Climb, Sweat, Repeat: The Vessel's New Workout Craze
So, picture this: you’re in New York City, and you’ve got the iconic Vessel at Hudson Yards right in front of you. Tourists from all over the globe are shelling out ten bucks just to climb to the top of this 16-story marvel, which boasts a whopping 2,500 steps across 154 zig-zagging flights. The views? Absolutely killer, with 80 different landings to soak it all in. But here’s the twist—some locals are seeing the Vessel as more than just a pretty sight; they’re treating it like their personal gym.
Enter the latest fitness trend: a brand-new Equinox workout class that’s got fitness enthusiasts buzzing. For a cool $55, you can run up and down the Vessel four times in just 45 minutes, and then cap it off with a tough upper body workout at the top. Sounds easy, right? Well, not quite.
“Honestly, it was way tougher than I expected,” said Edgar Irizarry, a 32-year-old tech worker from the Upper West Side who tried the class on a Tuesday morning. “You think you’re all pumped up, but as you get closer to the top, your legs start feeling like lead, and you still have two flights left to conquer.”
The classes are held on Tuesdays at 7 a.m. exclusively for Equinox members, and then on Thursdays at 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. for everyone else. But don’t forget—reservations are a must. You can’t just waltz in and expect to join the fun.
Andrew Slane, one of the instructors, mentioned that even the fittest folks find this class a real challenge. “It’s very humbling,” he said. “We’ve had marathon runners come in, and they’re like, ‘Whoa, this is no joke.’”
Christopher Vo, the Director of Group Fitness Programming at Equinox, explained that the climbing aspect is what makes this workout so unique. “It really targets your glutes and legs,” he said. “In most group fitness classes, we’re moving front to back or side to side, but rarely do we get to go vertical. Plus, it’s a killer cardio workout.”
Equinox has had its sights set on hosting a class at the Vessel since it reopened last October after a three-year closure due to some tragic events. Vo emphasized that working out in such a distinctive venue is a special experience. “Being in there, with the structure swirling around you, it’s just something else,” he said.
The class typically accommodates 20 to 25 participants. It kicks off with a stretching session at the base, then it’s time to run up the Vessel, back down, and up again. At the top, you’ll do about ten minutes of upper body resistance exercises using arm bands before heading back down for more workouts like mountain climbers and planks. And then, you guessed it, you do it all over again—well, some folks do, anyway.
“I’ve seen some runners come down and just decide they’re done,” said a staff member at the Vessel who’s been watching the early classes. It’s not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure.
Shahar Ifrah, a 24-year-old who works at the Israeli consulate, shared that one of the best perks of the class is getting to experience the Vessel before it opens to the public at 10 a.m. “It was crazy intense, amazing, and so much fun to be there without any tourists around,” she said after her Tuesday class. “I’m definitely signing up again as many times as I can.”
And let’s not forget the social media angle. She even recorded herself running up the structure on her phone. “I’m totally posting these videos,” she said with a grin. “Everyone’s gonna see that I did this!”
But, like any good workout, there are limits. At the end of the class, the instructors wanted to snap a group photo at the top of the Vessel. They told everyone they could walk, not run, but even that felt like a stretch for some. Ifrah jokingly asked, “Isn’t the elevator working?”
