50 fitness classes reviewed

Toning and strength classes

Break-Thru Fitness
92nd Street Y, $189 for 9 classes.
Length: 1 hour
Type of activity: Aerobics
What to expect: Beginning and ending with five minutes of stretching, the majority of the class is spent sweating through three circuits of Kettlebells, medicine balls and TRX to improve muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness.
How in shape you need to be: Gym regular
The verdict: Think you’re a gym rat? So did I, until I signed up for Break-Thru Fitness. With three instructors and just 15 students, there’s nowhere to hide from the grueling reps of crunches, lifts and twists with medicine balls, kettlebells (imagine a bowling ball with a handle), and TRX, a total-body strengthening system where participants must use nylon straps to fight gravity. TRX was, by the way, designed by a Navy SEAL. The class had upbeat and motivating music, and worked on every part of the body, from arms to abs to calves. But don’t expect a lot of rest—it’s so intense that we’re told pro ballers have been known to come to class for a workout.—Carrie Byler

FlowFit
Equinox (various locations, equinox.com). $142–$173 monthly, initiation fee varies.
Length: 1 hour
Type of activity: Strength training, yoga
What to expect: The concept of FlowFit is to work up to a series of seven total-body movements that will ultimately be repeated continuously. The basis of these moves is a low-sitting squat, which develops into other movements that work your core.
How in shape you need to be: Occasional exerciser
The verdict: You can forget relaxing oms and downward dogs, and prepare for a mat-based class that is more strength training than sun salutation. FlowFit combines yogalike postures with small and effective strengthening moves that will have your muscles burning in the first ten minutes. Think buns and thighs on fire. Ultimately, the class evolves into a moderate cardiovascular routine, once the seven moves are repeated continuously. That is, if you can keep up with the seven moves. Like yoga, it is certainly a class that you can build up to and cater to your own level, but it can be difficult if you are not particularly limber.—Allison Duda

Gyrokinesis
BodiBalance (20 E 17th St between Broadway and Fifth Ave, second floor; 917-806-7520, drasticaction@earthlink.net). $15, first class is free.
Length: 1 hour
Type of activity: Gyrokinesis
What to expect: You begin seated in a chair doing reaching, contracting and twisting movements, then progress to bigger stretches and light abdominal work on yoga mats. It all ends with standing weight-shifting and walking exercises.
How in shape you need to be: Couch potatoes welcome
The verdict: If you measure your workouts in liters of sweat per dollar, this won’t be your technique of choice, but its progression of small, purposeful reaching and twisting movements fosters bodily awareness—you’re not finding new muscles, but paying attention to the ones you use every day. Instructor Aviva Geismar was appropriately invisible, quietly but clearly leading by example for a small circle of students whose abilities varied, making it easy to keep up. To start, we sat in a chair and focused on our backs and arms, then moved to mats for leg exercises. I recognized some yoga terminology throughout, but mostly the session dealt with back support and the lengthening of your spine. The class is kind of boring (there’s no music, and definitely no cardio rush), but it feels like it’s good for you (I could imagine it helping with core support and spinal articulation, as promised), at least as a solid hour to check in with your body and see how it’s doing.—Genevieve Ernst

Gyrotonic training
Kinespirit @ Studio Riverside (214 W 85th St at Broadway; 917-806-7520, drasticaction@earthlink.net). Intro package of three sessions $180.
Length: 55 minutes, by appointment only
Type of activity: Gyrotonic
What to expect: Individualized training that repeats circle-based arm, leg, abdominal and back exercises, using a specialized machine to provide resistance and guide movement patterns.
How in shape you need to be: Couch potatoes welcome
The verdict: The Gyrotonic pulley tower looks like it should be manned by a deeply bronzed, bulging humanoid in a late-night infomercial. But Aviva Geismar, a reassuringly pale trainer and dancer, led me through a very unintimidating 55 minutes of Gyrotonic, machine-based “yoga for dancers” that focuses on narrowing the midsection and using energy to lengthen and decompress the joints. The machine might make you think of Pilates, but whereas that more-linear system focuses on exercising core abdominal muscles, the circular movements of Gyrotonic use energy to build a sensation of length throughout the entire body. Another difference is that Gyro incorporates a lot of spinal movement and, according to Geismar, “addresses the whole body including the nervous, digestive, cardiovascular and respiratory systems.” Impressive. Before I arrived for my session, we discussed my movement history and injuries so that Geismar could factor in my ex-dancer needs and abilities in order to provide a range of exercises, from lying on my back bicycling in the air while attached to resistant cords, to sitting up and pushing handles in circles—a stunt that resembled a land-based breaststroke. With so much room for individualization (the technique is often used for injury rehab, as well as with fit professional dancers), I felt that with time, Geismar could develop a routine exactly to my liking. But I think she went easy on me at this first session; it wasn’t exhausting, but the movement felt good, and I’ve been standing up a little straighter.—Genevieve Ernst

