Over the last two months, I’ve kept up my quest to build a fitness habit, and it has been hard. Not just because of the whole I-lack-motivation-to-exercise-daily thing, but also because of the cost. The types of classes I want to try – the trendy, new, popular ones – are very expensive, coming in at 25-30 dollars PER CLASS. Enter Class Pass – a monthly universal pass to various gyms and studios in your city that’s designed to cut down on cost and expand your fitness horizons. Intrigued and determined to save money on fitness, I gave it a try. Read on for my review of Class Pass!
Here’s what I know about myself: I find the gym boring. I need variety. I want to try what everyone else is raging about. And I need someone else to push me – like a professionally trained teacher. Attending classes at different gyms and studios is totally up my alley if I want to be successful at this fitness habit. In other words, Class Pass was made for people like me. BUT…
…I was very skeptical about Class Pass because it costs $99 per month – way more than your average gym membership. However, I calculated that in order to make that money back, I only needed to complete 4 classes over the course of those 30 days. Given my goals include more activity than that, I realized that the more I exercised, the more money I saved. Plus, joining a gym for less than $99/month has never actually proved its worth to me. The last gym I joined for 6 months at only 300 – well, I only went 3 times. That is 100 dollars per workout.
All of this said, I still wasn’t ready to spend $99. At least – not yet. So, I searched online, signed up for Class Pass’ email newsletter and found that pretty quickly, an email offering a 10-day free trial popped up in my mailbox. I went for it and in those 10 days, completed 4 classes; classes I had always wanted to try that I couldn’t afford – like FlyWheel, Pure Barre and SHRED415. I felt GREAT. By day 7 of 10, I knew I was ready to give the full month a try. So here I am, two weeks into that first month, and I’ve completed 16 classes.
PLUS, I’m seeing positive changes in my body. I’ve been able to try new things like the AIR aerial fitness class I’d always been curious about, and more barre-centric classes like The Dailey Method, The Bar Method and FlyBarre.
THE PROS: VARIETY AND ADVANCED SCHEDULING
Ultimately, I’ve been so pleasantly surprised to find that the pros have outweighed the cons. Almost every class I wanted to try was a member studio with Class Pass, so I didn’t feel like I couldn’t access what I was interested in. And I could choose different locations based on where I was going to be that day and at that time. My favorite pro is that you can schedule in advance on a super-user-friendly online platform. I’d make a reservation and put it on my calendar like a date. I almost always stuck to that appointment because you are charged a cancellation fee if you have to cancel within 12 hours of the class.
THE CONS: THE 3-TMES RULE
The only real con I found to Class Pass was that you can only go to the same studio three times during your month-long cycle. But that doesn’t mean you can only do Fly Wheel three times. It just means you can only do FlyWheel at the same studio three times. You can visit any of their other locations three times too.
For someone like me who needs variety in order to stay interested and who has a car and public transportation available to me, this wasn’t a big deal. I did however overhear two different women on two separate occasions gripe about this feature of Class Pass, so it definitely matters to some people.
Finally, let’s check in on my fitness bucket list. I’ve made some headway on the existing items and have added some new ones since the last progress report.
BELLE’S FITNESS BUCKET LIST:
- NEW! Chicago Stand-Up Paddle Boarding – I think this would be like surf lessons for mid-westerners. Lots of abs on a board on water. It’s the new thing, and I want to try it because I love being on the lake.
- COMPLETED – AIR – aerial fitness class using silks to build core and muscle strength. This was not a success. I was terrified of falling on the ground and was the least graceful version of myself. Won’t be doing this again.
- NEW! COMPLETED – THE DAILEY METHOD – A barre class, similar to Pure Barre with a focus on isometric movements and lengthening muscles like a ballerina. Liked it slightly better than Pure Barre.
- NEW! COMPLETED – THE BAR METHOD – Another barre class, similar to Pure Barre with a focus on isometric movements and lengthening muscles. Liked it much better than Pure Barre and slightly better than The Dailey Method.
- NEW! COMPLETED – FLY BARRE – Another barre class by the same folks who bring you FlyWheel. I LOVED this one and will likely review it in another post coming soon.
- COMPLETED – SHRED 415 – One hour of interval cardio and weight training; intended to shred fat and build muscle through metabolic bursts. By far my favorite class I’ve ever tried.
- COMPLETED – Flywheel – Spinning class on crack with a little arm work mixed in – plus great soundtracks and stadium seating. It’s fantastic. I love everything about the activity, the music, the teachers and the user experience.
- COMPLETED – Pure Barre – low-impact, full-body workout using the ballet barre and small isometric movements. I wanted to love this type of exercise but I’m not super into it. At the same time, I keep going back because my body shows changes…so maybe I can get over my dislike?
- COMPLETED – The 606 – run/walk along Chicago’s new elevated pedestrian path. Loved it – a touch too crowded.
- Starved Rock State Park – hike along trails and see waterfalls, just a 90-mile drive from Chicago. Why have I waited so long to check this out?! I have a trip tentatively planned with a friend for end of August!
- Brooklyn Boulders, Chicago – I’m afraid of heights but I’m also curious about rock climbing. This could be great or terrible. Still no commitment to actually try it yet
Is Class Pass for you? I’d love to hear what you think! Sound off in the comments or send a note to [email protected] with your thoughts! Happy and healthy weekends to all of you!
Belle
