SWERVE Fitness Flatiron

Looking for a little competition and friendly camaraderie to light a fire under your behind for your next workout? You’ve come to the right place. SWERVE has taken the meaning of group fitness to a whole other level. Not only are you working out alongside a group of people, but you’re actually working together for a common goal. SWERVE is a metric-based workout similar to that of FlyWheel but instead of working alone to get to the top of the leaderboard you work as a team to crush your goals.

If you’re looking to find your “soul” or want a dance party on a bike, we might recommend another studio. But perhaps if you’re competitive in nature – maybe an ex-athlete reliving your glory days or just looking for the support of a team environment – SWERVE can offer you just that. Just remember that just because you’re on a team doesn’t mean you should hide.

You’re not just in there to move to the music and find your center: you’re here to kick ass and see whose team can accumulate the most power output.

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

SWERVE is essentially FlyWheel with teams. Never been to FlyWheel? Let us elaborate. SWERVE is a indoor cycling class with a focus on metrics and results. Every bike is equipped with a monitor that reads watts, RPMs, MPH, power output and resistance. The twist here is that it’s not just about you, it’s about the team. Riders are divided into three team colors—red, blue and green—that compete against each other during class. Your team’s average score builds throughout class and is displayed on a scoreboard. Monitors around the room show how your team compares to the competition so that you can push yourself harder and lead your team to victory.

The class is a high intensity interval training workout which includes a solid combination of sprints, hills, and a short upper body segment. You will ride to the beat of the music, but you don’t have to find the beat yourself (good for all you tone deaf people). Every song is set to a RPM number and adjusting the resistance dial will get your legs moving to the beat. All in all, the class is all about resistance and interval training, alternating speeds, resistance and positions in and out of the saddle. It will make you work hard if you want to work hard.

Not into the whole team thing? No worries, you can still track your individual results from every class. You will receive an email after class that gives the following stats: overall team score, calories burned, miles biked, your swerve score, class rank and team rank. You can also log in to the SWERVE dashboard and see your performance results for every ride you’ve completed at SWERVE. Metrics baby!

INSTRUCTOR

If you’re looking for a drill sergeant who is going to bark orders at you and perhaps yell, that ain’t James. James is that friend you call when you’re having a really bad day and just need to laugh. Or the friend you invite to a party to ensure you have a good time. His class will guarantee you a good smile. From the moment we boarded our bike until the last sprint, James had us smiling and pushing ourselves at the same time. James has a lighter-toned approach to his teaching style that perhaps for some of those more competitive-natured people out there might feel like too much fluff and not enough intensity.

SPACE

The lobby of SWERVE Flatiron welcomes you with a white, bright, clean and new feeling, which is something we can get behind in Manhattan. The front desk staff was cheerful and peppy, which goes along welcoming not only newbies but also regulars.

The lobby area hosts self-locking lockers, a small retail space with SWERVE-branded merchandise, a smoothie bar and a small “lounge” which consists of a couple high top tables.

The locker rooms have three showers with towels, shower products, blow dryers and other small products you may need. There are three unisex bathrooms outside the locker rooms.

The spin studio is located in the basement, so you must descend the stairwell to get to your bike. The studio holds 48 bikes.