We were impressed with Solace New York – it’s a great space and it serves a greater cross section of the fit community in NYC. Solace New York looks like a traditional Crossfit gym but when you dig deeper, it’s more than that. They offer a pay-per class model (like other boutique fitness studios in NYC), several options for a more traditional membership, and private training sessions. Anyone from a hard core Crossfitter to a Crossfit lite/HIIT enthusiast to a yogi can find options at Solace New York due to the diverse class schedule and programs offered. We tried the Body class – it was a killer workout and we felt totally spent by the end of class, but had a blast trying to crush the goals Heather set for us. It was a lot of fun (but hard) and appealed to our competitive side.
What we loved about the class was the variety. We worked in reps for some of the movement but a good chunk of class was interval-based. We used a variety of equipment and body weight as well. We did a short circuit with weight plates, which was challenging because while working your muscles (let’s say biceps for curls), you engage your abs (more so with a plate) and your grip strength. We also did an interval-based circuit (20 seconds on, 20 seconds off) that was bodyweight-focused. We moved between the the pull-up bar and the wall (wall walk ups and wall-supported handstands, and more advanced clients did handstand pushups) primarily, and he threw in some gymnastic ring rows, too.
Even though the class was more strength-focused, that doesn’t mean we didn’t go breathless at times. During the warm-up and the conclusion of class, he had us killing ourselves on the assault bike. The end of class was a 7-minute finisher in which we had to do 15 calories (women) or 20 calories (men) on the bike, followed by 10 kettlebell squats, 8 kettlebell presses, and 6 kettlebell rows. We were using 2 kettlebells (one for each hand) and we had to do the strength circuit twice before we got back on the bike. It may not sound like a lot on paper but just trust us, our hearts were beating out of our chests and we were gasping for air. It was a stark contrast to the strength-based work that led us to this point in the class. Kenny turned it ON.
Kenny is part Crossfit master, part reality TV star, and part model. His class is very strength-focused, whereas other Body classes we’ve taken have more Crossfit elements and HIIT elements woven throughout. For every exercise, Kenny offered advanced options as well as scaled back options, so don’t let your experience (or inexperience) hold you back.
The space was impressive. We especially loved the live wall of moss that spells out Solace New York. The check in process was seamless and the staff was super friendly and welcoming and gave us all the information we needed since it was our first time. There is a lot to look at when you come in – the schedule, all of the merch for sale and the refrigerator with water, cold brew, other assorted drinks and kettlebell kitchen deliveries.
The Body class is held on the same level as the check-in desk. It’s a large “box” type room outfitted with Olympic rings, boxes, rowers, assault bikes, medicine balls, dumbbells and pull-up bars. There is another studio on this level for the yoga, mat-based strength and mobility classes. The basement is dedicated to the hardcore CrossFitters.
The locker room is large and outfitted with reclaimed wood and tile that looks like reclaimed wood, creating a pretty zen feeling which is nice after an intense workout. The lockers have their own combination locks and there is a designated space to hang larger items (coats, dresses, suits, etc.). They have four showers, five toilets, plenty of hair dryers and even hair straighteners! The showers have EO products (shampoo, conditioner and bodywash) and there are other amenities in the locker room as well (q-tips, lotion, tampons, etc.). The locker room space is really nice and works well given the number of people that could potentially be working out on any given day.
38 E 32nd St, New York, NY 10016 NoMad HIIT $$$$
Solace New York
NoMad HIIT, Bootcamp, CrossFit $$$$
38 E 32nd St, New York, NY 10016
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Solace New YorkHIIT
Kenny is part Crossfit master, part reality TV star, and part model. His class is very strength-focused, whereas other Body classes we’ve taken have more Crossfit elements and HIIT elements woven throughout. For every exercise, Kenny offered advanced options as well as scaled back options, so don’t let your experience (or inexperience) hold you back.
What we loved about the class was the variety. We worked in reps for some of the movement but a good chunk of class was interval-based. We used a variety of equipment and body weight as well. We did a short circuit with weight plates, which was challenging because while working your muscles (let’s say biceps for curls), you engage your abs (more so with a plate) and your grip strength. We also did an interval-based circuit (20 seconds on, 20 seconds off) that was bodyweight-focused. We moved between the the pull-up bar and the wall (wall walk ups and wall-supported handstands, and more advanced clients did handstand pushups) primarily, and he threw in some gymnastic ring rows, too.
Even though the class was more strength-focused, that doesn’t mean we didn’t go breathless at times. During the warm-up and the conclusion of class, he had us killing ourselves on the assault bike. The end of class was a 7-minute finisher in which we had to do 15 calories (women) or 20 calories (men) on the bike, followed by 10 kettlebell squats, 8 kettlebell presses, and 6 kettlebell rows. We were using 2 kettlebells (one for each hand) and we had to do the strength circuit twice before we got back on the bike. It may not sound like a lot on paper but just trust us, our hearts were beating out of our chests and we were gasping for air. It was a stark contrast to the strength-based work that led us to this point in the class. Kenny turned it ON.
Solace New YorkHIIT, Bootcamp
We love a good morning workout, especially one that will challenge us and we know that’s what we’ll always get at Solace New York. When we entered the workout space, we saw the whiteboard and immediately started to dissect the workout. The first thing written was “Sunday Funday!” which we totally read through and knew it would be a tough one. Chelsea put together a partner, CrossFit inspired workout that was pretty intense. It took some explaining but once we understood what she wanted us to do, the workout really ran itself. Needless to say, we earned our Sunday brunch.
Class started with a warmup that combined the Assault bikes with dynamic stretching down the length of the room. It was short but effective and we were ready to plunge into the workout. We were happy that we dragged a friend to class this day as we worked in pairs for the entire class.
Chelsea set up two, fourteen minute EMOMs (every minute on the minute) which would take us through the duration of the class. In both of the EMOMs there was a cardio element, one incorporated the Assault bike and the other the Rower. There was a calorie goal (different for men and women) that needed to be hit in one minute. While one partner was working on that, the other was trying to put a dent in the number of reps for the strength moves associated with that particular EMOM. So for example, in the first 14 minutes we were on the rower and we had to burn twelve calories (men) or nine calories (women) while our partner tried to get as many reps in one minute with a medicine ball wall-ball. Together we would swap on and off between the two (every minute) until we (collectively) had done 100 wall balls. Once we hit 100, we would continue the rowing part of the workout but move onto the next strength move which was 80 dumbbell snatches. After completing the dumbbell snatches, we moved onto 60 dumbbell push presses. There was a catch though, if the partner on the rower (or bike) didn’t hit that calorie goal, the reps the other partner completed wouldn’t count towards the overall goal. However, if we happened to finish all of these moves before the 14 minutes was up, we had to complete as many hand release push-ups as we could until the end.
The moves for the other EMOM were similar in nature but as we said, instead of using the rower, we were on the Assault bike (ten calories for men, 6 calories for women). The strength moves for this segment were 100 Kettlebell deadlifts, 80 box jump overs, and 60 Kettlebell goblet squats. If you finished this before the 14 minutes was up, you needed to go for max effort on the pull up bar for the remaining time.
It was intense but we definitely had fun with it.
Given the fact that the EMOM was literally the entire workout, there wasn’t too much interaction with Chelsea. She was there as our guide, keeping track of the time, making sure that we had good tunes playing (which we did – really good ones) and every so often she would travel around to correct someone who may not be doing the strength component properly. The workout did take some explaining but she had great patience with us as we learned what she had laid out for us that Sunday morning. She put us in the driver’s seat of our workout and we liked that.
