Rowing classes have been popping up around the city much like cycling did a few years ago. I’ve taken a couple of row-focused classes at Equinox (Shockwave) but hadn’t yet visited a studio (Row House and City Row are two big ones). I follow Row House on Instagram and kept seeing gorgeous pics posted from their pop up in the Hamptons. Last weekend I was headed out there for a bachelorette and made it a priority to get over to Gurney’s and try this thing out.
I convinced another bachelorette attendee to join the workout and then 40 mins before class I got a text that she was bailing. If you love working out and go often, expect friends to bail on you all the time! Even though I’d be going solo, I was not going to miss my opportunity to try this class. I mean, look at this, where else can you find a fitness class in such a beautiful setting?
There are a row of rowers set up facing the ocean, behind the rowers are mats and sandbags for the work you do off the rower. I was greeted by Eric and Debra, (married) owners of the studio. Erica and Debra are basically living my dream; they were Equinox instructors and then started their own studio. So amazing, anyways back to the class.
The group was mostly new people so Eric and Debra helped everyone set up and gave a basic overview of proper rowing form. Eric mainly led the class with Debra jumping in at certain points to row with us.
(view from my seat)
Going into this, I knew nothing about rowing. I learned a ton in the first class. My form was a mess but by the end I started to get the hang of it. I’m used to cycling which is now second nature to me so it was kinda cool learning something new that’s out of my comfort zone. I think if I continue to go the movements will become much smoother and more natural.
(loved the little notes on the sides of the rowers)
We did different intervals on the rower and then a few times got off the rower and did work on the mats include pushups, planks, squats and so on. With this combination we got a full-body workout.
There were a lot of things I liked about this class: it was a small group so you got a lot of personal attention from the instructors (lots of form correction for me!), there was good music, an amazing vibe as we looked out into the ocean, a friendly group of people, free Fiji water, a towel, a bandana (these things seem silly but when you pay for a workout, these things are important to me and make a huge difference in my experience). The workout was challenging and I was sweating up a storm.
If you asked me what a row-focused class would be like, I’d think it would be boring, what can you actually do on a rower? I was wrong, rowing with a group makes a difference as does going harder at certain intervals. I was entertained the entire time and was sad when the class was over, I wanted to keep going!
By the end I felt amazing and was ready to buy a package of classes (although I’m waiting until I finish up some other fitness packs I’ve bought elsewhere).
I really hope to check out the NYC studio soon. While it won’t have the beautiful ocean view, it will have the same amazing instruction and intense workout.
This class is ideal for all levels of fitness, it’s something that you can do at any pace. If you go, let me know what you think!
