REPS Fitness Studio

REPS Fitness Studio is a quaint neighborhood studio located on Charles Street in Beacon Hill. Renvil Doman  is the owner and operator and also doubles as the face and personality of the studio. On more than one occasion we have seen him working the street corner for business. Don’t sign up expecting the grandeur of some of the other big name boutique studios in Boston. And don’t go looking for Giselle or other famed Boston celebs. While REPS may be on ClassPass we all know that doesn’t always mean all are created equal. If you are a fan of personal training but like the idea of being surrounded by a group, REPS offers just that. A small intimate neighborhood setting where you can get your heart rate up (slightly) and tone up some of those unwanted areas.

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

The REPSCYCLE™ class combines spinning (on the bike) and strength training (off the bike). The first 30 minutes of the class were spent doing traditional indoor cycling intervals. Monitors were mounted on every bike that tracked our RPMs, total time, and total distance. We stayed focused on RPM’s for the full 30 minutes dialing our resistance up and back based off of the call from our fearless leader Renvil. While the spin bikes weren’t exactly up to our standards (no clip shoes and we thought we might tip over at one point). The bike portion largely consisted of sprints and hills in an interval format. Work hard for 30 minutes, push yourself and the reward is all yours.

The second 30 minutes of class was spent on the floor engaged in a total body strength training routine. We did a series of different exercises which included core work, push ups, air squats, lunges, light kettlebell movements and resistance band work. For a team that pride ourselves on our strength we did feel it the the next day. The workout targeted smaller muscle groups that left us feeling a little sore in the backside. We must say this workout exceeded our expectations which were low, really low.

INSTRUCTOR

Renvil is right there with you. He rides the podium for the spin segment and then gives commands during the floor portion. We respect that, as we said before he’s a hustler. He reminded us continually (over, over and over again) to take a “Breathe in. Breathe out.” He also made a point to count down every interval on the bike and floor from :30 seconds down.

As group fitness junkies he wasn’t the most inspiring instructor we’ve had but it was clear to us that Revil’s background is in personal training and that is where his strength lies.

SPACE

The space is nothing to write home about but because we all want to know what we’re dealing with before we get there we won’t hold back the details. The space reminded us of a home gym we wanted to build but can’t afford or find the space in our 500 square foot apartment. Located down a small set of stairs on Charles Street, the space has that basement feel with minimal light shining in from the windows.  The studio consists of one large room with wall to wall rubber flooring. There are 12 spin bikes and floor space for those same 12 people to lay down a yoga mat. We went looking for showers and a locker room but never found them. Safe to say, “Use the bathroom before you come and shower at home after.”