New Year, New You: Flywheel Boston Review

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When it comes to working out in Boston, it seems like there are endless options—everywhere you turn, there’s a new studio popping up. For many people, the availability of choices can be almost paralyzing, so it helps when there’s a studio that offers more than just one type of fitness class. Flywheel Boston is a studio in Back Bay that offers both group cycling and barre style classes in Boston.

flywheel prudential center boston

I recently had the chance to try out a month of Flywheel classes in collaboration with Flywheel Sports, and fell in love with the studio. As a former Spinning instructor, I’m very critical of group cycling classes. Striving to set themselves above the rest, too many studios teach unsafe moves that have no place on a stationary bike. I’m happy to report that Flywheel not only passed muster in my book, but it won me over as well.

Flywheel

Flywheel’s signature Fly45 ride is 45-minutes of interval-based cardio paired with one song of upper body strength training on the bike. For those looking for an endurance workout, FlyBeats is a 45-minute ride that keeps you moving to the beat of the music on your recovery days. Both classes provide a full body workout in a reasonable amount of time.

flywheel back bay boston

Photo courtesy of Flywheel

My favorite thing about the Flywheel classes is that you won’t find any crazy moves in the stadium style room. No handlebar pushups, no crunching your core from side to side, and no rapid-fire tap backs. While these things might not mean much to the novice rider, this is magic to the ears of anyone whose ever almost (or actually) busted their face on or nearly fallen off of a bike while riding at another studio that incorporates bike acrobatics.

flywheel appWeighted bars are used for an effective upper body workout that keeps your body stable on the bike. If that sounds scary to you, I promise it’s not. The arm workout is a welcome reprieve from an intense class. Keeping up with the class is easy to do, thanks to a TechPack attached to the bike that helps monitor RPMs, Torq (aka resistance), and Current & Total Power.

New riders are encouraged to challenge themselves while riding at their own pace. Riders with a competitive side will love the optional Torq Board, which displays the top ten male and female riders, throughout the class. Individual results of each Flywheel class are tracked and displayed in the Flywheel app, making it easy to keep tabs on your progress.

FlyBarre

On the days that you’re looking to give your booty a break from the bike, there’s FlyBarre, a total body sculpting class. The 45-minute classes combine light weight training, dance, and core exercises in an easy to follow group class. FlyBarre focuses on creating strong and lean muscles and is a perfect complement to a cycling class. There are several FlyBarre classes including a 60-minute option, FlyBarre Sport for high-intensity bursts of cardio, and FlyBarre Arms & Abs, the signature FlyBarre class with a focus on these areas of the body.

flybarre boston review

 

As someone who suffers from tight hips and intermittent sciatica, both of which are aggravated by the folded position of a cycling class, I appreciated the chance to stretch and strengthen my body in the FlyBarre classes. A failure at Zumba, I was hesitant to try out FlyBarre due to the dance element, but was pleased to discover that the few choreographed moves were easy to keep up with.

Flywheel Amenities

One of the best things about Flywheel is the amenities that are available. Towels, lockers, and showers are free to use at the Back Bay location. Mats and bikes are assigned so you don’t have to worry about finding a spot if your train is delayed and can book your spot next to a friend if you’re working out together. Cycling shoes that clip into the Flywheel bikes are provided to give every rider the best possible workout. Not listed on their website, the Flywheel Back Bay location has jars of extra hair elastics and ear plugs, both of which are a nice touch.

Flywheel and FlyBarre Instructors

Anyone who has attended a group fitness class knows that it’s the instructor that makes or breaks the class. At both Flywheel and FlyBarre, the instructors were energetic, motivational, funny, and encouraging. Each instructor brings something different to their class, making every workout consistent in intensity, yet dynamic in spirit.

One of my favorite things about the instructors is that they make an effort to remember you. They’ll introduce themselves to you at your first class and recognize you in subsequent classes, making every person who walks through the doors of Flywheel feel like part of a community. If you’re looking for a way to get into shape this year at a welcoming studio, sign up for your first class for just $15 at Flywheel Boston in Back Bay.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary month of Flywheel classes but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Boston Yoga Mala

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This weekend I did something insanely awesome – I went to a Yoga Mala. The first annual Boston Yoga Mala at the Boston Button Factory.

boston yoga mala

For those unfamiliar, a yoga mala is something crazy people do 108 sun salutations performed in a group. Yoga malas are done all over the world, often coinciding with the changing of the seasons. This yoga mala was for the Spring Equinox. While most normal people were getting their Easter baskets ready, I spent a casual 3 hours doing back bends, downward dogs, and yogi push ups. No biggie.

sun salutation a and b

Source: yogafoundations.com

Until a few months ago, I had never heard of a yoga mala. As far as I’m aware, Boston has never had a yoga mala before – at least not one independent from a yoga studio. Carrie Bresnick, a Boston area native, set out to change that.

