Class: TH 101

Location: New York City – NoMad

Work-out: Strength training

Difficulty: 5+

Next day soreness: 4

Duration: 60

Sweat Level: Sweaty

Parking: Not sure this is a thing in NY?

Amenities: Towels, showers, cold bath, foam rollers, water fountain, water and swag for purchase, big and small lockers and fully stocked locker room

Requirements for class: sneakers and don’t eat anything right before class

What a way to start of 2017, with the hardest class I’ve ever taken in my LIFE! I took Tone House’s intro class (TH101), and cannot even fathom how anyone can survive the regular class, which is supposedly 10x harder than the already-impossible 101 class. Granted, I didn’t know this was THE HARDEST workout that NYC has to offer, and by the end of the class, the “leave your ego at the door” greeting posted at the entrance really hit home. Halfway through the warm-up, any trace of ego was completely replaced by pure survival mode. I was incredibly impressed with everyone else in my class who seemed to go through the activities like it was any other workout.

The warm-up consisted of a series of cardio hurdles..yes mini HURDLES that you ran and jumped over from the front and side. After that, groups of 4 sprinted and bear-crawled across the room in rounds. I’m not sure if this made up the warm-up or if the next series or agility tasks were included as well but at this point I already felt like I might drop dead at any moment. The body of the class took us through lunges and jumps with one leg through TRX bungees, a 4000-meter row (though I don’t think anyone got close to 4000M – speed counted for more than distance on this one) and body weight sleighs. The latter was a brand new concept to me, in which “sleighs” were weighted down and then strapped to your body and you had to drag the sleigh across the room with your lower body tied to it, and then push it back across the room with your upper body strength. Yes, it sounds as ridiculous as it actually was. Finally, the class ended with another round of agility tasks (running in place, jumping up and down, squatting, shuffling, etc.) and then a group stretch. OMG I could not believe I made it to the end and I was still standing… sort of. The good thing was that other attendants of the class (who had obviously been there before) cheered you on and it was clear that there was a real sense of community at Tone House.

Aside from the actual workout, the locker room amenities were nice (talk about that cold jacuzzi tub to help ice those muscles, as well as foam rollers in a big open space and two sizes of lockers). My one complaint is the astroturf that lines the studio floors, which really hurts your hands after spending so much time on the floor crawling and doing push-ups and what not. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this class to people who are new to working out, but those who are relatively fit and looking for a challenge for 2017, this is it!