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IMAXShift Brooklyn

imaxshift studio image

This blog post could also be titled, the time I took a spin class in a movie theater or that time I left a class utterly confused and disappointed.

IMAXShift, which opened in May, is located near the beautiful Brooklyn Bridge Park in Dumbo. The first new studio to open in this area, they will soon have lots of company since Shadow Box and Row House are opening next month. Due to the convenient location and our love of spin classes, Bo and I hoped that we would quickly fall in love with this unique workout. We signed up for their 7:00 AM ride via ClassPass, excited to have discovered another great Brooklyn workout option. With average reviews of 4.7 out of 5 stars, it had to be a good experience, right? Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Ride Beyond ImaxShift Brooklyn

ImaxShift Spin Studio

Since the studio highlights the IMAXShift difference multiple times throughout their website and studio, I thought I would use these aspects to provide my review as they are correct, these things do differentiate the experience and studio from other NYC spin studios.

ImaxShift spin shoes

imaxshift difference

  • Screen: When I heard the name of the studio and read the description, I thought the screen was going to make me fall in love with the experience. I envisioned simulated rides through the Alps or Pyrenees – following Tour de France rides or other globally known bike courses. Another option I envisioned was riding to my favorite, inspiring movie scenes. Instead, the 40 x 24 foot screen played everything from Justin Bieber music videos to nature images which reminded me of the Disney ride Soaring. Evidently each trainer has the freedom to design their own visuals and soundtrack so that no two rides are the same.  The teacher pointed out multiple times that we weren’t staring at a mirror or competing against anyone. While I love the no judgement mentality, I also don’t understand the mirror comparison when it comes to spin classes. While the ever-popular Soul Cycle has a mirror in the front of it’s classes, the classes are so dimly lit and sweaty that I’ve never even noticed the mirror as it’s often too dark or fogged from the sweat. 
  • Sound: While the music is Imax theatre quality, the louder than necessary music caused the instructor to literally scream at us during the class. In addition, for the entire class the music was off timing with the music videos which drove me a bit insane.
  • Studio: This is by far the largest spin studio I have ever seen! Since it is in the IMAX theater it is literally the size of a large movie theater and houses more than 50 bikes, only 5 of which were occupied this morning. The studio was so large that it left me feeling alone, especially during this morning’s class.
  • Stats: The Schwinn bike’s console, which reminded me of bikes at Equionx, allow you to see your stats at all times including time, distance and RPMs. However this class is more about keeping the beat than tracking your distance. I felt that it fell in between the bike dancing of Soul Cycle and the focus on the torque style of Flywheel.
  • Scene: The studio is the largest studio I’ve visited in New York City with plenty of space to relax before or after class, get ready in the spotless locker rooms. It is very similar to Peloton in that they encourage you to lounge and enjoy the space though unlike Peloton, there is no food or coffee bar to enjoy.

Would I go again? Most likely. I would be willing to try another class as long as it is during a more popular time and with a different teacher.  When I spoke with the front desk staff, they said that Bree’s classes are their most popular as she was just named NYC’s Hottest Trainer.

Cost: IMAXShift classes cost $34 or you can use one of you can take up to 3 classes per month via ClassPass.  They do have a first time rider special which is 2 rides for $34.

Address: The studio is located in DUMBO in Brooklyn at 127 Plymouth Street, conveniently located near the F train.

What to wear: I recommend wearing bike shorts or crops paired with a sports bra and tank top since the studio was warm this morning. Since they include spin shoes and towels in the price of class, you just need to remember socks!

Your turn: What would you want to watch if you were taking a spin class in an IMAX theater? 

Some images via New York Post.

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Training for the Rock’n’Roll Montreal 10k

Montreal Pic from Trip Advisor

Happy Monday friends!

Now that our Canada vacation is over, it’s back to the real world which includes digging my way through work and blog emails, catching up, and reviewing what our calendar has for the rest of August and September. In case you missed it, I shared our first recap from the trip last week. I am going to dedicate two posts per week over the next three weeks to recapping our Canadian trip details. But today, as part of my return from vacation, it’s time to talk about another fun topic – racing!

