Fitreserve Review: February Workouts

I get asked fairly often how I can afford boutique fitness classes in NYC. The truth is, I can’t. I could go on a pretty big rant about the price of fitness in Manhattan and how angry it makes me… but that’s not what this post is about.

About a year ago I was offered a free month on Fitreserve (<– get $50 off your first month) in exchange for my honest review. I ended up really loving the platform and have been a paying member ever since. It works for me, my lifestyle and my current budget.

I was inspired by Ashley’s monthly recaps of the classes she’s taken and thought it would be fun to give you a peak at my typical month on Fitreserve and the classes I’ve been checking out.

Fitreserve Review: February 4th – March 3rd

Number of classes taken: 19
Number of studios visited: 8
Cost per class: roughly $8.68 (I get a slight discount on my Fitreserve membership thanks to working in a WeWork office)

Where I Went…

Uplift Studios (4 times)

I always use up all 4 of my Uplift classes — even if it means strategically planning my schedule and waking up for a 7:30AM class on a Saturday (<–this happened). This month on Fitreserve I only hit up the Strength class. What can I say, I really love strength training.

Check out my full Uplift Strength review here.

 

Exceed Physical Culture (4 times)

I’ve been a fan of Exceed and instructor Marianna since I took my first class there almost 3 years ago. Marianna and I bonded over our love for Green Day plus she’s a fellow NYU/Tisch drama alumni.

During marathon training I wasn’t able to go to Exceed all that often. I’m now back in my weekly groove and have been going to the same class week after week. It’s really nice to see the same familiar faces at 7:00AM. The students are always super supportive and even though the workout can be insanely tough, there’s still a lot of good vibes going around.

Check out my really old review of Exceed + Marianna here.

 

Yoga Vida (4 times)

I love Yoga Vida because it’s so damn class to my apartment I can practically roll out of bed 10 minutes before an early morning class and still make it with time to spare. Yoga Vida being added to Fitreserve has made my goal of going to yoga once a week super easy, plus I found an instructor I really connect with. Be sure to check out Aditi’s class, I’m obsessed.

 

Brick (3 times)

I mentioned my new found love of Brick’s B|X class and their gorgeous new Grand Central studio in Favorite Things from February post. It’s become a weekly staple in my workout routine, even though the class makes me want to die sometimes. Don’t let this deter though, every instructor I’ve met has been super encouraging and offers a ton of modifications for every fitness level.

 

Body Space Fitness (1 time)

Whenever people ask for class recommendations, Body Space Fitness is always one of my top picks. As a personal trainer myself, I sometimes do a lot of eye rolling during certain workouts because I don’t agree with what the instructor is saying. This is never the case at Body Space Fitness and I find the trainers + instructors to be so insanely well educated, something that’s not always the case in the fitness industry. Have an injury? They’ll watch out for it and offer modifications.

This month I went to Training for Warriors which is a circuit based class with 1 minute sprints on the treadmill. In case you’re wondering, that’s the extent of my running these days…

If you can, take class with owner Kelvin, he’ll take good care of you.

 

The Movement (1 time) — CrossFlowX

The Movement is kind of like a fitness incubator and houses a number of unique workouts from top trainers. CrossFlowX was created by instructor Heidi Kristoffer to blend her favorite classes- yoga, HIIT and cardio. I came in thinking it was going to be some zen, low-key class and boy was I wrong. This class is seriously sweaty… and shockingly tough. Think of it as yoga on steroids, some of the same movements… with intervals of squat jumps and burpees thrown in there for good measure. Definitely earned that shivasana at the end.

 

Title Boxing (1 time)

As I’ve previously mentioned, boxing is having a moment in NYC and I’m determined to check out every boxing studio in this city. I really enjoyed the class format at Title — a tough warm up and then the rest of the class was drills with a grand finale of ab work. It felt more fitness focused than other classes I’ve taken, which I honestly appreciate. Nothing wrong with learning the basics, but at the end of the day I came for a workout, not to be a prize winning fighter.

My biggest complaint is that it was hard to hear the instructor at times so I had to figure out what was going on based on what other people were doing… or just improvise and do my own thing.

 

Modo Yoga (1 time) – Flow

Hot yoga isn’t usually my jam, but if I’m going to do hot yoga, Modo is where I’ll go. It’s super clean and close by which is a win win in my book. I don’t think I’ve ever taken their flow class and it was hard. Okay, anything is hard in a heated yoga room, but this felt especially hard because it’s essentially vinyasa in the heat. A wee bit aggressive for 6:30AM. I survived and did feel like a champ at the end of class, so it was worth it.

Arguably the best part about Modo? Proximity to Liquiteria. The Mean Green smoothie is perfect after a sweaty class.

 

Question: What classes have you taken this month? What do I need to check out on Fitreserve?

Pssst… also looking for Los Angeles recommendations since I’ll be there for 2 weeks!