I used to be jealous of NYC and LA for having so many fitness studios to choose from but those feeling are quickly dissipating. Another new fitness studio in the Back Bay has opened up this month with a swanky exterior. Welcome, BFX Studio to Boston!

Last week, BFX opened it’s doors to eager fitness enthusiasts offering up free classes. The upstairs reminds me of an NYC or LA Equinox, which to me are slightly nicer than their Boston counterparts. You then walk downstairs to find two large fitness studios and a personal training floor area. There are two beautiful locker rooms for men and women with plenty of lockers and showers with organic Intelligent Nutrients shower products, a filtered water station, towel service and more. I didn’t count the showers but there were at least 4, I think. 

This is the 4th location for BFX, the other 3 being in Manhattan. Their schtick is being a luxury studio that offers master classes, personal training and top of the line amenities. I was impressed with how pretty the studio build out really was. The studios each had TV’s which I assume will be used soon but for what I’m not positive, maybe heart rate displays??

One studio has spin bikes as well as TRX, sandbags and punching bags. There are spin classes that use the bikes as well as a class called Fusion which combines riding the bike for 30 minutes with TRX/weights for 30 minutes. I did not have a chance to try it but I was promised that it is hard. It sounds similar to a Barry’s dirty 30 if you have ever been lucky to take one.

Booty By Brabants Review

Other class offerings include Box and Bell, Barre and Burn. I have been dying to take Booty By Brabants with Kelly for a long time and finally was able to take a class with the master herself at 5:30 on Thursday evening. Kelly teaches her class at a couple other studios in Boston but the timing has never worked with my own training schedule so I jumped at the opportunity to try it.

Our spots were set up with a booty band, glider, towel and mat. No weights! The format of the class was a surprise to me. Each song was choreographed to an ass kicking sequence. The 3-5 minutes were all very different and kept me from getting bored. The movements were to the beat of the songs which always makes me work harder.

Without using weights, my ass was kicked. Kelly does the workout with you so just when you think you are going to fall over from shaking legs, she changes it up. It’s hard but not “oh my god, the instructor couldn’t even do that workout” hard. I felt great leaving and my lower body was sore until Sunday proving misery is not the only way to a good effective workout. I was surprised at how sore I was given how much I LIKED the class. I will totally go back again and now I can see why her class at The Club is sold out week after week.

There were squats, lunges, bridges, jumping jacks but also abs, arms and chest! I thought the workout would just be legs but it was not. We did a simple but effective pushup/mountain climber series, weightless arm series that burnt out my shoulders with just a towel and planks. Kelly’s energy was the best part. She made you smile and want to keep going. It was tough sticking to the beat of the music at times, but since she does it with you, it makes it that easier.

Kelly also has her own line of leggings, also called Booty by Brabants. She is wearing them in the photo above and they come in tons of fun colors and are very flattering. The girls in Boston wear them to the clubs even at night.

BFX studios is not on ClassPass yet but they are offering a special until the end of June, $150 for unlimited classes which is a pretty great deal considering a pass like that at a Barry’s or FlyWheel is double or more. You can buy a class package, a monthly membership or just drop in for a single class.

You’ll recognize some of the instructors from other studios around Boston including Kelly and Cassie Brown from The Club, Celeste Platt from BSC, Dan (who is the former manager at FlyWheel), Jennifer Hanway from Exhale and more.

BFX is located at 699 Boylston Street, the same block as Sweetgreen!