Rowing is huge right now. The low-impact workout has been dubbed “the heir to spinning” and utilizes one of the most effective pieces of equipment for burning fat. (There’s a reason The Social Network used awesomely-toned Armie Hammer to portray the Harvard rowers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.) So when Crowbar Cardio, one of the few Dallas studios offering rowing, abruptly closed its doors on Greenville Avenue this summer, people were understandably distraught.
“For people who can’t run, rowing is the only cardio they like to do that burns that level of calories,” says Crowbar founder Molly Setnick.
Thankfully, she didn’t plan on being gone for long. Just before the lease was up on her Greenville Avenue studio, City Surf founder Mitchell Brown reached out to see if should would be on board to open up a new concept. “I had tried a class at Crowbar and really loved it,” says Brown. “We thought it would be a good compliment to City Surf, so I reached out to Molly, and it was just great timing.”
The new concept, City Crew, opened in Lakewood this October as the first row-specific studio in Dallas. “Crowbar offered cycling and barre, but people were mostly using ClassPass to visit us for rowing,” Setnick says. As the workout gains popularity, Setnick wants to make sure people are taught with the proper technique. Each City Crew class caps at 12 rowers so the team’s certified instructors can give attention to each student.
It’s a good time, too. The signature City Crew Class, has included a race set to a Motley Crue soundtrack and finishes with a much-needed foam rolling session on lululemon yoga mats. The high-energy playlist and wide variety of exercises makes the 30-minute HIIT class (City Circuits) feel even shorter.
Though City Crew is unique in its focus, it joins a slew of new Dallas studio openings, including three Orangetheory studios and West Village’s Barry’s Bootcamp in December. “I think it’s a combination of the fact that Dallas is a hot city right now, but also that people are realizing there’s a market here for cool, unique workouts,” says Setnick.
If those concepts include intense, low-impact, full-body workouts that are actually fun, we’ll happily welcome them all.
