ICE NYC Upper East Side

ICE Upper East Side is a spacious CrossFit-style studio space that offers a variety of classes, including cycle, rowing, CrossFit-style WODs, HIIT, TRX, and boot camp. When you walk into the studio, there’s an immediate CrossFit vibe – from the array of protein drinks and bars available to the kettle bells and bars throughout the gym. ICE Upper East Side is large, modern and bright. Whether you’re looking for a hard-hitting cycle class or a fast-paced HIIT class, ICE has you covered. They also have three locations: Upper East Side, Tribeca and Jumby Bay in Antigua and Barbuda. The gym is all about its community moving more fluidly and each client leaving the gym feeling stronger and ready to take on anything that comes their way. The community feeling is strong and is not just a buzzword at ICE. The instructors all seem to have a genuine enthusiasm for their clients and classes, and there’s a joyful camaraderie between the front desk and instructors as well!

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

The HAIL HIIT workout is no joke and it’s also not for beginners. You’ll need sneakers, durable workout clothes and a water bottle. We started with a quick dynamic warm up consisting of some planks, lateral raises on our stomachs and bridges. The warm up lasted one song and then we got right to work. Rob did not introduce himself or ask if anyone was new or had injuries in the first portion of class.

After the warm up, Rob made his way to the middle of the floor to demonstrate the next section. He showed us the first “block” consisting of groiners, pushups, bridge single leg raises and a break dancer side to side movement. He told us we would go through this three times at increasing intervals. He turned the music up and we got to work. He watched his phone for the majority of this section, calling out times, changing the music after each set and videotaping us throughout.

Then we moved onto the “finisher” block. After we had set the space up with the appropriate kettle bells and rowers, Rob split us into groups of 8 and had us briefly practice the exercises in the last section. He gave words of encouragement throughout but didn’t offer any form corrections. He continued to be fairly occupied with switching the songs and video taping throughout. Once our time for the “finisher” was up, we all gathered for a quick huddle and class was over. There was no stretch to end the class.

INSTRUCTOR

Rob was enthusiastic and eager. He greeted many of the class regulars but didn’t make a huge effort to welcome newcomers to his class or to ICE. He had a pre-planned workout written on the whiteboard that he went through, and was great at motivating and offering encouragement throughout class. If you’re a veteran HIIT/CrossFitter, you’ll feel at home, but if you’re just starting out you’ll be in over your head in Rob’s class without much direct instruction or correction.

SPACE

ICE is a fairly big studio and space as New York studios go. There is a front desk and retail area as soon as you walk in, with a wide variety of protein bars and drinks. Once you check in, you walk up a couple stairs to a large open studio equipped with kettlebells, rowers, medicine balls and all the CrossFit necessities. In order to get to the locker room, you have to walk through the open layout to the back of the floor and go downstairs. There you’ll find a cycle studio with fan bikes and a men’s and women’s locker room, each of which is spacious, with four showers, lockers and a vanity area to get ready for your day. There are towels for guest use as well as shower products in all the showers.