As part of FitReserve I visited EVF Performance, a CrossFit studio near Columbus Circle. I’d never done CrossFit and haven’t been super interested in it because I feel that it’s a workout you need to devote a lot of time to and also the whole bloody hands super jacked thing isn’t really for me. EVF offers more than CF WODs, I went for EVF360.
The site describes it as:
“Similar to a bootcamp class, EVF360 incorporates a dynamic warm up, body weight/cardio/strength conditioning, and a full-body, varied high-intensity sequence including plyometrics, sports drills, and more.”
The studio is located at 59th and 11th ave. 11th feels very far away but I work about 10 minutes from the studio and the walk home is easy so as an UWSer this studio is in a decent location. On the main level is RowHouse and down the stairs is EVF. Between the two places there are 2 bathroom stalls, some lockers and a changing room. I believe the bathroom stalls have showers but seems like you can’t really use them since people need to use the bathroom.
The EVF studio is nice, it’s got a lot of space, there is always music blasting and there’s a TV playing a variety of things to keep you motivated (CF competitions, triathlons, other races, etc). One area is used for the class and then there are areas where people are lifting or maybe it’s another class from EVF, unclear. Either way, we had plenty of space.
The class has a CF feel to it without the heavy barbells. From my experience, EVF360 starts with an introduction from the instructor as you warm up. The first class I went to the instructor had a little ice breaker and everyone went around and introduced themselves. The classes are only about 20 people so this was a nice touch as some classes can feel very impersonal. As you’re warming up and stretching, the instructor goes over some of the moves that will be in the workout. You’ll get a rundown of form for whatever is coming. In one class we did a review of correct squatting form and in another it was burpees.
Then it’s on to the workout. I’ve taken the class twice and both workouts were awesome. They were hardcore and made me feel like a CF badass, even though this isn’t fully CF. The first workout looked like this:
After our warm up we had 36 minutes straight of work. As you can see from the above, we had 6 moves that we went through. The gist is that you have one minute to get through each of the 6 things. Depending on your level you might get through each move in less than a minute and in that case you had the rest of the minute to recover/rest. If it took you the whole minute you still had 10 second in between each move. The list above: 12 (women) or 15 (men) calories burned on the rower, 15 kettlebell swings, 20 lunges with a big weight being hold over your head, 10 burpees then box jump, 20 jump squats and 10 (women) or 15 (men) calories burned on the ski rower machine.
We went through these 6 items 6 times, totaling 36 minutes. The class moved quickly and it was tough. Doing these 6 moves 6 times did get a little boring and I could have used more variety. By the end of the workout my body was feeling it.
The second class I went to had this as the workout:
Workout 1 was 3 rounds of the following: run up 2 flights of stairs to outside, run 400 meters (marked around the corner from the studio) then run back into the studio, down 2 flights of stairs and do burpees until the round hit 4 minutes. Then you had 1 minute to recover before doing it again. The amount of time you did burpees all depended on how long your running took. For me each round of burpees was around 90 seconds.
After that we moved on to our 20 minute workout. We partnered up and while one partner was doing something, the other person was waiting/recovering. Between the 2 partners you did: 1,000 meters on the rower, 30 kettlebell snatches, 30 kettlebell lunges, 100 double unders or 200 singles with a jump rope. Each partner did half of the above and you continued through the pattern until 20 minutes was up. My partner and I got through it exactly 2 times which was what we were told to aim for.
Of the two times I’ve been to the studio I prefer the second routine since it had more variety and two different shorter workouts.
There isn’t a formal cool down or stretch at the end but you were welcome to stay and stretch or use any equipment you’d like.
I REALLY liked EVF360. I felt like I was pushing super hard and getting a lot out of my workout. The instruction was clear and both my instructors were knowledgable, helpful and motivating. The type of workout at EVF will get you strong. They use heavy weights and they push you. I’ve been twice and I want to go back. Since it’s close to my office it’s a good after work stop but because of the shower situation I don’t think it’s possible to go before.
Single drop in classes at EVF are $35 and drop to $30 per if you buy the largest package of 25 classes. Your first class is $20. If you visit EVF and like it, I recommend joining FitReserve because you have access to full studio schedules and it comes out to way less per class. You can visit each studio 4x so you could do EVF once a week each month.
If you are looking to get strong, visit EVF and let me know what you think!