M.E.L.T. TONY DEAL
Reebok Sports Club/NY (160 Columbus Ave between 67th and 68th Sts; 212-362-6800 thesportsclubla.com). Membership prices vary, day pass $35.
Length: 1 hour
Type of activity: Body sculpting
What to expect: M.E.L.T. (myofascial energetic length techniques), a program of self-administered pressure movements created by in-house instructor Sue Hitzmann, revitalizes connective tissue important to posture, range of movement and general health.
How in shape you need to be: Couch potatoes welcome
The verdict: There is an impressive science behind the M.E.L.T. process. Stress on muscles and joints damages the connective tissue that holds them together. By “shearing,” or pressuring, this surface, we can help maintain our posture and flexibility. Despite the technical complexities, the workout is simple and restorative. A holistic-minded instructor guides this self-massage (proving that it isn’t an oxymoron), teaching students to leverage their body against a foam roller. Once you get ahold of a cylinder and two little balls to rub on your hands, you can even self-administer bliss at home (of the fitness variety, of course).—Tom Oesau

Six-Pack Attack!
David Barton Gym (4 Astor Pl at Broadway; 212-505-6800, davidbartongym.com). Membership $125 per month; initiation fee varies.
Length: 30 minutes
Type of activity: Abs workout
What to expect: After a short warm-up, it’s straight into a moderately paced series of crunches, calisthenics and core-focused aerobic exercises, often utilizing light weights.
How in shape you need to be: Gym regular
The verdict: Given the gym’s creepy nightclub lighting, faux-Gothic decor and DJ booth housed in a giant disco ball, I can’t say I’m surprised the ripped but reticent instructor was all but drowned out by Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas. Some of the routines require a bit of coordination, and at times I wondered if we wouldn’t be better off ditching the accessories and just doing sit-ups. Overall, it’s a solid workout for general core strengthening, but I never felt like I was really “attacking” my abs. Maybe I was doing it wrong? Someone should have told me.—Chris Schonberger

Splash Abs TONY DEAL
Reebok Sports Club/NY (160 Columbus Ave between 67th and 68th Sts; 212-362-6800, mpsportsclub.com). Membership prices vary, day pass $35.
Length: 90 minutes
Type of activity: Toning
What to expect: Standing chest-deep in water, you and several women of a certain age push your legs against the water, the pool wall and a floating tube. The movements are focused on elongating and stretching muscles, targeting core, legs and butt. As the instructor pointed out, it’s essentially submerged Pilates, but more effective than the mat version because of the water resistance.
How in shape you need to be: Couch potatoes welcome
The verdict: As a devotee of swimming (and happy hour), I thought the prospect of shredding my abs in the pool sounded like fitness Valhalla. And in fact, I’ve never been so relaxed after an ab workout. But as anyone who’s sobbed their way to minimal results via Abs of Steel will attest, the road to a six-pack isn’t paved with inner calm. This class is best considered a warm-up; after it was over, I had enough energy to do my usual complement of crunches.—Michael Martin

Splash Dance
92nd Street Y (1395 Lexington Ave at 92nd St; 212-415-5500, 92y.org). Nine sessions $189.
Length: 45 minutes, starts Nov 17
Type of activity: Water aerobics
What to expect: A lot of time is spent “walking,” swinging the opposite arm to your leg, and moving forward, then backward against the swell you’ve created by moving forward. The end of the session is spent floating in deeper water and stretching.
How in shape you need to be: Couch potatoes welcome (and elderly women)
The verdict: Joining a small class with women of mature years (and three younger females) may sound like a waste of time for a reasonably fit 27-year-old male (cough, who smokes), but there’s a lot to recommend in this class. It takes a while to work out how to move properly in the water, but when it clicks, the added resistance, especially on the arms, makes it tough going (and, ipso facto, beneficial, right?). There is the option to take it easy, but dynamo instructor Bettina Curtis is sharp on spotting and encouraging people who can do more…although her MOR music taste is a mite suspect if accessible (M People, Perry Como). I’ve already noticed the benefit from working my core muscles, and I am writing this less hunched over than usual. While it was enjoyable being in water for that long (of her own volition, Bettina let the class run twice as long as usual), the same class geared toward a younger set would be more attractive to me.—Jonathan Shannon

Also try: Booty Slide, Stoked 360 and Warrior Fitness Boot Camp

BACK TO MAIN PAGE
Fall fitness 2009
Get in shape now.