Equinox’s newest combination strength and cardio class will take you on a field trip throughout your Club and give you an efficient workout.
Quick, you have only one precious hour to work out today. How are you going to spend your time: running on the treadmill, lifting weights on the Club floor, or attempting some mixture of the two?
It’s a dilemma as old as fitness culture itself. But thanks to Equinox’s newest class, SWITCH UP: Run + Strength, you no longer have to decide between cardio and muscle-building work. Currently available as a monthly pop-up class at 20 clubs throughout NYC and southern California, SWITCH UP is an hour-long, high-energy workout that challenges your entire body with both Precision Run and strength-training intervals.
“We don't offer any other classes quite like it,” says Precision Run founder David Siik, who brought the class to life with Group Fitness Instructor Or Artzi and Group Fitness and Events Manager Natalie Hope. “Precision Run + Strength has a similar quality, but it's not as much strength work — it’s more of a running, cross-conditioning class and is heavier on the run. SWITCH UP is truly 50-50.”
The format may sound similar to other boutique boot-camp classes, but make no mistake: SWITCH UP is authentic to the Equinox experience, says Siik. The treadmill components of the workout are the same as those you’d find during a PR class, rooted in the Balanced Interval Training Experience. The strength portions have the same intensity and thoughtfulness you’d find in any other standalone group fitness class. “Those two things together make it as Equinox as it could possibly be,” says Siik.
None of the elements are chosen at random, either. The movements and patterns of the strength portions are programmed specifically around the content of the run, says Siik. So if the running periods contain plenty of incline, the strength periods will feature exercises that complement it. The key word here: balanced, he says. “A boot camp can be hard and exciting and edgy, but when you add the scientific balance of strength and cardio in a really seamless way, you get that feeling of a hard, awesome, ‘I did a lot in one hour’ workout — but you do it without trashing your body,” Siik explains. In other words, SWITCH UP classes will push your boundaries without going so far as to increase your risk of injury, he adds.
The class is split up into four 15-minute periods, so you’ll spend half an hour on each fitness focus. You’ll also alternate between two coaches — one a strength pro, the other a running specialist — who are both certified Precision Run instructors, says Siik. “That is the value-add, in my opinion, for our members — to have one class with two superstar instructors, each experts in their modality,” he notes. “I can't think of a better value in 60 minutes than that.”
Throughout the class, you’ll rotate between training spaces, taking a mini field trip through the Club to reach the treadmills or the Main Studio once each interval is up. Need to walk up a set of stairs to get to your next location? Expect that climb to be a part of your workout.
On a busy day, you might feel like you’re intruding on other members’ workouts with your rambunctious hike through the Club. But the organized chaos resulting from a SWITCH UP class is more than welcome, says Siik. “That's the lifeblood,” he adds. “This class has a little rule-breaking feel that utilizes our clubs in a fresh, exciting way.”