Good morning! First things first: We’ve been noticing a lot of events getting listed at the last minute, and want to have a way to keep you updated on things throughout the week, not just Monday morning. We’ll be posting anything that pops up later on both Substack notes and our Substack’s chat.
I just got back from a run (that was very hard to motivate for), but it’s the ideal season to be outside: Halloween decorations are up in full glory on the brownstones around my neighborhood, everyone looks cozy in their sweaters, but it’s still nice enough to run in a sports bra and shorts (or maybe I’m a maniac.)
This past Thursday, I went up to the Salomon store in Flatiron for the Ghost Tour Run hosted by Rerouted Running’s Kara Dudley. We weaved through Greenwich Village and Lower Manhattan, stopping at historical (and haunted) sites like the Eighty Six bar (an old speakeasy during Prohibition) and St. Paul’s Chapel where the ghost of a past performer apparently walks around the gardens at night. You should applaud him if you see him. We wrapped up at Fraunces Tavern in FiDi (also NYC’s oldest bar) with a cold pint. Highly recommend going next year.
This week: A massive game of Duck Duck Goose, phone-free workouts, and Strava finally giving strength training some attention.
on the radar: this week’s fitness and wellness events
This week is strangely light on events! We’ll post anything else that pops up in the chat. <3
Wednesday October 21: adidas NYC Speed Street Spectator Party (McCarren Park), 7PM, free
NYC Sprint Collective and adidas are hosting a 5k, and spectating sounds like it’ll be a party. Join others in the park to cheer on the athletes. Like all good (and not so good) NYC events, there will be a DJ. Could be a good opportunity to check out the sprinting crew to see if you want to join one of their free, weekly sprint workouts.
Wednesday October 21: No Lights No Lyrca Dance Party (Hells Kitchen), 7PM, donation based
We are advocates for dancing with your friends as wellness, but we also know sometimes you can get in your own head while dancing. Luckily, this lights-off (or dimmed, cuz safety) dance party provides a safe space to move your body without thinking about how you look to others around you. No mirrors, no instructions, just dancing! Sounds like fun to me!
Saturday October 24: Guinness World Record Attempt Duck Duck Goose (Central Park), 1PM, free
Almost 1200 people have RSVPed to this massive game of Duck Duck Goose. Need we say more?
Saturday October 24: Do Not Disturb: A Phone-Free HIIT and Sauna Experience (Flatiron), 12PM, $35
The price is right for this phone-free class because you get both a HIIT class from Grind House and a sauna session for less than the price of a standard day pass/class drop-in at the gym. Or you can just sign up for the gym’s 3-day free trial and get access to both for free if you’re a NYC resident. Or do both!
Sunday October 25: Breathwork Walk with Carbon Running (Central Park), 9AM, $5
Nasal breathing while running used to be really hard for me, but breathwork practices can help you get there. If you need a reset from all the running you’ve been doing, join Carbon Running for a mostly silent one-mile walk where the team will provide breathwork cues. Then stick around after for some recovery gear use and to actually be able to talk to other runners.
Sunday October 25: NARC in Nature Hike (Grand Central), 830AM, free
Ok, we can’t lie: There’s really not that much info about this hike put on by Not A Run Club. It says meet at Grand Central at 830 AM. I assume you’ll pay your own way up to Cold Spring, where you’ll hike with a rad group of people before catching the train back down. Considering fall weather isn’t going to last much longer, I personally think it’s worth leaning into the mystery.
gym review: NRTHN Strong
Woof, we’ve been promising you gym reviews for a while ago. A few months ago I went to check out NRTHN Strong, a new-to-New York studio concept that originate in Copenhagen and takes inspiration from cross-country skiing, one of the most demanding cardiovascular sports. The gym has a patented machine you won’t find anywhere else: You stand on a platform and move two ski-pole-like handles along tracks.
