Outdoor fitness class with REV Indoor Cycling Credit: Courtesy

REV Indoor Cycling

revindoor.com

In a year when the pandemic confined most Vermonters to one place, it’s fitting that the exercise classes that kept many of us moving were held on stationary bikes. Like all law-abiding local fitness centers, REV Indoor Cycling closed to indoor workouts in March 2020. But unlike many area gyms, REV didn’t reopen when the state eased restrictions on indoor exercise facilities last summer.

“It just didn’t make sense,” owner Sarah DeGray explained to Seven Days in January. “Indoor cycling is such a cardiovascular activity. There’s sweat, there’s spit, people breathing heavily.”

Instead, DeGray — a member of the Restart Vermont task force that advised Gov. Scott on reopening protocols for fitness centers — hosted a variety of outdoor classes in the parking lot outside her South Burlington studio throughout the spring, summer and fall.

“Not only did they bring their cross-training classes outside, but they brought bikes out so we could spin in fresh air and under the stars,” one Seven Days reader wrote. “It was incredible!”

The studio also offered a wide variety of live and prerecorded virtual classes.

“REV did an incredible job continuing to offer local fitness at a virtual level,” wrote another reader.

DeGray closed her physical facility permanently in November and has shifted to an entirely virtual model, positioning REV as a local alternative to the likes of Peloton and other corporately owned online exercise platforms.

“From spin to strength classes, [DeGray] motivated us to exercise and take care of ourselves,” another reader said. “I couldn’t have gotten through the pandemic without her.”

802 CrossFit: With a mix of indoor and outdoor classes, 802 CrossFit continued putting its members through their paces — including bicycle crunches, burpees, dumbbell kickbacks and devil’s presses — throughout the pandemic. (Essex Junction • 802crossfit.com)

Hot Yoga Burlington: Vermont’s first infrared-heated yoga studio moved to online and outdoor classes for much of the pandemic. Hot Yoga Burlington is open again but continues its online offerings, as well as outdoor sessions in scenic spots around Burlington. (Burlington • hotyogaburlingtonvt.com)

Jazzercise Williston Fitness Center: Online and in person, Jazzercise kept the beat alive through high-intensity workouts that blend strength training, cardio and killer dance moves. (Williston • jazzercise.com)

Queen City Yoga & Fitness: Outfitted with a state-of-the-art HVAC system that turns air over six times per hour, Queen City Yoga & Fitness reopened on June 1, 2020, after pivoting to online classes early in the pandemic. (South Burlington • queencityyogavt.com)

Editor note: To choose Vermont’s Pandemic All-Stars, we surveyed our readers on the people, places and programs that kept them going — and going — during the COVID-19 pandemic. Space limitations prevented us from recognizing every pick worthy of public praise.

Related Stories

Celebrating the ‘Pandemic All-Stars’ Who Helped Vermont Through a Less-Than-Stellar Time

This special issue highlights consensus favorites alongside unknown individuals quietly doing an outstanding job. We sought out Vermonters who went above and beyond in roles that became more difficult or dangerous during the pandemic — from the chefs and community volunteers who creatively kept us fed to the wastewater managers who tested our poo for viral markers. We also surveyed our readers on the people, places and programs that kept them going — and going.

This article appears in Jun 9-15, 2021.

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Dan Bolles is a culture coeditor at Seven Days. He joined the paper in 2007 as its music editor, covering Vermont's robust music, comedy and nightlife scenes for a decade before deciding he was too old to be going to the Monkey House on weeknights to...