Pure Barre, Soul Cycle and Orangetheory...Oh My!
As you may know I'm a fairly loyal YMCA member. Our membership has worked well for our family over the past several years allowing us to take swim lessons, participate in classes and use the fitness center. We're fortunate to have a beautiful facility too! The YMCA also allows me to place our membership on hold for the months of July and August while on Nantucket.
Our membership will reactivate this Friday on September 1st. When we arrived home last Monday, I knew that I had two weeks to fill without my usual go to facility so I decided to take advantage and try some popular national fitness outlets!
I won a Pure Barre 10 class pack at Rowan's school auction last spring and I knew this would be the perfect time to put it to use! I took my third class this morning and while I'm no stranger to barre, this class has proved to be more intense than the ones I have taken at the YMCA. I admit I'm more of a cardio girl (I need to break a sweat) so I'm excited to try their new Pure Empower class that they're rolling out in September!
Pure Barre is no bargain, but you can take advantage and try it for a week for free! From there class packs and membership options vary by location.
A new SoulCycle studio opened near us in May and again I decided that this was the perfect time to give it a try. They offer a first time rider class for $20 so I went on Sunday for my first "SoulCycle"! SoulCycle offer shoes for free for your first ride and then you can rent for $5 per ride after that.
The lobby and locker room area was bright and full of young energetic (mostly) women. Once the studio door opened I found my bike that I had reserved online ahead of time. The studio is dark and the bikes are PACKED in! I chose a bike in the front row off to the side. I adjusted my bike, clipped in and started warming up. Our instructor was a bubbly young man who introduced himself and welcomed the group. I knew this would be similar to my experience at Revolution in Charleston so I wasn't surprised when our ride included a lot of crunches, weights and dance moves!
SoulCycle is clearly aimed at the hipsters, not necessarily the 45 year old mother of three...with that said after your first ride, you can purchase a three pack of classes for $60 so I may give it another try! From there the cost sky rockets in my opinion so I'm not sure how the young folks afford it!
Our membership will reactivate this Friday on September 1st. When we arrived home last Monday, I knew that I had two weeks to fill without my usual go to facility so I decided to take advantage and try some popular national fitness outlets!
I won a Pure Barre 10 class pack at Rowan's school auction last spring and I knew this would be the perfect time to put it to use! I took my third class this morning and while I'm no stranger to barre, this class has proved to be more intense than the ones I have taken at the YMCA. I admit I'm more of a cardio girl (I need to break a sweat) so I'm excited to try their new Pure Empower class that they're rolling out in September!
Pure Barre is no bargain, but you can take advantage and try it for a week for free! From there class packs and membership options vary by location.
The lobby and locker room area was bright and full of young energetic (mostly) women. Once the studio door opened I found my bike that I had reserved online ahead of time. The studio is dark and the bikes are PACKED in! I chose a bike in the front row off to the side. I adjusted my bike, clipped in and started warming up. Our instructor was a bubbly young man who introduced himself and welcomed the group. I knew this would be similar to my experience at Revolution in Charleston so I wasn't surprised when our ride included a lot of crunches, weights and dance moves!
SoulCycle is clearly aimed at the hipsters, not necessarily the 45 year old mother of three...with that said after your first ride, you can purchase a three pack of classes for $60 so I may give it another try! From there the cost sky rockets in my opinion so I'm not sure how the young folks afford it!
I also decided to try Orangetheory Fitness since they offer a free class! Orangetheory is high-intensity interval training using treadmills, rowers and a weight area. Classes are usually one hour, but they offer a few 45 minute classes too. While it's not required, Orangetheory encourages wearing a heart rate monitor to track your workout. Every class and workout is different, the coach advises you of the plan when you arrive. I would liken this to a high energy group personal training experience.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed my Orangetheory class! I'm not a treadmill runner, but in the group setting with coaching it wasn't bad at all! In fact I realized that the treadmill work could really help me increase my speed as a runner.
I liked my experience so much that I signed up for their Orange Elite membership and have been two more times already! They offer a variety of options included class packs that can be used at any of their studios.
It's been a lot of fun to mix up my fitness routine over the past week! It really renews your energy and gives your body a good jump start. I would highly recommend taking advantage of any of these first-timer deals!
Have you tried Pure Barre, SoulCycle or Orangetheory Fitness?
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