AKT

At AKT, everything is top quality: the routines, the instructors, the music, the choreography, and yes, the showers—actually, perhaps the showers should have been listed first. It also doesn’t exactly come cheap. But read on.

Founded by celebrity trainer Anna Kaiser, this studio offers four kinds of classes—our favorites are Dance and Mixer. Both are primarily a fitness class, but if you haven’t danced much before, the high-energy choreography will feel like the real deal.

Dance is broken up into cardio (dance!) and tone intervals—one each for arms, butt and legs, and abs. The strength portions are made up of repetitive movements using your own body and small hand weights. At first, you’ll be excited to mix it up. Then, you’ll be exhausted. If you don’t wake up the next day feeling the burn, please use your extra energy to come by our office and tell us your secrets. Speaking of, if you’re expecting instructor corrections, this is where you’ll find them. They let you do your thing during the cardio.

The pump-up music throughout the dance routine is on point, think good remixes and ample Usher. And the moves are perfectly coordinated to the beat. The choreography can be a little intimidating at first, particularly when the regulars have the moves down pat. It’s a little cliquey, but if you like it enough to become a regular, don’t sweat it, after a couple weeks of class you’ll be asking how their weekends were, too. And you’ll nail the moves because the same sequence is repeated throughout the class, and the routine stays the same for three weeks.

The studio is trendy, but the instructors are welcoming. And damn, those showers. If you can swing it, take one here. The whole place smells amazing and, well, that’s always a good sign.

AKT is a slightly more down-to-earth and less confusing version of Tracy Anderson. (The rooms aren’t heated and the routines feel a bit easier to follow.) It’s not quite as culty as the #TAMILY, but it’s still pretty expensive. Many classes at AKT go for a full hour though, which we guess helps to compensate for the high price.

Overall, AKT is an all-rounder: It’s dance inspired, but fitness first. The resistance training and dance cardio cover all the main muscle groups. And the amenity and shower situation will allow you to sweat it out before or after work. If you’re looking to go all-in, AKT offers nutrition services and streaming workouts, too. Most importantly: The instructors here have so much energy, that you may genuinely feel like you’re on a cruise, and that’s worth a pretty penny. We always feel like they’re running the class and the music, not the other way around.