During the flight, I realized that in just five weeks we return to Canada to run the Rock’n’Roll Montreal 10k as part of my Rock’n’Blog Ambassador partnership with the Rock’n’Roll race series. While Bo has been to Montreal twice before, this will be my first time visiting the city!  It seems like there are a number of great  bike tours of the city which will allow us an opportunity to get to know the city together while not exhausting our legs.  Since we are both traveling a lot during August and September this is a shorter, two night trip. We are flying in first thing Saturday morning and leaving early Monday morning, following Sunday’s race.

Montreal 10k

I am thankful that Bo and I decided to drop down to the 10k from the half marathon as the 6.2 mile distance is the perfect way to ease back into training and running after a few months of less focused training. I am excited to start tracking the pace, distance and feel of my runs while preparing for this race. While I could definitely run the 10k distance today, it will be far more enjoyable to feel strong and prepared going into the September 25th race!  Since the race is relatively flat, I am going to focus my limited training on speed and building my mileage versus having a specific hill workout. Since some of my longer runs will be in Prospect Park or include bridges, I will definitely still log a few hilly miles over the course of the next few weeks.

Rock'n'Roll Montreal 10k elevation map10k Training Plan

  • Runs: 3x a week (1 speed, 1 mid-distance run and 1 longer run at goal 10k pace per week)
  • Yoga: At least 1x a week
  • Cross Training: At least 2x a week

Goals

  • Enjoy the race.
  • Run a strong race.
  • Possibly run a PR (57:17 or 9:19 pace per mile) depending on weather and training

This plan will help me get back on track with the regular workouts and running that I crave, while also ensuring that I am still able to enjoy the flexibility. This plan will allow me plenty of opportunities to workout with friends as well as ensure I do not put too much pressure on myself.  Based on how the first few weeks of 10k training go, I will assess my goals for the Rock’n’Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon which is two weeks after this race.   If the first two weeks go well and I can easily hit my pace goals during my long runs, then I will increase the long runs in preparation for the half marathon and 10k versus limiting them to 6 or 7 miles.

Your turn: Are you heading to Montreal for this race or the half marathon? If you’ve been to Montreal, any restaurant, museum or other recommendations? 

All images are from the official Rock’n’Roll Montreal Website

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Canada Day 1 – Driving from Calgary to Jasper

Edge of the world hike jasper

Greetings from Canada! We are four days into our Canadian vacation and I’m already dreading Sunday’s flight back to New York City. Can’t we just stay on vacation forever? This has truly been the most incredible vacation thus far even though it is far different than anything we’ve done. After two years of “cultural city vacations” while living abroad, an active vacation is just what we wanted.

Friday we flew from New York City to Calgary by way of Salt Lake City. Even though last week Delta had lots of issues, our flights were luckily quite smooth. By 10pm we were pulling out of the airport in our rental car for the week, heading towards downtown. Since we knew we wouldn’t land until late, we decided to stay at the The Fairmont Palliser hotel in Calgary on Friday night versus driving to Jasper.  The hotel was recently updated and perfect for our quick stay.

Philosafy Cafe in Calgary

Saturday morning we woke up and grabbed coffee and breakfast at Philosafy, the perfect coffee shop for any coffee lover. They serve freshly pour over coffee, home baked breakfast treats and an abundance of other cold and warm coffee and tea drinks in a modern atmosphere.  We ordered our coffee to-go so we could begin the trek from Calgary to Jasper.

The drive from Calgary to Jasper, via the scenic Icefields Parkway, is supposed to take 4.5 hours but we made it a day long adventure, allowing time to stop and take in the sights as well as a hike to stretch our legs.  Once we entered the National Park area we stopped to buy a Canada National Park pass since each car that enters the national park must have one. From here, based on Anne’s post, we chose Bow Lake as our first destination and our hike for the day. This was a perfect option as it was a 2-hour hike that was a great introduction to hiking in the Rockies and we were able to buy and enjoy lunch from Num Ti Jah lodge before our hike.  The hike, which started at Num Ti Jah lodge, followed a path along the lake’s edge before transitioning into the rocky river delta and up towards the Wapta Icefield and Bow River Falls. The hike was four miles in total and provided picturesque views of the cerulean blue lake as well as the icy falls.

bow lake

view of the waterfalls

After the hike we continued our drive towards Jasper, stopping at Athabasca Falls and Sunwapta Falls for quick hikes to see the roaring water falls and enjoy the fresh air. It was so nice to enjoy the drive with no time limit or pressure so we could linger as we wished at any stop.

Athabasca Falls

 

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