Mind and Body

Break a low-impact, high-results sweat at new Crowbar Cardio fitness studio

Crowbar Cardio is the only studio in Dallas with RealRyder bikes.
RealRyder Indoor Cycle
Owners Karen Soltero and Molly Setnick believe in "wrecking your workout, notyour body."
Crowbar Cardio/Facebook
Crowbar Cardio focuses on low-impact, sweat-inducing workouts.
Photo courtesy of Crowbar Cardio
Crowbar Cardio co-owners Molly Setnick and Karen Soltero with barre instructorVlada Gorbaneva.
Crowbar Cardio/Facebook

Fitness studio Crowbar Cardio opened at Greenville and Belmont avenues two months ago — reminding us to squeeze back into our now-tighter workout pants.

At Crowbar, it's all about low-impact but intense exercise routines. Co-owners and longtime friends Karen Soltero and Molly Setnick believe in "wrecking your workout, not your body." That comes as a relief to people with joint issues or those of us who simply don't want to feel like we are killing ourselves during a workout.

"We were very aware of what impact sports can do to your body," says Soltero. "You should be able to do fitness your whole life, without damages."

And don't be fooled by the 70-year-old who, Soltero says, "comes to class and kicks everyone's butt." At Crowbar, you're in for a sweaty workout.

So how do they pull off this idealistic workout meant for just about everyone? The studio has some cool toys: RealRyder bikes, Indo-Row machines and a barre.

Here's the breakdown of the core classes:

Crowbar is the only studio in Dallas with RealRyder bikes, which are like stationary bikes, except they move from side to side. Cycling on one of these fun bikes, in a 55-minute class, provides an even greater heart-pumping workout than the standard stationary bike. And, instead of your body absorbing the shock of the ride, the RealRyder takes the heat.

In an Indo-Row class, you race at a high speed in teams. The Indo-Row goes through the same motion as a regular row machine, but you pull a cable that moves a blade through water, instead of a blade that turns a fan.

Barre classes are taught by professional dancer and fitness instructor Vlada Gorbaneva. Unlike most barre classes, which focus on sculpting and toning, each hour-long Crowbar class fuses dance and fitness for a fat-burning, energy-inducing routine.

Crowbar offers five to seven classes a day. You can register online, whether it's a core class, combo class — such as Triple Threat, which combines all three core classes, and Crow, which incorporates both the RealRyder and Indo-Row machines — or a circuit-training, boot-camp-style class.

Because we're sometimes weak at the knees but always in need of a sweat-inducing workout, we're adding Crowbar to our hot list of fitness studios.

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Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

politics