I took a full-body “Strong” class, which the PR rep told me was far less exhausting than the cardio class (I don’t think I could’ve repeated the same movement for 45 minutes). We warmed up with the machine in ski mode, got some cardio in, and then used it (along with dumbbells) in different ways for resistance training. I was surprised that some of the movements felt like things you could replicate with a cable machine or battle ropes.
The instructor (who said she had moved to New York to work at this gym) did a fantastic job of keeping the energy high, even though there were only seven people in class. Her vibe was cute, motivating without putting pressure on, and genuine. She gave just enough compliments to all of us without making it feel like she was doing too much.
In terms of actual instruction: the cues were super clear and I was never confused about what to do. (This is something I hate about most fast paced fitness classes in NYC.) We didn’t rush through strength movements (love), and I could see this being a great place to learn the basics of squatting, lunging, etc.
The drawback: It’s an incredibly niche workout style, and I’m not entirely convinced the specialized machine offers much you couldn’t get from more conventional strength training. It also isn’t the most lively studio—almost everyone seemed like they were there for their first class. This could be different on another day of the week, but I hit it at a pretty standard evening time.
So who do I recommend it for? People who strength train but want to switch things up. People who don’t have a lot of time and want strength and cardio in one. And people who want to start building strength but feel intimidated walking into a gym and picking up weights.
It feels like a happy medium between pilates or “sculpt” classes and traditional strength training: More resistance work than your typical Pilates class, but less heavy lifting than you’d get in the weight room. And unlike some bootcamp-style workouts that prioritize intensity over form, there’s actually time to slow down and get the movements right. Maybe the cardio class is good for runners who want a workout that is nice on the joints?
I don’t personally think I’ll be rushing back (I’m honestly not a class girlie, I prefer lifting at my good ol’ Puregym), but they have a three-classes-for-$49 deal, which is pretty good if you want to give it a try.
happenings around town
With all the talk of how bad (predatory) ClassPass is for studios, it may be worth looking for other options. One membership-based model that covers multiple studios is coming this fall: Arcana. The waitlist is live now.
Apparently, just looking fit isn’t enough anymore. I’ve been noticing more people training to sprint faster, jump higher, and generally become better athletes, even if they don’t actually play a sport. I dug into why athleticism is becoming fitness’s newest status symbol for Men’s Health. (Ok a lot of this is personally motivated because I’m so unathletic and have been trying to reach the vague concept of “more athletic” for a while now.)
Because our audience isn’t all runners, we can’t possibly cover every event going on around marathon weekend. And starting this Saturday, it’s already stacked. Marathon Weekend is a great resource to see all the pop-ups, activations, and group runs (many are doing “the last 10”—one last long run before Nov 1—on Saturday.)
Diplo’s Run Club 5K (followed by a DJ set) is coming to Flushing Meadows this week. We didn’t include it above because we think the price point is a bit high ($151) but we both ran it last year and had a lot of fun heading straight from the run into a dance party (although has Diplo made any new music since 2012??)
A new pilates and yoga studio is opening in Park Slope—Prestige—and they are offering complimentary classes for the soft opening this weekend. Ya gotta follow the instructions for booking on their website linked above.
Props to Oner Active for pledging $50K to an organization working to prevent sexual violence against women after Shane Gillis’ dumb commentary about women’s gym fits on SNL (sorry I won’t link to it but go search it if somehow you haven’t seen him saying women at the gym look like whores now.) Also they make my fav gym clothes so double win.
Apparently some people actually do like raving in a sauna (even though it sounds like my worst nightmare), because Daybreaker’s upcoming sauna rave at Othership is sold out.
I don’t personally record my strength workouts on Strava, but I know a lot of people do—and the brand has seen it, too. They just began rolling out strength training features and coaching, which I tested at a workout class a few weeks ago. I don’t see them on my app yet, but maybe check yours? There are programmed workouts with animated instructions and set/rep/weight tracking so you can keep track of how often you’ve worked each muscle group.
See you next Monday.