Where: Physique 57, 24 West 57th Street, Suite 805, New York, NY
It's the Original.
This little gem of a studio was one of the original inspirations for RateYourBurn. You see, I used to work up in one of the midtown towers, and P57 had the killer instructors and the scary cancellation policy to get my butt to class at the asscrack of dawn before work. I have dragged a LOT of my coworkers to this midtown fitness joint.
We started an email chain: who's your favorite? Why? Does she make your legs shake? How's her voice? Is she cheerleader-y?
So, Physique became the first victim (victim? lucky candidate?)... of our extensive review process. We haven't hit all of the instructors (um, they seem to be hiring like 14 newbies a day) but we're not done with you yet, my pretty little P57. We love you too much to stay away.
The efficiently-structured space processes hoards of women every day. In the early morning and evening, the power women; during business hours, the Uptown elite, trust fund college students and the occasional celebrity; but any time you go, you can be sure of one thing: ROCKS. If Physique somehow managed to pry the diamonds from these womens' fingers, well, you would have yourself a legitimate candy mountain.
Let's do a little "back of the envelope" calc.
- # classes per day ~ 24
- # spots per class ~ 18
- % full ~ 70%
- % married ~ 50%
- Avg. carat ~ 2
CARATS PER DAY = 302.4
This silly equation really adds no value to our readers, but this is my blog, b*tches. That's a lot of carrots.
Amenities:
They get the job done. Everything you need to be there is there - with a few "high end" touches. But the theme is also efficiency. It's not a place to linger. Get in, get strong, get clean, and get gone.
- The showers are nothing special, but they're functional, and they're set up to encourage a speedy lather. There's always a line after the morning classes (some women leave class early to nab the first stalls) but it moves super fast. The 5 minute rule is respected.
- In the sink area, there's a nice-looking plant, shower caps, plastic bags for clothes, Q tips, cotton balls, mouthwash, lotion, hairspray, roundbrushes, hair dryers... you name it. Occasionally they have individually wrapped samples of face lotion.
The studio has been through a lot - flooding that turned the carpets colors, shower water temperature issues, and new carpets that turned our lulu spandex blue from shedding pile. But It's an NYC original, and they're good about refreshing it often (they have to, with the foot traffic this place gets!). I love it.
The locker room: my FAVORITE people watching place in NYC.
A bit different from the Equinox locker rooms that inspired my creepy "Top 10 Things I Do in the Women's Locker Room and Don't Tell You About" post. You can't really swing your boobies around too much because you might catch a nipple on someone's necklace. Space is tight.
Here's what I love watching:
- The women. These are New York City's elite, and they are absolutely fascinating. Don't be surprised to run into a Goldman Sachs or Google exec.
- The makeup routines of these women are legen-dary. As someone who doesn't wear much, I can say that I've learned many, many tricks in this bathroom. Like what primer is. And the "3" brush stroke for applying bronzer.
- If P57 wants to be creepy, they should straight-up install recording devices in the changing room. They would instantly get all of the feedback they need on their instructors. Seriously. These women have opinions, and they TALK.
Check out cofounders Jennifer Maanavi & Tanya Becker discussing the method.
In sum.
I love this studio. This is a studio that has inspired many, many women to join the fitness world. It's a total gateway drug. It's just ... Physique.
From the Physique57 website: Physique 57 welcomes you into an engaging and supportive community. Every class inspires you to reach your full potential through our challenging, dynamic and invigorating classes. Together we will celebrate your achievements as you become stronger, exude confidence and transform into the best version of yourself! Physique 57 is an innovative workout program that combines isometric exercises and orthopedic stretches to systematically lengthen and sculpt your muscles and create a beautiful, lean body. Our process is similar to interval training, but we’ve taken that concept to the next level to make it even more effective.Physique 57’s interval sets use your body’s own weight as resistance, and through dynamic exercises, your muscles are targeted and overloaded to the point of fatigue, then stretched for relief. We call this groundbreaking process Interval Overload which includes muscle-defining arm exercises, intense thigh and seat sequences, waist-chiseling ab moves and fluid stretches.
Find out more about Physique57 at www.physique57.com
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