Where: Crunch, 404 Lafayette Street, New York, NY

I Feel So Close To You Right Now, It's a Force Field

Actually, I don't really feel close to anyone because this classroom is oddly spacious, but that ain't no thang. This wasn't the hardest spin class of time, but man-o-man was it FUN. I literally felt like I was clubbing. I LOVED IT.

[Click here to review Tomas's class yourself, or check out his RateYourBurn profile here.]

On Tomas.

• Somewhat stoic, but also has a silly dancing style (and he does a lot of dancing up on the stage).
• Stylish! He donned a beanie, one of those t-shirts with the semi see-through pattern, lulu sweats with the thick drawstrings, and sneaks. Very all-American boy. Like what I would try to force my boyfriend to wear.
• Never got on the bike - stayed on the platform jamming out and gesticulating to let us know when we should be coming up and down out of the saddle.
• Did a fantastic job timing the music to the class.
• Has a really dry, funny sense of humor. In the cooldown, some song came on about "sitting next to you by a stream" or something and Tomas goes "Oh my god NO this is SO BORING" and changed it immediately. Hilarious.

Honestly, this class was SO FREAKING FUN. Tomas was just an amazing curator - music, attitude, lights, beat - and the time flew by. Love love love.

Music

The tunes were absolutely outstanding. Seriously, couldn't have asked for anything more on the music front.

• Clubby music
• A little Michael Jackson thrown in
• Rihanna - not the overplayed stuff tho
• NEW FAVE SPIN SONG! Feels so close by Calvin Harris. SO GOOD. As I write this review I am listening to it on repeat.

On the class.

• Started out with some sprinting and ended with some sprinting, but the majority of this class was in second and third position to a solid beat, with intermittent runs in second.
• For a large portion of the class, Tomas was repeating right-left-right-left. His voice is perfect for counting, so it totally works. This was a class where I was really invested in being completely on-beat at all times.
• Only 5 minutes of this class, total, was in the saddle.
• My only criticism is that from minutes 5-20 we were riding basically to the same beat. Every song was amazing, but it would have been cool to throw in a song with a sprint to break it up.

On the classroom/energy.

I came in this class expecting to friggin' hate the layout.

• The room is spacious, and it's at the end of a long hallway (what is with the long basement hallways, Crunch?) and it has no door. 
• The room is set up so the instructor sits in the middle and each half of the room faces his bike. 
• If you're standing in the hall, you are looking squarely at the teacher stand, which must be super distracting for the instructors. 
• Finally, there's like a laundry room in the back so the cleaning people were literally walking in and out the whole time.

All of this aside, it actually ended up being totally cool. Tomas embraced the space and used it well. Crunch pimps out their group fitness rooms with various club paraphernalia, and this one had a blacklight, disco ball, and some other crazy lights. Supa-fun.

Furthermore, the majority of the class was spent bopping from second position to third position, and it was a huge pump-up to be watching the other half of the class move in total unison.

OMG look at Tomas jumping!

AND THEN

...I followed him home.

Literally, I followed him for like 3 blocks. Not intentional, I swear...

In sum

Basically, Tomas just has it. He seems a tiny bit introverted, but I think if he could break open a little bit he would really be insanely one of the best instructors ever. I mean, he's already a favorite.

Find out more about Crunch Fitness at www.crunch.com

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