Unite Fitness: Twelfth Street Treasure

Category:  Cardio, Strength, Yoga

Target Zone:  Legs, Arms, Core Location:  Midtown Village

Intensity: 

Cardio:

Tighten & Tone:

Total:

We LOVE Unite Fitness. It's intense and results driven, designed to improve your endurance, strength, and flexibility... all in just an hour and fifteen minutes. Each class is a special cocktail of cardio, strength, and stretching - testing your stamina, keeping you motivated, and strategically working to improve your overall fitness at a rapid speed. Intrigued? You should be. Whether you're a competitive athlete, or someone who dabbled on a high school JV team, if you want to take your fitness to the next level, Unite will help you do it. 

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Break it down.  30 mins of cardio, 30 mins of strength training, and 15 of yoga/stretching. That's the standard "Cross-Training" class (not to be confused with CrossFit!!), however there are different series (A,B, C, D and Express) where you will have slightly different allocations of time. My personal favorite: Cross-Training D. 45 minutes of heart pumping out of your chest cardio. Go to this Saturday morning class and you will feel totally OK enjoying the rest of your weekend knowing that you worked for that R&R.. and bottle of wine on Saturday night :)
     Part One: Cardio. In the "cardio room" you will find a fleet of treadmills, spin bikes and rowers. The choice is yours as to what machine you want to use, so choose wisely. In some classes the cardio segment will involve stations on each (or maybe even the seven flights of stairs in the hallway). In this portion of the class the teachers set the parameters and structure for your workout; giving you a target pace (as a % of your max speed), incline and time for each interval, but it's up to you to set your own speed. So PUSH it. But really, with the teacher pacing around and checking your speed, a guy next to you grimacing in all out exertion, and music pumping all around you... You won't be slacking off. 
    Part Two: Strength. Don't be fooled into thinking that once the cardio is over its an easy ride to the finish-line. It's not. This segment is essentially a circuit training class, incorporating weights, bands, TRX, and other functional resistance exercises to tighten and tone, strengthen and build muscle. In conjunction with the cardiovascular benefits of the cardio segment, this element of strength training will help keep your metabolism ramped up and burning for long after you leave the gym.
    Part Three: Stretch. After your cardio and strength circuits, its time to slow it down. Focusing on flexibility is essential to preventing injury, and lengthening the muscles that you have just worked out during class. On top of these physical benefits, your mind will be ready for a break too! A quick meditation at the end of class allows you to lay back, close your eyes, and just allow your body to feel the benefits of the major workout that you just rocked.

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On the people. The trainers at Unite are legit. Seriously. These aren't just instructors who have gone through a Unite teacher course, every single one of their trainers are certified personal trainers... These guys (and girls) know their stuff but they aren't just kick-butt trainers, they are also SO friendly, helpful and welcoming. I walked in for the first time and they already knew my name--did I have "new girl" written all over my forehead? Probably... But whatever, the teacher immediately came and introduced himself, set me up on a treadmill, explained everything that we were going to be doing, and made sure I was totally good to go. And it didn't stop there. All through class he was checking in to make sure I was good, and afterwards took a solid 10 minutes to walk me through all of the different package options and benefits that come with becoming a Unite member. Love the personal service.

Packages/Pricing.  First class is FREE. Just go onto the website and sign up. You will get an email from an instructor asking what class you want to take and then all you have to do is show up! After your first class, if you think this is something you want to stick with, it definitely makes sense to buy some sort of package. Yearly and monthly memberships are a good option if you think you will make it to at least 3 classes a week (which is ideal to see results quickly, but also can be tough to accomplish). You can also buy 10 class packages or just stick with the Drop-In option. 

Specific class and teacher reviews to come soon! Enjoy!