This /IMPACT/ Group Fitness review is a part of a series featuring boutique gym reviews!
/Impact/ Group Fitness Studios are local to Hoboken and Jersey City in New Jersey. If you have been looking to try a group fitness studio in the area, you’re in the right place! Impact focuses on sculpting your body by mixing together strength and cardio. It doesn’t matter if you are a total beginner or a fitness pro, the classes are for everyone!
This post is all about what to expect at your first /Impact/ Group Fitness class!
What Exactly is /Impact/ Group Fitness?
/Impact/ was created by Caroline Lellouche, a former barre and megaformer pilates fitness instructor. Caroline started teaching classes virtually during the pandemic and ran with it! She created /Impact/ Group Fitness as a safe space for EVERYONE to practice fitness and embrace their own healthy lifestyle. /Impact/ is LGBTQ-friendly and body neutral. Their slogan is “Group Fitness for Every Body”. Come as you are to class and you’ll be sure to find an upbeat instructor and classmates who truly look like “real people”.
How Many Locations are There?
/Impact/ first opened its doors in the spring of 2021. Caroline quickly grew the company to 3 studios in less than two years! There are two locations in Hoboken, NJ, and one location in Jersey City. Keep an eye out for a studio near you as /Impact/ is expanding quickly! All locations require street parking so plan to arrive early if you are driving as parking can be a little tricky at each location.
What Types of Classes Does Impact Offer?
/Impact/ Fitness offers 8 different core classes to choose from. SCULPT, BARRE, PILATES, and FLOW are low-impact classes. You’ll find HIIT, CIRCUITS, STRENGTH, and DANCE to be high-impact classes. While I have personally tried most of the classes that Impact has to offer, I find myself always going there for their low-impact classes! All of the core classes run for 45 minutes and you can always catch an Express class if you only have 30 minutes to sneak a workout in! Classes start as early as 6:30 am and run as late as 8:15 pm so you are sure to find one that fits perfectly into your day.
What Do I Wear to Class?
Whatever you are comfortable wearing! You’ll find that most other classmates wear leggings and a tank top. Some people prefer a cropped or fitted tank, but truthfully wear whatever feels comfortable! The most important thing to note is that LOW IMPACT classes usually require grip socks and HIGH IMPACT classes typically require sneakers. If you aren’t sure, the class description on the scheduler tool will usually note whether to wear grip socks or sneakers! One other thing that I have noticed is that the studio on Willow in Hoboken seems to get a little humid with everyone sweating. I definitely recommend wearing a tank top and leggings made of poly or nylon to help wick away the sweat!
Favorite Grip Socks: Cooque Grip Yoga & Barre Socks
Favorite Leggings on a Budget to Wick Away Sweat: CRZ Yoga Utili-Dry Leggings 25″
F3 Workout Must-Haves
Tell Me About the Studio!
The /Impact/ studio on Willow in Hoboken has a light and airy feel to it. As soon as you walk in, you’ll be greeted by someone at the front desk and find a little bit of studio merchandise next to them. Don’t worry, they sell grip socks at the studio if you forget yours! Just past the desk, you’ll find small lockers and a coat rack to store your stuff. There is a long and narrow studio room for express classes and personal training and a second studio for the larger 45-minute classes. In each room, you’ll find a mat already set up. Look to the instructor mat to see what props you might need for class and then head over to the bins on the side to grab them!
After class is over, you’ll find beautiful bathrooms with two shower stalls. Not all studios offer showers, but finding one is like a hidden gem! Sometimes you want to work out before running to work or out for a night with friends and having a shower on-site helps you to do it all and squeeze a workout into your busy day!
How was /Impact/ SCULPT?
For the purpose of this review, I took /Impact/ SCULPT with the owner, Caroline! This class uses a variety of props which helps to always keep it interesting! We used sliders, ankle weights, a resistance band, and a set of light weights. You can follow the instructor’s recommendations for weight or go a little heavier based on your own fitness level.
The class starts with a quick warmup, typically involving some planks to warm up your core and get a little dynamic stretch in. After, we moved into a leg series with the slider for a quick burnout. In this class, you’ll typically work your right side and then your left side before moving on to your next move. We then used our lightweights to do an arm series. The arms are ALWAYS a killer because you don’t bring your arms to rest for the entire duration of the song! After arms, we used our resistance bands and ankle weights to work out our glutes. Caroline is always good about checking form during glutes since it’s one of the hardest to do correctly with those heavy weights on your ankles!
BTW- You can always drop the weight if it’s ever too much! Bodyweight is still heavy! Every class ends with a core burner, typically 4 exercises that you repeat 3 times. Once you’ve made it to the end of class, you’ll have a few minutes to cool down in a calm, meditative state followed by static stretches.
Before class starts, the instructor will always ask if you have any injuries and give you recommendations on how to modify specific moves that will come up during the workout. While I didn’t find this class to have many modifications based on fitness level as we went along, most of the other classes do have options to kick up the exercise or take it down a notch. Most importantly, you should always listen to your own body. Some days you can push harder than others- you aren’t going backward if you have to take it a little easier in one class versus another.
Related Studio : Mess Method
Break It Down For Me
PROS
- Lockers(self-lock) to Store your Stuff
- Showers
- Nice Mats to Workout on
- Upbeat Instructors
- Enough Weights for Everyone
- Restorative Stretch and Cool-Down
CONS
- No spray deodorant
- Slightly humid studio
- Mats a little close to each other
Would I do it again?
Absolutely! As I mentioned, I especially LOVE the low-impact classes. Barre is another one of my favorite classes here because it’s faster-paced than your typical barre workout!
How Do I Book a Class?
If you’re interested in trying a class at /Impact/ Group Fitness, you can book directly on their website or through Classpass. Be sure to check their website for new client specials!
This post was all about why you should try /Impact/ Group Fitness in Hoboken and Jersey City!
As always, be sure to check out other boutique gym studio reviews below!