Having spent a few years in hippy crunchy Los Angeles where she participated in yoga malas, Bresnick had a vision to host a yoga mala back in her hometown. An idea quickly turned into a Facebook page with invitations sent to friends, family, and anyone in town who had posted a selfie on a yoga mat on Facebook. Obviously, an invitation to the Boston Yoga Mala Facebook Page showed up in my notifications.

Likely caught after an inspiring yoga class or on a caffeine high, I signed up, blissfully ignorant to how strenuous yet transformative a yoga mala could be. Someone who puts 108% of herself into everything, I took the idea of a yoga mala in stride, assuming at best it would be awesome and at worst I’d get a good workout. So…how was it?

The Boston Yoga Mala was great! Despite the fact that my arms are so sore that I’m struggling to type, I would do it again. Set in the awesomely historic Boston Button Factory, Bresnick’s first hosted yoga mala was a success. The turnout was good for an inaugural event – about 20 participants.

boston yoga mala

Upon entering the Boston Button Factory, Bresnick greeted everyone with a warm smile, a bottle of water, and a small towel. The mala was co-led by Bresnick and Paula Passanisi, a forest yoga instructor from the The Yoga Joy Studio, in Gloucester. The 108 sun salutations were a mix of versions A and B, making the flow interesting and challenging.

Broken into 12 sets of 9 rounds of salutations, Bresnick and Passanisi gave participants an intention for each set. Intentions give you something to focus on during your practice – a friendly reminder of why you’re on your mat, what brought you to it, and what you hope to get out of the practice.

After almost 3 hours, we had completed 108 sun salutations at the Boston Yoga Mala and welcomed in the Spring…or at least the balmy 30 degree weather known as Spring in Boston. Although I’m sore, it was an amazing experience that I’m looking forward to doing again. Bresnick has plans to  host more yoga malas in the future – likely once a season. If you’re into yoga and challenging yourself, keep an eye out for events.

Namaste.

sweetgreens intro to boxing

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Sweetgreen Passport Series Boxing Event

AKA the day I pissed off a celebrity’s kid.
Today I went to one of Sweetgreen’s Passport classes, an awesome movement in Boston; NYC; DC; and Philly to get people interested in doing healthy things and eating right.  For those of you who aren’t aware, Sweegreen has kickass salads and other yummy stuff that I can’t get enough of.  They also put on these great classes…for free!
A couple of weeks ago I went to a yoga class with my friend and work out buddy, Lisa, and today we went to an Intro to Boxing class at George Forman III’s The Club gym in South Boston.  Tucked away on a side street, this underground club (literally) is a boxing and workout powerhouse.
Inside the club you’ll find several full size boxing rings, weights, machines, heavy bags, suspension cables, and even a yoga and spin studio.  
Today at The Club we did a circuit of suspension cables, muscle ropes, gigantic dumbells, kettleballs, rowing machines, spin bikes, heavy bags and fast bags.  It was awesome and the instructors were great.  However, since I went with my friend, there was a fair bit of talking (on my part, naturally) and I might have gotten admonished by non other than George Forman III himself.  Apparently if you’re able to talk, you’re not working out hard enough.  Oops!
In all seriousness, I had a killer workout and would love to go back.  We’re even thinking of signing up for some group classes after my arms stop burning.
To top off the workout, there is a crunchy granola smoothie joint in the same building as the gym so after our workout Lisa and I headed over to have a delicious overpriced almond milk-quinoa-patchouli smoothie.  Ok, I have no idea what was really in it aside from almond milk but it was surprisingly delicious and well deserved!
If you’re in Boston and have the chance, sign up for Sweetgreen’s Passport classes or check out The Club!  You won’t regret either (just don’t talk during your workout unless you want GFIII on you!)