Roslyn Heights embraces Solidcore resistance workout

Amelia Camurati
Solidcore has opened its 22nd studio in the country in Roslyn Heights, and the community is embracing the new studio. (Photo courtesy Solidcore)

Failure happens every day at Solidcore — in a good way.

“The goal of the class is to break down your slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers and drive them to the point of failure so they can rebuild stronger next time,” Roslyn Heights studio manager Humberto Galvan said. “There’s no cardio in here, so you’re not getting your heart rate up necessarily. This is strength-based. You’re pulling against resistance springs the entire time.”

Solidcore strives to help people “create a stronger version of yourself” with a cardio-free, high-intensity workout based solely around strength training and resistance. The workout revolves around a specially designed machine, the Sweatlana, which has a stationary platform at each end with a moving carriage between them to move fluidly between crunches, lunges and planks to lengthen the muscles. The eight tension springs can be added and removed throughout the class, offering personalized levels of resistance for different movements.

Solidcore manager Humberto Galvan discovered the program in his search of an escape from the daily stress of a career in international politics. (Photo courtesy Solidcore)

Galvan, a former investment banker with a lifelong love for fitness, discovered Solidcore in its Washington, D.C. home and fell in love with the classes, using them as a release from the day-to-day grind of his job. In December, he left the banking world and became a fitness instructor and jumped at the opportunity to bring the company to New York.

“I hated it the first time, and I didn’t come back for three months,” Galvan said. “It never got easy, it’s not easy for anyone, no matter your fitness level, but I never got tired of it or bored. There was always some new way to challenge myself.”

Galvan often refers to his groups as teams, pushing them to be better as a whole and motivate each other by not giving up. The mirrored room is covered in motivational words, and even the floor under the Sweatlana has mantras for when you’re on the verge of giving in. High-fives with your neighbors to celebrate surviving the workout are also required.

Instead of barking orders, Solidcore trainers focus on motivating the class to “create the strongest version of yourself.” (Photo courtesy Solidcore)

“We have clients of all shapes, all sizes, all backgrounds, and one of the things we emphasize is you never want to typecast someone who walks in,” Galvan said. “This workout, a big portion of it is mental. It’s that capacity to push yourself a little bit further than you think. Our goal is to make your muscles shake, and that’s what muscle failure is. It’s about that ability to push past it and find the motivation, to give yourself the opportunity to do something a little more than you thought. We’re always trying to get clients to do just one more rep than they think they can do.”

Solidcore is located within @250, an upscale retail development at 250 S. Service Rd. that is also the home of SoulCycle and Bar Method, but Galvan sees his neighbors not as competition but as fellow fitness trainers all looking to help people get in shape.

Unlike many cardio-based workouts, Solidcore focuses on slow movements and holding positions to work muscles without raising your heart rate. (Photo courtesy Solidcore)

“The muscles you’re working here are your inner thigh muscles, your obliques, these teeny tiny muscles that are hard to focus on outside of this room,” Galvan said. “It’s eventually going to strengthen your athletic ability overall. What you do in here, you’re going to see results elsewhere.”

Morning and midday classes have been the most popular during opening week, with many classes booked to the 12-person class limit. Galvan said they are working with the schedule to offer more classes during the early hours. Appointments can be made in advance online.

An introductory first-class pass is $19 and single classes are $37 after that. Special opening offers are available for a $250 10-class pass, regularly $340, and a $319-per-month unlimited class pass, regularly $399.

The first New York location opened June 17 in Roslyn Heights.

What is [solidcore]? from [solidcore] on Vimeo.

 

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