“I started SLT about six and a half years ago because I was looking for a workout that I enjoyed and that was effective, and I wasn’t finding it,” says Amanda Freeman, who had been the co-founder of a daily email about health and wellness. While in L.A., she tried the Megaformer machine and loved it so much she bought the exclusive rights to use it in certain markets and developed a fitness regime around it. SLT—for “strengthen, lengthen, tone”—subsequently became very popular, and there are now 20 locations across the Northeast.

The newest studio, on Worth Street, has a dozen Megaformers, two restrooms, a changing room, and a Baron Von Fancy mural. “The small group setting is so you receive personal attention,” she says. “Form is very important, and you’ll get both verbal cues and physical adjustments.” Each 50-minute workout involves moves performed relatively slowly, focusing on certain muscle groups at a time. Instructors have hundreds of options to choose from when building a workout, so every class should feel different.

SLT is at 87 Worth (between Broadway and Church), 212-226-6524, sltnyc.com.

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