Courtesy of www.wellandgoodnyc.com

She Sweats: I took HE to Refine Method a few months ago http://www.hesweatsshesweats.com/she-takes-he-to-refine-method/  Being a big fan of Refine Method, and an even bigger fan of Brynn, I knew I would get HE hooked on it too. When we found out Refine would be holding outdoor classes in Central Park on Monday nights during the summer, we immediately knew we had to add it to our list. This past Monday, Brynn was leading the class and it was a must-do. The class was all girls except for HE and his coworker and it was one of the hardest classes I’ve taken all summer. We walked to a grassy area at the bottom of a hill right off on 72nd street and Central Park West. Brynn had a cart full of lots of fun things….Vipr’s, jump ropes, agility ladders, TRX’s…..and stop watches. We went through a couple circuits of exercises, doing 1:30 seconds of each exercise.  At the end of each circuit we had to run up and down the hill. HE and I were having a little one on one competition with these runs. I only “let” him win one time out of four (I started to feel bad). At the very end of class, Brynn handed us each a stop watch and gave us all 10 minutes to sprint up the hill as many times as we could. This is where the stop watches came in. Each sprint had to be faster than the one before it. We were allowed to jog or walk down the hill as an active recovery before going full speed ahead on to the next sprint up the hill. Within the 10 minutes I completed 5 sprints. My last one was my fastest and I felt 150% exhausted after I finished it. Like I said before, it was a really hard class but I felt amazing the next morning when I woke up. As much as I hated those sprints, I have to say it was actually fun trying to beat your own speeds. Brynn’s classes never cease to amaze me and I can definitely say Monday’s class was the best workout I’ve been to in a while!

 He Sweats: This is the second time we are reviewing one of Brynn’s classes at Refine Method only this time we took part in an outdoor class in Central Park. In all honesty the only reason Brynn is not on my schedule more is I’m lazy in getting to the upper west side from down in the Battery. Funny calling myself lazy having run 14 miles over the weekend with a Barry’s Bootcamp addition but whatever! I brought one of my co-workers to this workout to give him a sense of the different fitness opportunities across the city. If not for him, I would have been the only male. Again. I still don’t’ get it. Some of these classes are as hard as any class I take anywhere yet I’m always the only HE showing up. We broke up into three groups for this particular class and rotated around four workstations. From TRX on a pole, triceps on a wooden fence, to planks on the grass to lunges while lifting VIPRs , this was as hard a workout as I have done anywhere. Not to mention the running up and down a hill in between! For our finale, the last 10 minutes of class involved reverse splits up and down the hill. Brynn gave us a goal of 5x. I of course did seven. I of course did not reverse spilt my final two. I mentioned to Brynn after class I found those final 10 minutes rather useful given my running schedule these days. She basically combined two customary running workouts into one exercise. I think I rather impressed Brynn with my running abilities (Thanks FitChick, it’s working). At work the next day my co-worker didn’t shut up about class and we did an internet search on Brynn. I did not know any of this about her, a great watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2eSuhSty4I  Bottom line on Brynn and her outdoor class is it was by far one of the best workouts I have done this year. Every inch of my body hurt for a couple days. My legs were jello. Not to mention can you really beat working out in Central Park in 75 degree weather. Ever? I don’t think so! If you are a runner looking for a cross training addition, an indoor cyclist or just looking for a change up from your weekly ritual and have not hit Refine Method yet, I highly recommend it. And to all you HEs out there, come out come out wherever you are!