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The pool and atrium at the Manhattan Plaza Health Club.
(Photo: Susan Oristaglio/Courtesy of MPHC) |
SWIMMING
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- Manhattan Plaza Health Club
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482 W. 43rd St., 212-563-7001
This 25-yard rooftop pool is not only as big as they come in New York, but it’s also enclosed by glass for a balmy greenhouse effect. And you can literally catch a breeze, thanks to the retractable glass roof and the outdoor terrace sundeck, open from Memorial Day weekend.
TRAINERS
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- Madison Square Club
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210 Fifth Ave., 212-683-1836
David Kirsch is the headliner, but the stellar group of ten trainers he’s assembled should not be overlooked. There is only personal training in this intimate three-room space, and it’s all about one-on-one dedication: The trainers stay up nights concocting combinations, and they treat their clients like family.
NUTRITIONISTS
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- Casa SPA & Fitness
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540 Park Ave., 212-223 -9280
The key to Casa’s diets is that they’re built around clients’ existing habits, even if those habits include chocolate, cheese, and carbohydrates. Though the advice is often restrictive, nutritionists will shop with you, try to work around your cravings, and even come over to clean out your kitchen.
PEOPLE-WATCHING
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- The Sports Club/LA
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330 E. 61st St., 212-355-5100
Demi Moore, Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger . . . Sightings at these posh club locations read like a paparazzi hit list. If the celebs don’t attract your attention, the regular clientele may—numerous members have married after meeting over cocktails on the expansive rooftop terrace.
PERKS
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- The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers
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Pier 60, 212-336-6000
Once you pay the $500 starter fee, you’ll get a laundry list of freebies that includes fitness and swimming evaluations, personal-training orientations, specialty training sessions (Pilates, boxing, or climbing), guest passes, and 25 percent off a spa treatment. Even after that, your I.D. card is still worth 10 percent off various services.
LOCKER ROOMS
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- The Gym
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11 E. 26th St., 212-889-3003
Both levels here are especially gleaming, with spotless equipment, but it’s the locker rooms we love: plenty of clean towels that actually smell like fabric softener, good water pressure in the showers, and well-stocked supplies of shampoo, soap, and conditioner.
PILATES
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- Power Pilates at Equinox
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97 Greenwich Ave., 212-352-8070
Most gym-based Pilates classes are taught by multitasking instructors who could be teaching cardio sculpt next. The staff here are all senior teachers, trained at the main Power Pilates studio in Chelsea, and the atmosphere is unusually serene—the sun-filled fourth-floor studio has views of 12th Street.