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Twelve Super Hot Boutique Fitness Studios You Need to Try Now

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Welcome to Racked's Fitness Week: five days of workout coverage, so that you can start your New Year's resolutions off right.


Photo via Swerve Fitness

Over the past few years, boutique fitness studios have undergone a mindblowing surge in popularity throughout New York City. Indoor cycling, CrossFit, and High Intensity Interval Training classes in particular have become so hot that it's hard to figure out where you should go to get your sweat on.

After the jump, we mapped out 12 fitness studios that are absolutely killing it: from kettlebell classes uptown to yoga in Williamsburg. We excluded the big-name, multi-location chains like SoulCycle, FlyWheel, Barry's, etc., because by now, you don't need a recommendation from us. Instead, we kept the list to smaller studios, most of which only have one location and have opened up within the past two years.


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Exceed Physical Culture

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Every muscle, even the ones you didn't know you had, will ache after a class at Exceed—and that's a guarantee. Classes combine strength training, cardio, and high intensity intervals that'll target your entire body. A single class at the Upper East Side studio is $32, 5 are $160, 10 are $310, and a monthly unlimited is $350. Stay tuned for a new location in Tribeca. [Photo]

Studio AKT/NYC

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Celebrity trainer Anna Kaiser's uptown studio specializes in a high-energy, dance mix of cardio, toning, and strength training. But don't expect anything like Zumba—classes are fun and sexy, with names like AKTease, S&M, and Happy Hour. Plus, the routines have already been vetted by Shakira, SJP, and Kelly Ripa. [Photo

The Fhitting Room

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Looking for High Intensity Training? You've come to the right place. Classes are small at the Fhitting Room, and revolve around tools like kettlebells, rowers, medicine balls, suspension trainers, and more. Their promise: "Our clients will burn more calories, experience lean muscle growth, break through fitness plateaus, achieve personal bests and more easily perform activities of daily life." [Photo]

Brick New York

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Manhattan's CrossFit bonanza wouldn't be complete without Brick New York, who actually trains so hard that it's neighbors are bugging out a bit. The studio offers everything from traditional CrossFit to Olympic Lifting and yoga, and members claim they're in the best shape of their lives. [Photo]

Swerve Fitness

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For the extra competitive indoor cyclists, there's Swerve: the city's only studio where you ride in a team. Classes are separated into three groups and start at $30. (Fortunately, though, the scoreboard only displays the team's average.) As for Swerve's score, Rate Your Burn calls it one of the 20 hardest classes in the city, and Details names it one of the best new boutique fitness spots in the country. [Photo]

Revolve

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Revolve offers three different types of rides at its New York studio: the Real Ride, where you'll simulate cycling on an unveven terrain, the hardcore Rip Ride that incporates excersises for the upper body, and the Body Ride, a mash-up of cardio, strength, and flexibility. Single rides are $25, five are $120, 10 are $220, and 20 are $400. Photo]

Lyons Den Power Yoga

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Bethany Lyons, one of SoulCycle's first instructors, opened her eponymous yoga studio downtown this fall. It's the only studio in Manhattan that offers Hot Power Vinyasa Yoga in the Baptiste Yoga Method. Classes like Power Flow, Power Journey, Power Basics, and Power Beats are offered in both 60 minute and 90 minute sessions; drop in rates are $24, and a five-class pack is $110. [Photo]

Aqua Studio

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Aqua is the only place in Manhattan where you can cycle under water—unless, of course, you live somewhere with a stationary bike and an ingroud pool. Water resistance allows you to challenge other parts of your body, like abs and arms, in addition to your legs, which pedal at varying speeds in a four-foot pool. For January, they've introduced a 10-day Nutritional Detox Program, which includes two weeks of cycling and a lesson in "learning how to replace sugar and processed carbs with health-promoting foods." [Photo]

Soho Strength Lab

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Former Equinox trainers (and one Racked hottest trainer competitor) opened Soho Strength Lab last year—a studio dedicated offering "the highest quality personal training and group fitness instruction." The space includes a strip of athletic turf for sprint-based cardio conditioning, and intense classes billed as Soho Burn, Soho Sweat, and Soho Swoll. [Photo]

Torque Cycling + Fitness

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Another member of NYC's indoor cycling boom is Torque in Williamsburg. Well + Good NYC cautions: "Instructors have free rein to teach in their own style, so you'll have to check a few out to find the perfect fit." Classes include straight up cycling, yoga/cycling hybrids, and outdoor yoga on their back deck, weather permitting. [Photo]

Brooklyn Bodyburn

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Brooklyn Bodyburn's claim to fame is its Megaformer—an epic piece of equipment that works and sculpts your entire body. Classes fuse Pilates, strength training, and cardio in small groups, and start at $33 for a single session. [Photo]

