Row House Columbus Circle

I finally took a rowing class. I really enjoy rowing. When I lived in Boston for a short period of time, I used to row on the water and loved it.

And don't let rowing fool you. It is TOUGH! First thoughts about the class:

1- It is farther than I had expected from the train. I forget how far apart the avenues are uptown sometimes.

2- The front desk girl was very nice. Front desk employees are key at studios. It sets such an impression on your entire experience there. She checked me in, talked to me about the lockers, and then told me she was taking my picture for my profile. Which was weird. And I didn't really like it, but I was already running a tad late so I went with it.

3- No locker rooms. Two bathrooms, with showers in each. There are small cubby lockers in the space before the classroom that are self locking.

4- The instructor was in the doorway greeting everyone. She greeted me, and told me where to pick up a towel etc. Even though she greeted me, she seemed less than excited to be there.

5-She did briefly ask about injuries. When I told her a few of mine (again I don't like it when instructors ask in front of the whole class, as it's not always something members want everyone to hear). I told her about my hip, and she looked at me like "Um, why are you here? You know this is a rowing class, where you'll be using your hip flexors primarily." Which I totally get. I just told her I would modify if need be.

6- She explained how to row for about 5-10 minutes in the beginning. Although she did not expain the terminology she was using. She kept saying rowing terms, and shouting at numbers on the screen. I was confused needless to say.

7-The class itself was medium difficulty class. Only due to the rowing part. It was about 3/4 on the rower, and the rest on the ground doing body weight exercises. I wouldn't go there as a die hard fan for my sole place to workout. But it was definitely a good sweat session.

8- Her energy was low. Her voice was saying the right encouragements, but she looked like she was not feeling us at all. I'm sure she is a very nice girl, and she was not rude or snotty in any way. It was just not "there". She kept skipping ahead in the playlist, which is quite disruptive. And walking around looking at her watch primarily the whole time.

9- There is no water fountain in the classroom or front desk area. This is bizarre to me. I was dying for water half way through, and asked where I could fill mine up. She said it was downstairs, and I would need to take the elevator. I didn't want to miss half the class going downstairs to refill, so I just died the rest of the class of thirst.

**Overall I would give Row House a 3 out of 5 rating. It was solid. If I was popping around the neighborhood and someone asked me to take class (on their dollar) I would definietly do it. But I probably wouldn't go there on the regular. Showers are a big deal to me too. They weren't the nicest of facilities, and I didn't see any towels anywhere.

***Try Row House. It is a good workout. I might try other Rowing classes around the city to compare.