We love a good boutique fitness class. It’s such a great way to try something new, stay motivated and push yourself to try new things. Whether you’re looking to mix-up your workout routine, jump-start a fitness practice or balance out your current training, we rounded-up some of our current favorite boutique workouts in NYC.
Refine Method
Best for: you want the intensity of HIIT but the expert instruction of a personal trainer
Founded by former NYC Ballet dancer and Harvard alum, Brynn Pullman, Refine Method – built on in-depth research with top athletes and fitness professionals – combines kettlebells, boxes, a pulleys, slideboards and more for a 50-minute, high-intensity workout. Instructors’ attention to detail and form help you get stronger, faster and fitter while also developing better posture and preventing injury.
Locations: West Village, Upper West Side, Upper East Side
Y7
Best for: you like your yoga with a bit of edge, sweat and Drake
Get ready to sweat at Y7, “the original hip hop yoga studio.” Their 60-minute power flow classes are held in a candle-lit studio with a soundtrack of the latest beats. Plus, with cheeky inspiration sayings on the walls, like “A Tribe Called Sweat,” and their artist-themed classes (like Drake and Fetty Wap), their brand of yoga is fun, playful and fierey.
Locations: Union Square, Williamsburg
SLT
Best for: you want to multitask your workout
SLT – or Strengthen, Lengthen, Tone – uses a pilates-inspired Megaformer for 50-minutes of challenging core, upper and lower body work. Using resistance bands and burn-inducing series of twists, planks, lunges and pulses, SLT aims to create a lean, toned and powerful physique by working your muscles to fatigue. After a long day of sitting, your butt will thank you.
Locations: Midtown, Flatiron, Soho, Upper East Side, Upper West Side
305 Fitness
Best for: you want the club experience with an unpretentious vibe and easy to follow choreo.
Live DJ? Check. Darkened room with flashing lights? Check. Dancing like no one is watching? Check. Miami-transplant 305 Fitness is a high-energy, exhilarating 60-minutes cardio dance class that does not take itself too seriously. Instead, springy dance instructors lead you through easy-to-follow moves to build a routine. You’ll leave bouncing, sweating and smiling.
Locations: Washington Square, Midtown East
Shadowbox
Best for: you want to try boxing but still want the boutique experience
Shadowbox brings all the elements of traditional boxing training – conditioning, shadowboxing and heavy bag work – to a boutique fitness setting. You register for your own “bag” and one of the highly-motivating – and ripped – instructors will lead you first through some grueling traditional strength training like pushups and jump squats, before moving into bag “routines” where they call out movements like “upper cut” and “jab” to the rhythm of the music. Plus, there is time at the end of class to freestyle so you can wail on the bag as hard as you like, releasing all your frustration from the day.
Locations: Flatiron
Ballet Beautiful
Best for: if your suitcase is your second home
Professional ballerina Mary Helen Bowers created Ballet Beautiful to help women achieve a lean, sculpted ballerina body. Her successful studios in NYC are a cult hit with the Lululemon set (as well as a bevvy of models). Her online streaming services brings the best of those classes to you wherever you are. Classes can be purchased individual or as bundles and starting at $9.99 are an affordable way to sneak in some exercise while you’re one the road.
Locations: anywhere you are
Have a favorite boutique workout we missed? Have you tried any of these workouts? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below.
Kalaki Riot
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