AWESOME ALERT: Free Antigravity Fitness Classes Next Week in NYC

Don't fall over, but one of my favorite (and most unique!) workouts of all time will be free to all newbies in NYC next week. Antigravity Fitness, is an exclusive program that combines aerial arts, yoga, pilates, and plain old fun into several different classes designed to push your boundaries, increase your flexibility, and generally make you more aware of your body and it's capabilities.

I've been taking classes for more than 5 years and there's not much more to be said than I LOVE IT!

Antigravity Fitness Creator Christopher Harrison and some yogis

To celebrate International Yoga Day on June 21, AntiGravity invites you to take flight with AntiGravity Fundamentals: Open Level classes at no cost from June 22-27, 2015. NO COST people! FREE! 

You don't need to have a current yoga practice to join, so everyone will take something away from this class (and more than likely get hooked and want to go back again and again). The patented hammocks are rated to hold more than 1,000 pounds, so no need to be scared. The trained instructors will walk you through your first inversion step by step and you'll be amazed at how good the world feels upside down. Bonus: there's no compression on your head and neck like there is with traditional yoga inversions!

To sign up, contact: labmanager@antigravityfitness.com to reserve a space. Just specify your Fundamentals class preference after selecting your preferred class time by clicking here.  Spaces are limited and are confirmed on a first come, first serve basis.

And one more time to show you how much fun it is, here's me and my friend Rachel just hanging last year:

Have fun flying!

AWESOME ALERT: $9.99 Boutique Fitness Classes All Over NYC

Say you want to take a Flywheel class tomorrow morning, but you want to mix it up and sweat it out at Barry's Bootcamp Friday after work. You'll definitely need a restorative yoga class at Yoga Vida Saturday morning, but Monday morning it's back on the hard core train with a workout at Exceed Physical Fitness. You finish out the week with a throwback to the 90s spin class at Cyc and a little lift, tone, burn at Pure Barre. Is your wallet hurting yet? (It should be...all those classes combined would normally cost more than $150).

What if I told you that you could take all those classes and more for just $99 a month? If you haven't heard about Classpass yet, you better jump on the fitness bandwagon. I have a hunch that this site is going to revolutionize the way New Yorkers do fitness--outdating the traditional gym membership while adding convenience and cost savings to our lives all at the same time.

The way it works is simple. You pay a monthly fee and obtain access to a constantly-expanding database of classes from Williamsburg to Midtown, Hoboken to the LES, and Astoria to Union Square. You can visit one studio a maximum of 3 times per month with a total of 10 classes per month. (I was lucky enough to sign up during a promotion period for "Unlimited Summer" meaning I get to take as many classes as I want through Labor Day. I can't guarantee it, but if they did it once, they might do it a second time!).

Interested? Head on over to Classpass and see all their offerings. Warning: membership may lead to new obsessions. I'm hooked on Row House and I'm dying to try out underwater spinning at Aqua Studio. If you sign up here, I promise that you'll never be bored by your fitness options again! 

Disclosure: If you choose to sign up via any of the links above, I will receive a referal reward from Classpass but all opinions are my own. 

Who Says Meatpacking is Just for Clubbing? Free Fitness Classes All Summer!

Anyone up for some free exercise classes? Join the Meatpacking District Improvement Association, Exhale, Chelsea Piers, Asics, and Lululemon for Classes on the Cobbles starting Thursday May 22.  

Classes range from yoga to Krav Maga and stretching to Zumba, and all take place "on the cobbles" of Gansevoort Plaza. Mats will be provided and classes are all 40 minutes long. To reserve your spot, click here. Happy sweating!

AWESOME DEAL: A Fabulous Fitness Find Returns!

Some of you may remember my post about the American Health and Fitness passbooks last year. This was seriously one of the best purchases I've ever made as it allowed me to sample boutique fitness and yoga studios all over the city for an entire year. I could not stop talking about it and convinced several of my friends to buy the passbook as well and join me on a fitness adventure.

If you've ever step foot in an Exhale or fancy Pilates classroom, you know those classes regularly cost upwards of $35. The passbook normally costs $90 and is available in a yoga, fitness, or Pilates version. You can view all of the specific studios available to you here, but know that at a minimum each coupon allows you 2 visits (some places give you a full week!).

Lifebooker is currently selling the books for $45 a pop with a 15% off discount using the code SCOREFIFTEEN (that brings it down to $38.25!!!). With this deal you are basically paying pennies for top-notch classes all around the city (in Queens and Brooklyn too!). To purchase, please use my referral link and go to the fitness section of Lifebooker Loot. You'll see it listed as "$45 Choice of Class Passbook: Choose from Fitness, Yoga and Pilates."

