Full disclosure: we were so afraid of stepping into the Chaise 23 fitness studio (after signing up for the class via our Classtivity Passport) that we showed photographs of what we were about to get our self into to our friends…in horror.
Look at this:
It screams “be prepared to die via drowning in sweat.”
Thankfully what looks like it could potentially be a fitness torture chamber turned out to be a lot less scary than we thought and a one-of-a-kind workout that we had to blab about. The modernized Pilates fitness class gets you up close and personal with “the chair” but this is no time to kick your feet back. Your chair is your sweat tool, but you’ll learn to love it. We swear.
We signed up for the Cardio Express which was a series of heart-pumping cardio bursts, arm work (with the overhead bungees in tow) and chair work. Upon entering the studio, still slightly scared, we were led into one of the studios to get an introduction to the chair. We quickly learned a few of the key moves of the class that used the overhead resistance bands, the resistance pedal connected to the chair and a quick break down of the class. It was meant to ease our nerves and it did…sort of.
One of the dual studios can hold about 12 people but we was lucky enough to be in a semi-private room with only 4 others. The beautiful NYC day had people frolicking around outside we are sure. This gave us plenty of attention as we got familiar with our chair as we did our first pikes and mountain climbers with our new workout apparatus. We never let go of our resistance bands and quickly learned to trust them. In all honesty we definitely had some newbie struggles but we left feeling like we had conquered something reasonably difficult which left us feeling good about our self—like, really good. It was a full-body workout we don’t think can be duplicated elsewhere.
The chic Flatiron studio is only a year old and growing in popularity daily. Fitness instructor and former professional figure skater Lauren Piskin developed the unique fitness offering. The idea is to push your body to the max in a way that you couldn’t do on the floor. And the high-energy instructor definitely helps you get to that shaky muscle phase. And, alas, isn’t this what every exerciser paying $30+ per class strives for? We very much appreciated the Burt’s Bees face wash in the bathroom to freshen up post-workout. It is a thoughtful touch you don’t get at any ‘ol gym and gave us an instant facelift after our sweat session.
If you want a butt-kicking workout that will have you sweating as much as spin class, you have met your match. We are eyeing up the bungee ballet class and can’t wait to go back for more time with our chair.
Have you ever tried Chaise 23? What is the hardest fitness class you have ever tried?
