For memories, focus on % damage increases for pretty much everything. Accepting Stance, Menacing Stance, Blade Tornado. For memories, go with flat damage boosts or increased damage taken for Shot, and the highest resistance to initiative delays you can find for Spirit Round.īlademaster: Take your pick between Lightning Strike and Immovable Stance I favor Lightning Strike. After not working out for a while, Rybicki said she was able to use the class to “ease myself back in.Soulslinger: Shadow Round, Spirit Haste, Detonating Shot, Spirit Round. She described the class as “spiritual” with “a couple of arm lifts or leg lifts.”īut she said she was grateful for the exercise. Laura Rybicki, who lives in Glendale, came with her sister-in-law after hearing about IntenSati on Facebook. So did the fact that other participants were so willing to try something new.

She shouted an affirmation to go with each movement and participants called them back in response - a practice she said was intended to change how people think.įrom the outside, the scene may have looked goofy, but chanting while punching the air certainly kept my spirits up and distracted me from some of the pain my body was in by that point. The IntenSati class in Forest Park was basically an aerobic workout with extremely positive energy from instructor Julia Varela. “I’m a much better friend, sister, daughter, girlfriend, employee, student and overall person as a result of intenSati,” one person wrote. Googling it will reveal a website about the practice with testimonials from students who have taken IntenSati classes (although not necessarily through Shape Up NYC). On the Shape Up schedule, IntenSati is described as an improbable combination of “dance meets kickboxing meets yoga.” As I made my way to Midtown to report on a conference, my usual breakneck walking pace had slowed significantly.ĭespite the aches, I couldn’t resist heading to Forest Park in Queens that evening for the final class on my agenda: a mystifying workout known as IntenSati. But by day three, I was feeling something else: extremely sore. I left the belly dancing class feeling euphoric from my foray back into fitness.

She had done belly dancing when she was younger and was excited to try it again - although she said she’s still practicing her “undulations,” or body rolls. “We have a lot of stuff in common.”Ĭabral said they found out about the belly dancing workout through a flier posted at the rec center when they were taking another exercise class.

“We met in a class, and we bonded,” said Cabral, who lives in Washington Heights. In addition to taking Shape Up classes together, they also take part in charity events like the AIDS walk and cancer walks. The two are now part of a group of about 10 women who call themselves the Butterfly Sisterhood, according to Cabral. Marianela Cabral, who is “close to 60,” was there with a friend whom she said she had met at a Shape Up class about eight years ago. I warmed up by biking the 20 minutes there from my apartment after work, taking advantage of the sun staying out later. My first class, Hip House Cardio, was at Fit4Dance, a dance and fitness studio in Flatbush that also offers paid courses for kids and adults and has walls adorned with pictures of students participating in the city’s annual dance parade. But in this case, there’s no financial penalty to guilt you for not showing up.Īs a newbie, classes felt inclusive and welcoming, with 20-somethings often working out alongside 60-somethings. That app allows you to try out different workout classes at discounted rates after paying an upfront monthly fee ranging from $49 to $159. If you’re willing to travel, Shape Up NYC can be used like a low-stakes version of Class Pass. But some neighborhoods have a variety of classes available throughout the week at different levels of difficulty. And there’s just one Shape Up class – Zumba – listed on all of Staten Island. Some of these workouts are only available in select locations – I schlepped from my apartment in Brooklyn to the Highbridge Recreation Center in Washington Heights to try SharQui, a belly dance class.

Othercide class guide