This “Guest blog” was completed by NYC Dads Group member John H. about our experience at MY Gym on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Thanks John, for sharing your perspective! The feedback from our group gave this class a score of 5.0 out of a possible 5.0!

Last week the NYC Dads Group was offered a demo class at the new east side location of My Gym; a children’s fitness center in Manhattan. Our group had previously ventured to the west side location, which was a lot of fun so I was excited to see what this new venue had to offer. This stroller-friendly gym is located on the ground floor at 250 E. 60th St. and has classes tailored to babies and children 6 weeks to 11 years old. Our dad’s group has children that went beyond the range of their typical single class (ex. Tiny Tikes is 7 months – 13 months), but the enthusiastic staff accommodated each individual child.

As in the west side location, this My Gym offers trampolines, soft stairs, a ball pit, bouncy swings for the young children, and graduated swings for the toddlers as well as an impressive zipline. This new location seemed brighter and more open than the established My Gym on W. 66th and both gyms appeared to be immaculate and well-maintained. The demo class was an hour long, starting with the staff leading the dads in interactive, athletic activities. We then split off so that each child could experience the equipment (at their own pace) meant to increase agility skills and tumbling. The music that played in the background was neither intrusive nor annoying.

I may have been overly enthusiastic during our first experience at My Gym, forcing my then 5 month old son onto the zipline for which his lack of enthusiasm was quickly made clear, This time, he was old enough to be entertained by much more of the equipment available and giggled his way across the room. In this way, My Gym might be an experience that dads of children older than 6-9 months might want to consider. Tiny Tikes, the 3 time per week class for 7-13 month olds runs $199 for 4 weeks, making it a fairly good deal when comparing parent & me classes. Overall, the east side My Gym offers the same accessible classes and clean tumbling equipment but with a new larger and brighter facility; one of the best places we’ve ever been.