Fitness

The Pro Athlete Workout for Lunchtime Warriors

New York’s hottest—and hardest—workout taps into adults’ nostalgia for team sports.

Photographer: Christaan Felber for Bloomberg Businessweek

It’s 20 minutes into my lunch break, and I’m already drenched in sweat. I’m at Tone House, a three-year-old fitness studio, and my class of 16 people is racing to see who has the fastest 40-yard “gallop”—think running but in a downward-facing-dog position.

Tone House is the brainchild of Alonzo Wilson, a former college football player who developed his workout philosophy training NBA stars and the occasional Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. It has two locations, both in New York: One is tucked into a formerly nondescript block near Madison Square Park, and the other, which opened in March, is on the Upper East Side. An hourlong session runs $40; the 50-class MVP pass, a yearlong membership that gives you priority booking, goes for $2,000.