As a newly established Manhattan commuter, I can personally attest to the monotony that can often accompany the daily work routine. From home to office and back again, the active hours in the day are quickly drained away.
For anyone else in a similar situation, I recommend adding a little spice to your evening by learning something new or finding a fun way to exercise. Check out the following classes:
Full-On Fitness
The brand-new Ripped Fitness location inside Rye Ridge Plaza is bringing an exciting edge to the Westchester exercise circuit. The gym has created a combination treadmill and boot camp circuit class—a hybrid exercise for runners and strength trainers alike.
Founder Brian Ripka is looking to establish what he calls a “high-end and luxurious” workout experience. The one-hour-long treadmill/boot camp classes are set up so that 40 trainees can rotate between 20 Woodway treadmills and 20 boot camp stations. Start times are 5:30 and 6:30 pm, with a 7:30 session possible “if there’s an appetite for that time,” according to Ripka, who vows that participants will feel faster, stronger, and better—in no particular order. rippedfit.com
Mastering a Meal
Want to improve your cooking skills? Sur la Table of White Plains offers regular classes exploring “the art and soul of cooking.” The store itself, located at The Westchester mall, is brimming with every cooking tool and appliance you could imagine. But the real gem is the homey and intimate kitchen tucked away in the back-right corner. It’s in this welcoming space that classes of varying themes are held almost every evening at 6:30 pm. Topics have ranged from “Mastering Fish and Seafood” and “Delicious Vegetarian Cooking” to “Essential Knife Skills.”
Classes change seasonally to make best use of the freshest produce and ingredients. Offerings might include “Fall Soup and Stews,” “Holiday Tamale Workshop,” or “New Year’s Eve Dinner.” In addition, Girls Night Out and Date Night gatherings are regularly scheduled. Hands-on classes can accommodate up to 16 people, with twice as many spots available for demonstrations.
As a bonus, Sur la Table gifts its students with a discount to use in the retail store during the week after class—just what you need to stock up on the necessary tools and ingredients for creating culinary masterpieces at home. surlatable.com
Stretch Out the Stress
Yoga provides a combination of exercise and relaxation-therapy that can make for the perfect end to a long workday. Studios have been popping up all over the county, with one of the most celebrated being The Yoga Loft at Bedford Post.
The upstairs studio is an airy space above Bedford Post’s barn restaurant. “The studio is a beautiful space, [with] soaring ceilings and an open view of the surrounding gardens and trees,” says Deb Mehne, a seasoned yogi hailing from Pound Ridge. But it’s the class offerings and the teachers that make the Bedford-based loft-studio shine beyond its post and beam frame. Studio Director Rebekah Jacobs explains, “They honor the rhythm of nature, tune into the season, provide space for you to explore your own unique expression, and give options so everyone feels welcome.” Jacobs adds that the teachers and classes adapt to help you channel your energy towards overcoming “whatever challenge you may have on any given day.”
The class offerings are plentiful. As Jacobs says, “You can get your groove on in a sweaty alignment-based Vinyasa class or enjoy a therapeutic, gentle, restorative, or Feldenkrais class to dive into the subtleties of mind-body awareness.” On Tuesdays, an Iyengar class for all abilities is held from 6:30-8 pm, using props to enhance positioning and alignment. Other evening sessions occur on Thursdays at 4, 6 and 7:15 pm. bedfordpostinn.com/yoga-loft
We also recommend:
- Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center (Yorktown Heights) – Couples Cooking, Beer Making and more
- Z8 Fitness (White Plains) – Zumba work-outs and salsa programs set against a background of hypnotic Latin rhythms
- Wine Geeks Armonk (Armonk) –
- A flavorful assortment of wine
- classes from 7-8:30 pm
