As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, ya girl loves to work out. I’m always looking to try the best, newest studios in NYC, but post is actually about a studio and that, in my opinion, has been flying under the radar for a while… Until recently! I’m talking about ModelFIT and it’s basically my newest fitness obsession (fobsession?). While you may be seeing it all over your Instagram these days, if you give the studio a quick search on Google, you’ll find reviews from as far back as 2014!  Don’t just take my word for it. Check out some of the amazing reviews here, here, and here. 

So, why ModelFIT? In a city where Equinox, Barry’s Bootcamp and Soul Cycle rule, it’s easy to forget that incredibly efficient low impact workouts exist. I think people are genuinely afraid to try barre and similar workouts because they equate minimal sweat to inefficiency. (It boggles my mind when people brush off studios like Physique 57 as not being intense enough. I’m sorry, WHAT!? Try it, and get back to me.) Anyway, I loved every second my short-lived Equinox membership. I was doing 3-4 classes a week and I was gaining incredible strength because of it. 10 thousand burpees and renegade rows later, I noticed that I was starting to look WAY too muscular. No, no thank you. So, in pure Dana fashion, I broke up with Equinox, forgave Classpass for its cruel and unusual punishment of a credit system, and I started getting back into barre and other low impact workouts to mix things up! (Note: Equinox is not strong in that department.)

Which brings me back to my original question: why modelFIT? I had taken modelFIT before and knowing that I totally loved it, I started incorporating it into my routine on a daily basis. But what is modelFIT? By the name of it, you’d think it’s a watering hole of women who look (and maybe are) Victoria Secret models. You wouldn’t be totally wrong: Karlie Kloss is known to have worked out there in the past and there’s PROOF on Instagram that boss babe Hannah Bronfman has paid the studio visits. Despite the name, however, this studio is far from intimidating and welcomes all people of all types of fitness levels and goals!

The lowdown:

modelFIT has three different classes, and I’m a particular fan of Sculpt because I want to feel the damn burn and spend every second shaping that peach and sculpting my abs. The other two classes, Sculpt Cardio and Dance Cardio incorporate light dancing moves; kind of like Zumba’s daintier cousin. In the Sculpt class you’ll use gliders, light weights, Pilates rings, resistance bands, and ankle weights to chisel every inch of your body. I love using the gliders and ankle weights to do slow lunges that’ll burn your legs out for days to come. There’s a ton of pulsing involved, too. No two classes are the same, and the lower body work will always be different. What’s consistent is the fact that you’ll be doing lots of tiny, gentle movements, whether it’s sliding out into a lunge, or holding the lunge position and pulsing 2 inches up and down. My favorite part of the class is the peach section, where you’ll get down on all fours with the ankle weights and do various types of leg lifts that sculpt those hard to reach areas you didn’t even know existed. It’s a KILLER, but it feels amazing (especially when you hit that child’s pose after!) For arm work, you’ll typically do two sections of about a song’s worth of straight movement holding the 2 or 3 pound weights. It sounds easy, but don’t be fooled. By about 45 seconds in, you’ll be burning in agony! Sometimes you won’t even use weights and you’d be surprised at how much that hurts.

I’ve been doing modelFIT classes consistently for the past month (about 3 days week thanks to my new work fitness perks) and I’ve seen so many amazing changes with my body. Everything feels tighter and leaner, especially my thighs and abs. When I’m not hunched over in pain from all of the cheese I’ve eaten, I can see my waist has slimmed down around the middle. S.C.O.R.E. My flexibility and balance have also drastically improved, which is another huge bonus for me. (You’ll do a lot of muscle group isolation in these classes, so you’ll have plenty of time to work on your balance and core strength.)

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in a balanced workout regimen and as an HIIT fanatic and one who loves to box more than anything, I’m definitely not saying goodbye to intense, sweaty burnout workouts. If you’re like me, though, and are looking to incorporate lengthening and low impact toning to your workout routine, you need to get modelFIT on your radar. You’re taking Julie’s, Abby’s, or Javier’s class. They are the absolute best! Julie’s got amazing energy and will make sure your form’s on point; Abby is guaranteed to burn you out with a smile on your face between the cringes; and Javier’s sophistication and unique movements will have you both feeling like a VS model and questioning if you’ll ever walk again (hint: you will.)

You can book modelFIT classes through their website and they’re now on Classpass! Check out their class schedule here! Make sure you scroll to the bottom of their website because ya girl is on it #FAMOUS!! Oh heck, I’ll post it here because I’m proud.