I’ve never been surfing so I was excited to have the opportunity take a class at SurfSET Fitness, which has setup temporary shop at Chelsea Piers in New York City. SurfSET is touring 11 cities across the country in the next nine months, offering “pop-up” classes in fitness clubs and boutique studios so that people can check-out their machines’ total body workout. When I got there I met the founder, Mike Hartwick, and let me just say that for any ladies (or men!) looking for motivation to stick to their New Year resolution to get into shape, a one second look at Hartwick might just do the trick!

I signed up for both the Extreme Core (30 minutes of ab work) and the SurfSET Classic (45 minutes of total body) classes and they were fantastic. I wouldn’t recommend this workout for someone who is completely out of shape/over-weight, but for someone who exercises regularly, or more or less regularly, this is a great way to have fun while toning your whole body. They’ll be a lot of moves you’re familiar with like crunches, mountain climbers, and planks, but being on the board adds an element of instability for an extra challenge. It’s a hard workout, but the time seemed to go by really fast and I loved that there were both men and women in the studio. The instructor was super engaging and friendly and all the pulling and pop-up moves she showed us were really great for upper body strengthening.  I’m excited to go back and try a cardio version of the class and I’m crossing my fingers that SurfSET becomes a permanent addition to the NYC fitness scene!