SYNCstudio

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Syncstudio's founders (who have been friends since middle school), describe their clients as "normal people who live normal lives and are active." Cycling classes are set to soundtracks heavy on contemporary hip-hop (here's a twerktastic sample), and the studio offers yoga and circuit and personal training in addition to cycling—which, you'll find, is done out of the saddle a lot. [Photo: Rebecca Dale]

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Exceed Physical Culture

Every muscle, even the ones you didn't know you had, will ache after a class at Exceed—and that's a guarantee. Classes combine strength training, cardio, and high intensity intervals that'll target your entire body. A single class at the Upper East Side studio is $32, 5 are $160, 10 are $310, and a monthly unlimited is $350. Stay tuned for a new location in Tribeca. [Photo]

Studio AKT/NYC

Celebrity trainer Anna Kaiser's uptown studio specializes in a high-energy, dance mix of cardio, toning, and strength training. But don't expect anything like Zumba—classes are fun and sexy, with names like AKTease, S&M, and Happy Hour. Plus, the routines have already been vetted by Shakira, SJP, and Kelly Ripa. [Photo

The Fhitting Room

Looking for High Intensity Training? You've come to the right place. Classes are small at the Fhitting Room, and revolve around tools like kettlebells, rowers, medicine balls, suspension trainers, and more. Their promise: "Our clients will burn more calories, experience lean muscle growth, break through fitness plateaus, achieve personal bests and more easily perform activities of daily life." [Photo]

Brick New York

Manhattan's CrossFit bonanza wouldn't be complete without Brick New York, who actually trains so hard that it's neighbors are bugging out a bit. The studio offers everything from traditional CrossFit to Olympic Lifting and yoga, and members claim they're in the best shape of their lives. [Photo]

Swerve Fitness

For the extra competitive indoor cyclists, there's Swerve: the city's only studio where you ride in a team. Classes are separated into three groups and start at $30. (Fortunately, though, the scoreboard only displays the team's average.) As for Swerve's score, Rate Your Burn calls it one of the 20 hardest classes in the city, and Details names it one of the best new boutique fitness spots in the country. [Photo]

Revolve

Revolve offers three different types of rides at its New York studio: the Real Ride, where you'll simulate cycling on an unveven terrain, the hardcore Rip Ride that incporates excersises for the upper body, and the Body Ride, a mash-up of cardio, strength, and flexibility. Single rides are $25, five are $120, 10 are $220, and 20 are $400. Photo]

Lyons Den Power Yoga

Bethany Lyons, one of SoulCycle's first instructors, opened her eponymous yoga studio downtown this fall. It's the only studio in Manhattan that offers Hot Power Vinyasa Yoga in the Baptiste Yoga Method. Classes like Power Flow, Power Journey, Power Basics, and Power Beats are offered in both 60 minute and 90 minute sessions; drop in rates are $24, and a five-class pack is $110. [Photo]

Aqua Studio

Aqua is the only place in Manhattan where you can cycle under water—unless, of course, you live somewhere with a stationary bike and an ingroud pool. Water resistance allows you to challenge other parts of your body, like abs and arms, in addition to your legs, which pedal at varying speeds in a four-foot pool. For January, they've introduced a 10-day Nutritional Detox Program, which includes two weeks of cycling and a lesson in "learning how to replace sugar and processed carbs with health-promoting foods." [Photo]

Soho Strength Lab

Former Equinox trainers (and one Racked hottest trainer competitor) opened Soho Strength Lab last year—a studio dedicated offering "the highest quality personal training and group fitness instruction." The space includes a strip of athletic turf for sprint-based cardio conditioning, and intense classes billed as Soho Burn, Soho Sweat, and Soho Swoll. [Photo]

Torque Cycling + Fitness

Another member of NYC's indoor cycling boom is Torque in Williamsburg. Well + Good NYC cautions: "Instructors have free rein to teach in their own style, so you'll have to check a few out to find the perfect fit." Classes include straight up cycling, yoga/cycling hybrids, and outdoor yoga on their back deck, weather permitting. [Photo]

Brooklyn Bodyburn

Brooklyn Bodyburn's claim to fame is its Megaformer—an epic piece of equipment that works and sculpts your entire body. Classes fuse Pilates, strength training, and cardio in small groups, and start at $33 for a single session. [Photo]

SYNCstudio

Syncstudio's founders (who have been friends since middle school), describe their clients as "normal people who live normal lives and are active." Cycling classes are set to soundtracks heavy on contemporary hip-hop (here's a twerktastic sample), and the studio offers yoga and circuit and personal training in addition to cycling—which, you'll find, is done out of the saddle a lot. [Photo: Rebecca Dale]