6 Ways to Sweat This Week (Whether You Love HIIT or Just Want to Lie Down)

The last year of digital workouts has opened up a whole new world in movement: You can join a Vancouver-based Pilates class from San Francisco. Your personal trainer can correct your dead lift form from 3,000 miles away. You can completely miss your after-work yoga class, request a replay link, and down-dog to your instructor’s voice hours—or days—later. We’re glad we have these options. And we’re also stoked to get back into rooftop spin studios, beachside HIIT classes, and other IRL options when they’re able to reopen safely.

Here are six of the new studios, digital platforms, and at-home sweat sessions that have been getting us moving lately—along with some of the equipment we’ve been reaching for while we’re at it.

P.S. Our next In goop Health is a four-week program designed to deepen our connection to the body. It includes some of our favorite workouts, ways of moving, and restorative practices. Get your ticket now and we’ll see you in class.

The Personal Training App

The workout: digital personal training with Future

Here’s how this digital personal training service works: When you sign up, Future matches you with a coach based on your lifestyle and goals. That person might be a personal trainer who’s worked with Olympic swimming hopefuls, a former New York Yankees strength and conditioning coach, or a specialist in barre, Pilates, and yoga. For however long you stay with the program, your trainer is your partner. You can count on them set up your personalized workouts, text back and forth with you over the Future app, and tinker with your routine so it’s exactly as challenging as you want it to be. They’ll drop little voice notes into your workout, too, with reminders on proper form and words of encouragement.

What you need:

Future can work with whatever you’ve got, whether that’s a tricked-out home gym, access to your local sports club, or a lone pair of dumbbells. You’ll get the most out of the Future experience if you invest in some basics—weights, resistance bands, and a kettlebell are a good place to start.

The Iconic Spin Class

Angela Manuel-Davis wearing AARMY hoodie

The workout: cycle with AARMY’s Angela Manuel-Davis

If you’ve ever reached enlightenment on a stationary bike, you might already know the magic of trainer Angela Manuel-Davis. For the uninitiated, Manuel-Davis is a legend in the cycling world—her classes have been described as “church” more than a few times. These days, you can train with her through AARMY, the cycle and boot camp studio she cofounded with trainer Akin Akman. The (joyful, electric) energy in the room is potent, whether you’re joining on demand, tuning in live over Zoom, or practicing in person at AARMY studios in New York and LA. As in: You might cry in the best, most cathartic way.

What you need:

Spinning is AARMY’s cornerstone practice, so access to a stationary bike is certainly good to have. For boot camp sessions, Manuel-Davis suggests a pair of hand weights and a set of resistance bands, but she notes that you can go without equipment and still get a killer workout. Some of her athletes even join digital classes just to listen to her coaching while they go out for a run or hike.

The Mind-Centering Yoga Flow

The workout: yin and vinyasa yoga with Erin Sanders

Joining Erin Sanders for twice-weekly yoga feels like a workout date with your coolest friend. Sanders streams classes from her cozy LA living room, setting her flows to the kind of rhythm-driven electronic music that will have you seeking out her playlist. She leads with generous instruction—where to direct tension in a half or full bind, how to squeeze the pelvic floor to create alignment in crescent, when to release all effort and sink into savasana—and finishes off with snippets of yogic wisdom. It’s all in the spirit of curiosity and play: What can you discover about yourself in a deep twist or in the transition from upward facing dog to down?

What you need:

In yin and vinyasa both, the name of the game is support. Blocks are great to have on hand—Sanders prefers ones from Manduka—as are blankets, bolsters, and pillows.

The Energy-Shifting Pilates Class

The workout: Pilates with A La Ligne’s Katie McKenzie and Taren Grewall

In online and in-person sessions, Vancouver-based studio A La Ligne combines classic Pilates movements with the wisdom and breathwork of Qigong. The method is energetically powerful. As you move through and between movements, cofounders Katie McKenzie and Taren Grewall help guide your breath in order shift mind, body, and spirit into a state of alignment.

What you need:

Just yourself, some clothes you can move and sweat in, and a stable, grippy mat. You can add light hand weights or ankle weights to help build strength, if you’d like.

The Fascia Release

The workout: fascia flossing with Bonnie Crotzer

Professional dancer, yoga instructor, and fascia flossing coach Bonnie Crotzer teaches a specialized form of stretching meant to target the dense connective tissue that wraps around your muscles and bones. It involves resisting a stretch while you elongate the muscles involved. And it feels really good. The goal is to leave a session feeling mobile, loose, and energized. You can join Crotzer’s livestreamed flossing classes from wherever you are; expect plenty of instruction (she knows many of us are new to this) and spiels on anatomy and energy meridians. If you’re in NYC, you can also work with Crotzer one-on-one for assisted stretching sessions.

What you need:

Crotzer recommends having a pair of yoga blocks around—you might place a hand on each for support or press one between your knees to activate the thighs—but you could use pillows, books, or sturdy water bottles instead. It also helps to wear something that allows your full range of motion and doesn’t get in the way, like a stretchy leggings set or a tee and your favorite pair of sweats.

The All-Out Sweat Session

The workout: infrared sauna

This isn’t really a workout. But we included it here because an infrared sauna will get your heart rate up and certainly make you sweat. Some sauna devotees opt to visit a spa or specialized studio near them. That’s a great option, and it often comes with luxe accoutrements, like towel service, color therapy, and post-sweat plunge pools. But the easiest and cheapest way to get consistent access to an infrared sauna is to get your hands on an infrared sauna blanket, which is simple to use and compact enough to keep at home. Just dress accordingly (more on that below), preheat the blanket to a level that’s comfortable for you, and wrap yourself up to sweat it out for up to fifty minutes at a time.

What you need:

If you go the sauna blanket route, there’s a dress code. You’ll want to wear something breathable—opt for materials like cotton and modal—that covers you from shoulder to toe. (While infrared heats the body from the inside out, the sauna blanket does get hot to the touch: Long sleeves, pants, and thick socks will protect your skin.) Make sure you have plenty of cool water nearby, too.