My favorite studios from last year were:

• Exhale Spa: I'm addicted! Their Core Fusion Sport class will make you sweat like no other and builds core strength in a matter of minutes
• Moving Strength: These small Pilates reformer classes feel essentially like private sessions as you get an amazing amount of personal attention and correction. Newbies welcome!
• Atmananda Yoga: A clean, welcoming yoga studio conveniently located near Union Square offers a wide range of classes
• Yoga Vida: You'll find any class you're looking for at this large, unique yoga studio also located near Union Square. I highly recommend their restorative classes for a nice wind down.
• Pure Yoga: I visited the Upper East Side location to try their signature Figure 4 class and was sore for a week! This is the most intense barre class you will ever take, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Seriously guys, no one is paying me to say this but I absolutely love these passbooks. I can't tell you how many trainers and studio administrators looked at me and said "this is the best deal!" when I checked in with my book.I never had any issues using it and was always welcomed into the different studios like any other client. It's good through the end of the year, so the sooner you buy it, the more time you'll have to use it! Trust me, you'll want to get all your friends in on this as well. 

AWESOME DEAL: $45 for Up to 600 Fitness Classes in NYC

Since moving to Astoria in December and training for the Brooklyn Half Marathon (eeeeek! This Saturday!), I have yet to commit to a gym membership. I used to be a tried and true member of Crunch on East 34th Street and I honestly really loved it there, but the distance is too much for me now. I've been racking my head as to where I'd like to join after the race and then I discovered a fabulous deal.

Lifebooker, as you may know and love, is a website where you can not only book all your beauty appointments at a discount, but they also sell Lifebooker Loot--essentially daily deals related to fitness, beauty, and health. Starting today, they are partnering with the American Health and Fitness Alliance to offer a deal that almost seems to good to be true. For $45 you can get free 7-month access to over 165 of the best health and fitness clubs in New York (and throughout Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and more). Each pass is good for a minimum of TWO free visits per club, with some passes good for an ENTIRE MONTH - for a total of over 600 complimentary visits in all. The full list of clubs is available here, but some examples are:

• 2 visits to Crunch Fitness
• 2 visits to David Barton Gym
• 2 visits to Manhattan Plaza Health Club (rock climbing wall!)
• 2 visits to the 92nd Street Y
• 3 visits to Pablo Fitness (spinning and yoga!)
• 4 visits to Club Fitness (great for Astoria residents like me)
• 4 visits to Pure Power Boot Camp

So you can see that even if you only go to 3 or 4 classes over the course of 7 months, you'll definitely get your money's worth. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!

Lifebooker is also offering a yoga pass and a Pilates pass each for $45 and also each good for 7 months. To supplement my fitness pass, I'm planning on purchasing the yoga pass, and here's some examples of what that includes:

• 2 classes at Atmananda Yoga (recently featured on Gilt Group)
• 2 classes at Dance New Amsterdam
• 2 classes at Exhale Spa (hello, these regularly go for like $30 a pop!)
• 2 classes at Om Factory (one of my favorite yoga studios in the city, try Forrest and Aerial yoga here)
• 2 classes at Pure Yoga
• 2 classes at Yoga Works
• 2 classes at Sheila Kelley's S Factor (not exactly yoga, but you know you'll have a good time)

If you're into Pilates  the Pilates pass comes with a lot of private sessions, which you know can be very expensive if purchased individually.

To purchase one, two or all three passes, go to Lifebooker, create an account if you haven't already done so, and search for the $45 Fitness Pass in the Loot section. If you have friends in Chicago, Houston or LA, be sure to pass this onto them because there are options available in those cities as well. Happy working out!

Put A Little Ohm In It

If you didn't get enough R&R during the Hurricane Irene "NYC Shutdown" weekend and find that you could use a little more ohm in your life, you should get blissfully excited as September is National Yoga Month. Frankly, I think every month should be yoga month as I always find that I can relax and unwind from urban stresses with a little downward dog.

photo credit: www.myyogaloft.com

The biggest perk of National Yoga Month is, well, free yoga, but more specifically, a free week of yoga at close to 30 Manhattan studios and hundreds more across the globe. By visiting this website, you can search for your studio of choice (including the likes of Yogaworks, Pure Yoga, The Sports Club LA and Reebok Sports Club/NY) and claim your free week pass. Keep in mind this is for new students only so if you've already checked out Yogaworks, you won't be able to go back there.

Yoga in Bryant Park, sponsored by Lululemon, also continues through the month on Tuesdays at 10 am and Thursdays at 6 pm. These free classes are open level and mats are provided. The athletics-wear brand is also sponsoring free celebrity-endorsed Physique 57 classes every Friday at 12:15, free with RSVP. Designed to tone and create lean bodies, this class isn't yoga, but it sure looks like a good workout to me.

While I'm talking about yoga, I must also throw a little plug in here for my favorite yoga class in the city. Recently featured on Good Morning America, Anti-Gravity yoga is a class that has changed my life by challenging me to push my limits (hello?! you're upside down and doing flips!) and helped me to find more (literal and figurative) balance. It's taught at a few locations throughout the city now, but my favorite is Om Factory in midtown. You can see photos and videos of classes on their website, but basically the class involves traditional yoga poses mixed with aerial arts all using the aid of man-made silk hammocks hanging from the ceiling. If you're like me and can't do or hate the feeling of traditional yoga inversion poses, you will love this class.

Why are you still sitting at your computer? Slip into your favorite pair of yoga pants, grab your mat and goooooooooooohm!