint-based power class, and a combo day. I have never been to this thing they call “Tornado Tuesday,” nor do I ever plan to go, because I do not hate myself. HA. Reddit has a glossary of OTF terms if you can’t keep up. Anyway, point of this story is, even though I’ve gone 5 times, I have never been bored.
My first-ever time at Orangetheory, at the Chelsea studio in NYC
My second time at OTF in Arlington, VA
OTF in Boca Raton with my elementary school friend.
When I went with my brother, it added a competition aspect that I did not even know I had in me. My brother is incredibly competitive. I’m talking, “throw a tantrum and leave the table during a game of monopoly” competitive. Me? Not so much. In my 4 previous times at OTF, I had only worn the heart rate monitor once. It is interesting to track and see my statistics after, but it’s not too important for me to watch it during the class. For my brother, though, it was not an option. So I strapped my heart rate monitor on under the strap of my sports bra, and readied myself for a massive competition. My brother has literally run the length of Israel before, whereas I have run one half marathon and sprained my ankle twice in the past 3 months. I was prepared to lose. But I didn’t let him know that!
The workout of the day was pretty complicated to follow, but we warmed up on the rowers, then started with floor exercises, which were demoed on the screens. I mostly followed the screens, but called Julie over to explain a few times. She didn’t treat me like a complete idiot, so that was a plus. I think some other people were lost, too. There were 3 rounds of 3 exercises, and you could pick the order. We used dumbbells, a step, and the TRX to do a combination of moves working all major muscle groups. Then after 25 minutes, we switched to cardio intervals on the treadmill then rower. After the floor section, my brother and I each only had 3 splat points, and the goal is 12-20. As I said above, you get a splat point for each minute you spend training in the orange zone. Clearly we had our work cut out for us on the treadmills.
My brother stared me down from his adjacent treadmill with a look in his eyes that could only be described as, “you’re going down, bitch.” Or maybe it was, “you’re going down, sis,” but either way, he made it clear he was playing to win. And sure enough, I had my eyes on the screen tracking his splat points more than I had my eyes on the treadmill. Probs dangerous, in hindsight. Anyway, my brother skipped his second interval on the rower to add more points and stay on the treadmill, aka HE CHEATED. He swears he just read the workout wrong, which is possible, because, like I said it was pretty complicated, but I choose to say he cheated. Anyway, joke was on him because while he was slaving away on the treadmill at 12.0 MPH, I was at a casual 5.8, and since I’m such a worse runner, my heart rate was the same as his, and soon enough, we were neck and neck at 14 points even. With 2 minutes left of class, I was ahead 17-16, but he caught up with seconds to spare, and we tied at 17 splat points.
Overall, OTF is super fun. I love the idea of having a workout that changes every day because I have a bit of workout A.D.D. and I get bored quickly. Watching your points go up on the screen adds to the feeling of accomplishment, and even though I wish I had beat my brother, I still feel like I had a great workout and left completely sweaty. I worked off at least one of my post-workout-sake-bombs. It was extra fun to have Julie as our instructor because she grew up with my brother too, and felt comfortable egging him on over the microphone. Plus, she always has a fab playlist. I highly recommend checking it out. Most first-timers are free if you’re local. In Manhattan it’s $20 for your first class because everything in this godforsaken city is expensive, but what else is new? It’s $319 unlimited for a month in NYC, which is out of my budget, but if you go 4 times a week, it works out to less than $20/class, which is cheaper than any other studio in NYC. Try it out and see if you can beat my brother’s and my splat points!
This was clearly posed. I was not smiling IRL when I was on the rower.
COACH JULIE!
My bro needs to work on his chest press form.
WE SURVIVED! (Barely).
Arms shaking post-class, she thought we would drop her.
Last week I reviewed 305 Fitness, and now, I need to tell you all about my experience with The Dance, another dance-cardio class, emphasis on dance, no emphasis on eating.
My roommate from law school has been capital-O-OBSESSED with this class, and has been raving about it, swearing it’s the most fun and best workout she has had in a long time. I had to try it out, even though at $35/class, I knew it was probably a one-time-thing. It’s held in Studio B, on the third floor of Bandier on 5th Avenue. I was 30 minutes early to class, and having enough self-knowledge to know that I cannot resist buying when I’m around workout clothes, I walked straight up to the studio without passing go, or collecting $200 in debt by shopping in the store on the ground level.
Amanda Kloots, a former Radio City Rockette-turned Broadway performer, created The Dance, as well as The Rope, an all-jump-rope workout, which I was definitely not ready for yet. Amanda was a ray of sunshine from the moment she walked in the room. She is about 6’1”, all legs and abs and blonde fitness-model physique. And that Rockette smile training did not fail her. How intimidating. She was a ball of energy, and her smile was intoxicating #nohomo. I had scoped out her Instagram (@amandakloots) before the class to see what I was up against and what I should wear. Most of the people were wearing crop tops, which was definitely not going to happen after my #30Years30IceCreams binge last month, so I decided for the exact opposite: a not-so-subtle tank top I received as a gift, that said “I Run For Ice Cream.” Fact, but embarrassing.
When I walked into class, I realized my epic wardrobe fail. Not only did I look like I had eaten ONE HUNDRED ice creams on my way over compared to everyone else, I was advertising it on my shirt! I was pretty sure I was the only one who had eaten all day in that room. Oh well. I guess I should have expected it from my Instagram pre-research. My friend insisted that I not go to the back row, so I sucked it up (literally, I was sucking in my stomach as much as I could), and readied myself for some dance.
I will admit, I am generally pretty coordinated. Both of my parents dance (they met in an international folk dance troupe!), I took classes in ballet, jazz, tap and Irish dance from the age of 2, til I was 12, AND my favorite fitness class to teach is step aerobics. However, I would never consider myself a “dancer.” This class was COMPLICATED! She taught the combos quickly and assumed you would catch on. I later learned that she does a lot of the same routines over again, which made me feel better because I was wondering how everyone was so much better than me! I guess I will have to go back (and spend another $35) to hone my The Dance skillz. This must be how they earn their money! There was only one prescribed water break during the whole class, which meant the cardio kept coming at me!
In summary: this class was a BLAST. I got a great sweat on, I learned fun dances, I shook my butt to Bootylicious, and every time I caught my reflection in the mirror, I had a huge smile on my face. My self-consciousness was all in my head, and Amanda definitely made me feel welcome, despite the fact that I was the size of a Tonka Truck compared to her Hot Wheels car-sized body. She even came over after class and asked if I was new, introduced herself, and told me I was “cute” because I was smiling the whole time. I didn’t admit that half of the time it was because I was laughing at myself as I was 3 beats behind. I would recommend this class to anyone with impeccable coordination, stamina, and rock-hard abs. Or substitute the rock-hard abs with unwavering self-confidence, and you will be good to go. As Amanda would say, #JumpSkipSmile!
