Swimming pool from underwater. (iStock)
I’ve always seen paddle boarding as the ultimate celebrity workout: beachy, rigorous enough to get dewy (but not drenched) and a chance to preen in a bikini.
So when I heard about TMPL gym’s floating board-based workout class, Holy Water, I signed up in a flash.
It’s one of the newest offerings from David Barton’s outpost in Hell’s Kitchen. Available via sign-up to TMPL members and to those who purchase day passes ($50), the class does not involve paddling, but it’s as close as you can get to the boldface workout in the New York wintertime.
Holy Water takes place on a floating exercise mat that’s loosely tethered to the side of the pool on one side and a rope on the other. The 45-minute workout starts with a quick series of yoga poses before speeding up into squats, pushups, mountain climbers and more.
The moves weren’t your typical vinyasa flow. At one point, we were told to do the “stripper cat” — gyrating our shoulders forward, down, over and back up, all on our hands and knees, while balancing on our boards.
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