We love CrossFit and would be the first people to tell you to go try it. But CrossFit isn’t for everyone so we aren’t going to push you. BRICK Boston won’t do that to you either – which is why they offer CrossFit classes along with a variety of other programs including Yoga, Weightlifting, Personal Training, and B|X. For those of you who might not want to throw steel around, become a gymnastics ninja, or head to the CrossFit Games but who do want to get your sweat on and burn some cals with a high intensity interval training workout, we highly recommend heading to BRICK to take B|X.

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

Let us preface this rundown by saying that every B|X class workout is different. So you never fully know what to expect but know that it will be some combination of bodyweight movements (think push ups, sit ups, burpees, push ups, air squats), rowing, running, medicine balls, kettlebells and dumbbells.

To Here’s how our workout went down: 4 stations, each with 3 exercises, 10-15 repetitions per exercise. (Example: at Station 4 we performed 10 Wall Balls, 12 Alternating Dumbbell Snatches, and 14 Lunges). The instructor used a variety of functional movements in the workout including some of our favorite torture devices: kettlebells, rowing machines, med balls, and dumbbells. We went through all 4 stations twice. The first time through we worked at each station for 6 minutes, second time through we worked at each station for 4 minutes. Thankfully there was a 1 minute rest between stations. All said and done the workout portion lasted 40 minutes, the perfect amount of time: just long enough to get sweaty and feel the burn, but not so long that I was about to die of exhaustion.

You were able to choose your own weights for each movement and there were scaling options provided for those who had injuries or other constraints.

INSTRUCTOR

Erin Boyer was our fearless leader. She was the perfect balance of fun and motivation. She demonstrated every exercise, explaining proper technique and even telling us what we should avoid doing to prevent injury. She moved around the room throughout the class and called out our names when she noticed we weren’t pushing hard (who doesn’t love attention when you are kicking ass?!). The class was small, only 8 of us, but Erin made it feel full with her energy.

SPACE

Generally speaking we have a strong dislike for gyms that don’t have windows or are located in basements. Despite this sentiment, we still loved BRICK’s facility. They are located on the lower level of 133 Federal Street, a large commercial building in the Financial District.

BRICK took over the space from another bankrupt gym, completely renovated it, brought in new equipment, and even added in a smoothie bar and wi-fi lounge :). The B|X room was dark with just enough lighting to see what you were doing (think Barry’s Bootcamp or SoulCycle). The locker rooms are spacious and include showers, toilets, lockers, free products and towel service. There is a small retail area with tanks, shorts, hoodies, and zip ups. All orange with more orange. We passed on that stuff and I decided to spend my paycheck on something, well, that didn’t look like our Sunkist soda had exploded on it.