Rowing is a great form of cardio and it’s a great way to switch things up, to get away from the typically everyday treadmill or elliptical routine. I’ve been trying out a few different rowing classes and discovered Current rowing studio. It started out as a great strictly rowing workout and I loved it. But, after things got too hot, I called it a quits.

The studio has stationary rowers, so you’re pulling back and pushing forward by using your core. Try at least 3 classes per week for a few weeks straight and you should have some serious definition in your abdominals soon enough. Talk about abs for days!!!

The studio is located right on Church Street in TriBeCa, but basically in Chinatown. And like a lot of these small fitness studios in the lower Manhattan area, Current had a long flight of stairs to climb up before and after class. I’m not complaining because I see it as a tiny addition to my workout. While there isn’t a full locker room, there are lockers to store your valuables and other belongings. Each locker allows you to use a temporary unique code, so don’t stress out about forgetting your lock at home. Cold water bottles are available for purchase and there is a room temperature water container to fill up your own water bottle.

I find that the mostly white studio is really energizing and the accents of blue create sort a calming effect; just a little color psychology there. Current often refers to their rowers as boats, which obviously goes along with their branded theme, for any of the marketing-curious minds. The classroom has about three rows of rowers (a.k.a “boats”) and I believe fits about 20 to 25 athletes at a time. Don’t quote me on these numbers, since they’re strictly based on my memory.

The classroom itself is all black and often kept dark, with a large wall to wall mirror in the front of the room, which is great for those grammable post-workout shots. And the instructor is a bit high up on a platform, so it makes it easy to see her or him during class. This is a great way of ensuring students can maintain their form, by watching the instructor demonstrate that form throughout class. And then there are also large candles in the front of the room, circled around the instructor, in which she or her will blow them out periodically until the room gets completely dark at the end of class. The dark room, candles and huge mirror sort of remind me of Soul Cycle.

The workout is quick, but gets the job done. Classes are either 20 or 30 minutes long and strictly consist of rowing. The goal is to row to the beat of the music. And what’s really cool, is that if everyone in class is rowing to the beat, then the entire class will row in unison. Not sure why, but I just find it really encouraging when I feel like I’m keeping up with the rest of my team.

The instructors do a great job of demonstrating the correct form throughout the entire class, especially since it’s easy to get sluggish towards the middle of class when your body starts feeling tired. Reese is my favorite instructor! I’ve been to a few themed rides with her and I also really liked the Sunday morning classes.

Complaints?

It’s too damn hot!

Please keep in mind that I started rowing at Current in the middle of the Summer. When I first started working out at Current, maybe for my first two or three classes, the studio was kept at a comfortable room temperature and the lockers and changing areas were air conditioned. When I returned for another class about a week later, it was hot as hell in the studio and even hotter in the classroom. So I asked the owner, Josh, what gives. He said that it was intentional because clients had requested it and that it’s better for the muscles to work out in a hot room. I asked what the temperature was because it seemed hotter than any hot yoga class that I’d ever been to; he had no idea. Because I had a package of classes to use up, I booked a few more class with other friends and fellow bloggers to get me through it, and most shared the same experience that I did. Generally, they thought it was fun to try out, but not a good fit for them because it was just way too hot. I had one of my guests walk out in the middle of class because the heat was so unbearable. When I spoke to Josh again about the issue regarding the heat, he showed no signs of sympathy and recommended coming to an earlier class around 5:30 PM or 6:00 PM, because the room starts off slightly cooler. And this is when, Josh finally said that Current had transitioned in a “hot rowing studio,” which is not advertised anywhere on their website or social media. And at that point, Current was not going to offer both cool and hot anytime soon because “not many clients requested cooler classes,” which was very hard to believe because so many other rowers in my class expressed the same concerns and had no intentions of returning to current.

Just to be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with hot rowing, but if that is indeed what type of fitness studio Current claims to be, then just make it official. Call yourself a “hot rowing studio.” Otherwise, it just seems like the venue is too cheap to turn on the air conditioner in the Summer. I could certainly understand if they wanted to keep the classroom warm, but what’s the excuse for not providing air conditioning in the main studio and changing room area or even the restroom?

B.Y.O.T.

And what makes this whole heat thing so unreasonable is that the studio charges a $2 rental fee for towels. How do you run a so-called “hot rowing studio” and charge rowers a rental fee for borrowing towels? That’s ridiculous! In the beginning, the studio actually charged $3 for what they call “towel service,” but then lowered the price to $2 due to client feedback. I feel that towel rentals should be complimentary with your class at any fitness studio, especially if it is meant to be a “hot” workout, but that’s just my two cents.

Bottomline

I enjoyed Current at first, but things just didn’t workout and I don’t feel like it was a great fit for my fitness routine. But, it never hurts to try something new. So don’t let me discourage you. Go ahead and book your boat! Some more about this fitness studio… Current made it on this list, where I found a few other rowing studios to try out. I also came across this review from Emily Arata at Elite Daily, who tried a rowing class at Current, when the studio first opened.

Personally, I love cardio and 30 minutes of rowing is a good fit for me. If you want to step it up a notch and throw in some weights in your next rowing workout, maybe you should give Rowgatta a try.