How's that New Year's resolution coming? Still haven't joined a gym? No worries, the year is still young and cheaper workout options are available. The high-end gym Equinox, for instance, has gone and spun off a whole new low-cost gym, Blink, which opens Friday in the old Tower Records space on Broadway. And it is more than fair to call it bare bones. more ›

One thief's Crosby connection has dried up. Police this weekend busted Brandon Kiehm, 30, for allegedly sneaking into upscale gyms and pilfering people's possessions from their lockers. His main two targets between October and December, it appears, were the Equinox (which he hit up five times) and 24 Hour Fitness (which he hit up twice) located on Crosby Street between Prince and Houston. Kiehm is said to have taken everything from wallets to credit cards to laptops to a pair of pants. This is the latest in a long string of locker room-robberies that has annoyed New Yorkers over the years. So how did the cops get their man this time? more ›

The following post is from our advertiser, Equinox.

Better watch your gym socks! Across the city at least 41 thieves have been cleaning out health club lockers, where security cameras dare not film. Over the holidays there was a marked increase in gym locker break-ins, after which the NYPD released a poster bearing the faces of the suspected thieves. At least one of them has a gym membership (others buy day passes with stolen credit cards), and they’re expert lock-pickers, reports the NY Post. One woman who was caught demonstrated her ability to break open ten lockers in three minutes. Hardest hit have been NYC’s Equinox and NYSC franchises. In addition to cash and cards, "they go for high-end items like Rolexes, and they work all over town," a police source said. more ›

Equinox gym has taken down the illegal and controversial ads that papered its Greenwich Village building. The advertisements—which pictured women and men in various stages of undress—spurred an immediate uproar when they were pasted up a week ago. Community members filed more than 80 complaints with the Department of Buildings and, since the Equinox in question is located in the Greenwich Village Historic District, the Landmarks Preservation Commission got involved. The upscale fitness center was threatened with $5,000 a day in fines if the ads weren’t removed. To the delight of the neighborhood, the giant, unwholesome images have now been peeled down — Curbed has before and after photos. more ›

The following post is from our advertiser, Equinox Fitness Clubs.

“I basically had to start from scratch. Eleven years ago, I was in a small plane that crashed. Both the pilot and his daughter and my best friend died. The doctors said I only had a 50/50 chance to survive. 30% of my body was burned and my neck was broken in two places. I was in the hospital ICU unconscious for 30 days, I had multiple skin graft surgeries and then after I fell while trying to learn how to walk I was put in a halo—a ring that is bolted to your skull to stabilize your neck. I had to learn how to walk again, how to brush my teeth again—you name it. The best part of my recovery was going to Equinox, because I could see improvements every day. Eventually, I was able to compete in the Ford Ironman World Championships Triathlon. A theme of Ironman is ‘proving the impossible possible,’ and that is really what my recovery/story is all about.”

We've spent a good chunk of time writing about illegal advertisements, but few have been as large — or caused as much fury — as this billboard in the West Village. Ever since the Equinox Health Club wrapped its Greenwich Avenue building with seemingly illegal ads, preservationists have been up in arms, according to Curbed. more ›

The following post is from our advertiser, Equinox Fitness Clubs.

The following post is from our advertiser, Equinox Fitness Clubs.

At this very moment, 5:18 p.m., we shed ourselves of summer and enter the fall months (an explanation of the autumnal equinox can be found here). The days are darker, the air is brisker, the leaves are crunchier, the subway platform temperature is more tolerable... enjoy it before the snow cometh. more ›

It is the never-ending story of a gym spinning class clash! A judge says that Equinox is not responsible for one of its members' "spin rage" that resulted in him attacking a fellow spin class student. Of course you remember how, back in 2007, stockbroker Christopher Carter got sick and tired of hedge fund manager Stuart Sugarman's grunting, whooping and hollering "You go, girl!", Carter got off his bike and slammed Sugarman into the wall. Carter was acquitted of criminal assault charges, though the Manhattan DA's office tried to point out even if you ind someone annoying, you don't beat them up. Sugarman's suit with Equinox, faulted the gym since neither "of the two instructors tell plaintiff to lower his voice or curb his enthusiasm" and the instructors did notice Carter was annoyed by Sugarman's, um, enthusiasm but did nothing. Word to the spinning class wise: Don't be annoying, don't attack others. more ›

The six person jury in the trial of Christopher Carter – the stockbroker accused of assaulting an overly vocal spin classmate at Equinox gym – found him not guilty yesterday of a misdemeanor assault charge which could have landed him in jail for a year. Though the victim, hedge fund manager Stuart Sugarman, spent almost two weeks in the hospital undergoing surgery for a herniated disc, the jury remained unconvinced that his injuries resulted from the incident. more ›

The case of the spin class smackdown has been sparking a lot of debate about proper workout etiquette. According to the Times, the noisy behavior of Stuart Sugarman – who was thrown against the wall during a spin class by a guy who was fed up with his vocalizations – is not at all abnormal. There are too many people grunting, cursing, and hollering “Let’s do it!” in gyms all over town, and also plenty of people who’d like to shut them up with brute force. more ›

It was about nine months ago that New Yorkers were thrilled by the story of the spin class smackdown; now the case has gone to trial, and reading the testimony is like watching a montage of the all the greatest moments. For those of you just joining us, the incident was sparked at an Upper East Side gym when 44-year-old broker Christopher Carter became enraged at the grunting and bellowing from his spin classmate two bikes down, 48-year-old hedge fund manager Stuart Sugarman. more ›

The Equinox fitness club chain will soon be bringing a controversial ad campaign to New York City that features nuns sketching a male nude model. The ads are currently on display only in Boston, but will soon be shown in other cities, including NYC. The Boston Archdiocese feels that the ads are a slam against the Church and the Catholic faith. Keira McCaffrey of New York's Catholic League expressed less outrage than disdain. "It's gratuitous. It's of course … it's a slap at nuns, but you know what? It's trite. It's not even clever. This is an old cliché ... let's make fun of nuns." Bill Donahue, the head of the Catholic League, weighed in, calling the ad "patently stupid" and "sophomoric." C.J. Doyle of the Catholic Action League wasn't as dismissive, calling the ad "unfair and depraved." more ›