Right off Delancey Street at Ludlow lies Ludlow Fitness. Just up one flight of stairs opens up to a room just around 1500 square feet with an area for cardio, free weights, weight machines and a small stretching/fitness room -- they offer body sculpting, Pilates, yoga and spinning. The gym has a very clean and open feel, you are offered free towels and the floor-to-ceiling windows are pretty nice...even though you're overlooking the oh-so-busy Delancey Street.
I went with my former roomie who isn't such a workout person and she actually brought me through a really cool routine which was created just for her through her friend's website. We did stretching and a bunch of other weight lifting exercises, but my favorite was the Bosu Lateral Hop (my favorite) side squats. I started out on one side of the bosu with the closest leg on top of the round ball part, then jumped over the ball, squating on each side, but moving quickly. My quads were so sore...and still are 2 days later. At the end of our workout, we lay on top of the Bosu, angle your arms in a V in front of you with thumbs facing the ceiling, your legs in a V behind you and gently lift your arms and legs up at the same time -- I was surprised at how good this was for my core -- making sure to balance your abs on the ball.
This gym is small, but has really everything one might need, other than a whole slew of classes, which is why I would never join, but it's a nice gym overall. There is a small locker room with 2 showers and a few lockers. On the counter are some toiletries, which include shampoo, conditioner, body wash and tampons (I thought this was odd) -- maybe razors would have been a better and more useful choice?
If you want to try out Ludlow for 6 months, you will only pay $299 and for a year it's just $449 - no initiation fee. Or if you want to try it out for a day, you just walk in and work out...or, that is what I did. :)