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jacket c/o // muscle tank // leggings // shoes c/o
I have to admit that I have been lacking in trying new workouts around the city. Between work and blogging I have not been motivated to try something new. All I wanted to do was go to a fitness class that I am used to so I did not have to think. During October, however, I decided to change my tune and start trying new workouts. It started at an event with Shape Magazine that I found the motivation to emerge myself in new classes again. Here are two new fitness classes in NYC that I have been enjoying and one I keep forgetting to share with you.
Jabs by Gina
Earlier last month I attended an event with Shape Magazine at Project by Equinox. The event consisted of a Q&A with Adam Rosante and a class with Jabs by Gina. To be honest I had yet to hear about Gina’s class and was nervous once I found out. What I like to describe Jabs by Gina as, it’s a choreographed boxing class. You do the standard jab cross hit hook movements of boxing but they are put into a choreographed cardio routines. It’s not dancing, it’s boxing. There is a mix of cardio with weights while using a step. It’s a great workout and I loved every moment of it. After the event I went home and booked one of her classes at Project. It’s a lot of fun and I really feel powerful doing the movements– especially when you are punching to the song “Get Back” by Ludacris.
Brrrn
I first heard of Brrrn from fellow bloggers who attended an event there. As someone who enjoyed testing out new workouts I immediately Googled them to find out what Brrrn was, then booked myself a class. Brrrn is a fitness studio consisted of 3 different types of classes: yoga, HIIT, and slide all in 45-60 degree temps. Sounds cold? Well it is! I have to wear extra layers because I freeze. There are a TON of benefits to working out in cooler temperatures compared to heat: burns more fat/calories, speeds up metabolism, help reduce stress, etc (learn more benefits here; they have an interesting write up about Michael Phelps and why he could eat so many calories). I have always heard from my friends who are marathon runners that their time and pace improved once they started training outside during the winter. There are great benefits to working out in the cold, and still a lot of benefits in the heat as well. Do both I guess. Anyway, I wanted to start with the most familiar class to me and that was yoga. I found during the class I was actually breathing, where as in other classes I probably hold my breath. My stretching also felt amazing like I was at a Chiropractor. Although it is a Vinyasa class there are lots of moments of stillness and stretch. This I really liked– I love to stretch. The next class I tried was slide. You wear booties over your shoes and you slide on a board as if you were a speed skater. I was so sore the next day, lots of thigh work. Upon first using the slide I was nervous. What if I go too fast, lose my balance and fall? You do have to be somewhat careful but the board is not that slippery. Once you get the hang of it, it’s a fun class! I pretended to be Olympian Apolo Ohno, although I was not going as fast as he does. Next I want to try the HIIT class.
Orange Theory
How have I not talked about Orange Theory yet? I have been going to OTF for a couple of years now. I do not go religiously and probably do it once every few months (it’s not on ClassPass and I rather pay for other classes). I used to go at least once a week. It’s a little like Barry’s Bootcamp but with more equipment. There are two different groups– those that start with weights, and those that start on the treadmill. I always opt for treadmill first to get the cardio portion out of the way. Usually you do 15 mins cardio, then switch to the floor, and repeat. Most classes have you row– but I actually hate rowing, it hurts me knees. I don’t do as well on it. The weight portion is consisted of different movements with heavy weights, core exercises, TRX bands, and floor exercises. If you have a friend that goes to OTF you may have heard them talk about their splat points. What makes OTF different is that most people wear heart monitors to measure their performance. OTF used to give out the monitors but they stopped for some reason– probably because people were stealing them is my guess. Anyway, after they stopped lending them out, I stopped as well. I do not go enough to buy my own heart monitor. Ok, back to splat points. There is a screen where each individuals name will be placed on the screen– it will show your effort/heart rate throughout the class. You want to be in the orange or red zone for most of it (max effort), that is where you will burn the most calories. It’s a great way to challenge and push yourself. So splat points are for the after burn, the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Basically the more time you spend in the orange or red zone the more splat points you get, the more calories you are burning for up to 36 hours after the workout. It’s a nice challenge to have to get as many splat points as possible per class. You can only get your splat points when wearing the heart monitor, so I do not know what mine are when I go. It’s a great workout either way!