Currently Coveting: The Winter Fitness Edit
Over the past year, I’ve tuned into my body to understand what it wants when it wants it. Forcing myself to go to the gym when I’m not feeling it doesn’t do any good for me - I usually end up doing a half-assed workout and having to wash another set of workout clothes for nothing.
In 2019 I began listening to my body when I injured myself at a workout class in the spring. I had been doing HIIT classes 2-3x per week and felt great every time I left the class. Until I didn’t. The truth is that I upped my weights to try to accelerate my training to get to an arbitrary goal and one slight move completely threw my back out. In that recovery, I could barely walk, couldn’t sit, and would wake up every night in pain for nearly two months — needless to say I wasn’t working out.
Shortly after recovering, I was presented with the opportunity to run the NYC Marathon with Smile Train - a charity I work closely with - and felt a visceral need to sign up and check off a life-long goal off my bucketlist while I still had an able body. Over the following 5 months, I ran 3-4x per week, taking up the majority of my workouts minus a Pilates class or other low-impact class.
Since the marathon a month ago, I’ve listened to my body and nurtured it in ways I would usually ignore. I’ve hardly worked out over the past month, ate foods I wouldn’t normally eat, and splurged in all areas of my life that were more restricted over the course of my training. As I’m beginning to get back into a fitness routine for the winter, I have vowed to only workout when I feel like I want to, and stick to a routine that feels right for my winter self. I love Classpass because I can always change up my workout without having to commit to a specific studio - if I’m feeling more boxing this week, or a completely new studio next week, it’s so easy to sign up and show up. I am in no way affiliated with or sponsored by Classpass, but by using my link, you can get $40 credit for you first month, which can equal up to 4-5 classes!
Pilates + SLT
There’s something about being able to workout in a sweatshirt and socks that makes a class feel less like a dreaded workout and more like soul work. While Pilates and SLT are similar in that they are both on reformer machines, SLT is significantly harder and takes springs, planks, and ab work to another level. New York Pilates is my favorite studio for pilates, and while their West Village studio is my absolute favorite (imagine an old recording studio by the likes of David Bowie et al turned pilates studio with soaring ceilings and arched windows), I tend to frequent the Bowery location the most. For SLT, you can find me at the Williamsburg studio when I’m lookin for a burn.
Yoga
Growing up as a dancer with hyperflexibility, I have had an unusually tumultuous relationship with yoga over the past 12 years resulting in a lot of injuries from not properly learning how to hold positions with strength rather than flexibility (I know…a good problem to have in many eyes). I have had to take extended periods of time off from yoga over the years and recently came to terms with the fact that, to me, yoga needs to be more of a meditative practice rather than a workout for me. I find myself at Yoga Vida DUMBO primarily in the winter 1-2x per week and love their heated flow classes.
Boxing
To me, there’s nothing like a boxing class to up your endorphins, release stress, and burn calories. I often struggle in the gym to find workouts that are consistent and leave me feeling as sore and accomplished as a boxing class. My favorite classes mix bag work with floor work and leave me feeling sweaty and sore after 45 minutes. You can find me at Rumble or Shadowbox DUMBO 1-2x per week.
I think that changing up your workout routine is just as important as switching your shampoo - it keeps your muscles refreshed, and is a no-brainer way to keep things exciting when your workout routine is lackluster.