The new Equinox group fitness class builds a strong, resilient foundation.
Core work is rarely the main act. A couple sets of crunches and deadbugs might be added to the end of a lower-body training session, or plank variations are blended into a circuit workout.
Now, core-specific training is taking the spotlight with the launch of Core6. A new Equinox exclusive group fitness class, Core6 challenges your entire center through six distinct pathways: static stabilization, rotation, six-pack activation, posterior-chain strength, oblique control, and dynamic stabilization.
Don’t expect to do only sit-ups and planks for 45 humdrum minutes, says Andrew Slane, an Equinox group fitness instructor in New York City. “It is a full-body class, and it does crush you,” he jokes. Core6 takes a 360-degree approach to core training, ensuring that you’re working all the muscles essential to injury prevention, posture support, and power. Your rectus abdominis that sits at the front of your stomach gets plenty of attention, as do the erector spinae that run along your spine, the deep transverse abdominis that wraps around your torso like a corset, and more.
It’s a performance-enhancing experience, with SandBells that test grip strength and add instability, plus bursts of high-intensity work that elevate heart rate. Still, connection, precision, and control are prioritized.
“[Core6] feels like more of a modern, mindful HIIT class, as opposed to a [standard] HIIT class — where sometimes you end up feeling kind of depleted — or something at a slower pace,” says Amy Malloy, the group fitness manager at Equinox Westlake Village in California. “I think sometimes people confuse going slow with being mindful, and you can be mindful and move with some speed and pace. It feels like very intentional pacing, which I love.”
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The benefits last long after you leave the studio.
“This class truly teaches you how to use your core in different ways, and how you can apply that in other exercises,” Slane explains. “So if you're in a strength class and you're doing upper body, you wouldn't think, ‘Oh, lifting dumbbells over my head — I'm [just] using my shoulders. How am I going to use my core?’ In this class, it's teaching you [that] you can use your core to find that solid, foundational base for everything else that you do.” The next time you do a squat, for instance, you should be able to recognize the signs of your core firing so you can perform your best.
That’s why Slane recommends Core6 to every member, from beginners to serious athletes. “I think if you're a new member, you're going to be building body awareness, because [the instructor] talks about the alignment of the spine while you're moving,” adds Malloy.
Slane himself understands the value of core-dedicated work; after dealing with hip injuries and performance declines, he discovered he wasn’t accessing all of the muscles throughout his column when engaging his core. “When I went back to doing this type of core training, it helped me get back to the fitness level I was already at and do it at a higher level and a better level,” he says.
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With Core6, core training is no longer an afterthought — make sure to give it the concentration it deserves. “It is one of those classes where precision is key and the reps are important, and there's no need to speed through this,” says Slane. “Keeping your form as perfect as possible will help you really feel the different energy systems work and those different specific muscle groups work.”
Visit your Club for your first Core6 class or follow along with an on-demand class on the EQX+ app.