CLASSPASS: FINAL THOUGHTS

*FTC Disclosure: I was provided a month free of classpass to try out in exchange for promotion of the program, all opinions are my own.

There was supposed to be a "Classpass: week 2/3" post but.. here we are in February. Woops. 

I've wrapped up my month trial with classpass and want to get some of my final thoughts.

Perhaps the biggest thing I learned through this process was a) what type of workouts I enjoy and b) what type of exerciser I am. 

Here's a confession: in the last year+ at Lifeitme, (not including barre classes or yoga) I have pretty much solely ran on the treadmill or eliptical for 30 minutes and then been done. When I think about what I'm paying a month for my Lifetime (which is onyx level.. so.. $$$ cha-ching $$$) that is hardly maximizing my time or money. 

The plain truth is when I'm not in the confines of an hour long structured class-type workout, I just don't push myself. I make excuses, "oh, NEXT WEEK I'll research those weight machines that scare me and start doing that on certain mornings as well as running!" Turns out, "next week" never came. 

The BEST part about classpass for me, and what differs from Lifetime, is the sheer number of types of classes at certain time slots. If I decided I wanted to work out after work on a Thursday and was browsing for a 5:30/6:00 class, Lifetime may have 3-4 options, but none that interest me that particular day. Classpass, the conversation is so different. Instead of, "well, out of step class, spin and water aerobics.. I guess spin sounds fine today." It's, "hmm, which of these 6 spin classes at 5:00, 5:15, 5:30 or 6:00 do I want to attend." 

Despite this realization, it was still hard for me to come to terms with the idea of canceling Lifetime, for a few reasons. First, even if my workouts were piddly, I loved the routine of the mornings I DID drag myself to the gym: running, showering, getting ready around other people. I felt accomplished those mornings. The reality of classpass is a majority of the gyms I want to attend don't have showers, which makes it a virtual impossibility for me to workout int he morning. 

Second, I learned a little bit more about classpass's structure that made me a little nervous. The participating gyms don't get compensated for being a part of classpass. The incentive primarily is advertising, getting new people to the gym, and then perhaps selling ancillary services. I do see the value in the advertising (perhaps not AS much as my advertising husband would) but I started to wonder- with classpass being a "newer" idea, what if gyms decided they didn't see the return they wanted to and pulled off classpass? I have absolutely no reason to think this (*besides my general anxiety about money that I apparently projected onto small gym owners...?) but it was a thought of mine.  This was even more prevalent when I thought -what if it were my more favorite gyms? 

Ultimately though I can't stay at a gym that I'm not maximizing and that I'm paying $30 more a month than a classpass monthly membership would be (onyx level.. kills me...), based on these fears. I've reassured myself that IF something goes terribly wrong with this classpass model, Lifetime will ALWAYS be there. I can always go back. But I owe it to myself to try something that really motivated me, even if it meant giving up a few nights a week to attend classes- something you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming to do post-work at Lifetime (the parking lot. so busy. so anxiety inducing- also why I would run for 30 minutes and want to go home). 

In the confines of a group fitness structure though, those anxieties about getting home late dissipate, or at least the class goes by so fast that it doesn't register.  

So, since I was behind the 8-ball and waiting on some job stuff.. (#vaguemention) I've already paid for the month of February at Lifetime. I'm going to force myself in there sometime this month (before March gets taken out) and try to "quit the gym."

I can't thank classpass enough for offering me this opportunity. It seems trite to say it was life-changing, but it certainly has the possibility to be! It's gotten me more excited about fitness than I had been in, well, ever. 

CLASSPASS: ONE WEEK IN.

*FTC Disclosure: I was provided a month free of classpass to try out in exchange for promotion of the program, all opinions are my own.

I wanted to check in after one week of participating in classpass with some thoughts.

My first week I attended three classes: pure barre, a gentle flow vinyasa at Kula Yoga, and spin class at The Shed in Uptown. 

I have to say- I'm generally nervous to try new things in terms of fitness. There are a lot of really rude and snobby #fitfam folks out there who aren't kind to newbies at the gym or in their classes. As a result, I have some anxiety about being that "new person". I'm a fake-it-till-you-make-it person and would rather not introduce myself to a teacher or at all let on that I'm new. 

The ladies at this pure barre (the Edina location) were SO sweet and welcoming and SO excited to hear I was from classpass- I was their "first" and they wanted to know how I liked it and how it compared to the barre fusion class I'd taken at Lifetime. 

The workout was low impact but intense in terms of muscle burn. I'd definitely go back to this studio! The only thing I would say is they all had matching pure barre brand grippy socks and I felt like I stood out with my white socks. Super lame, I know.. so if you want to fake it, at least make sure you wear blacks socks. ;-) There were only one or two times I felt the grippies would've come in handy where I felt like I was slipping, so if you don't want to buy them I think you could get away with not. 

New years day I went to the best yoga class I've ever been to at Kula in Edina. It also didn't hurt that I met up with 3 of my favorite ladies to do it. The instructor, Sydney, was SO sweet and FUNNY and literally memorized everyone's names and would shout out things like, "nice stretch, Kelly!" during class. Seriously impressive. She also cracked a few jokes, which I found SO refreshing. When you're sarcastic and not at all the "yogi-mindset" type person, it's easy to feel like people at yoga take themselves way too seriously. I also loved that she explained all the poses in normal English first for a few reps, before launching into the Sanskrit shavashana-whatsitcalled names. 

The only sad thing is Sydney teaches during the day so I doubt I'll be able to get to one of her classes again. I'm going back tomorrow with Lauren and Jess for a slightly different class with a different instructor, so we'll see how it goes! 

Hooooboy. Sunday I went to spin class with Jess and Syndal at The Shed.

If the name alone sounds intense, you're probably right about the class too. 

I loved the energy of the class, dark-ish room with lights that change colors, lots of fans, and a really high energy instructor. It was an intense and good workout... my ass is still feeling it today (less from the actual workout and more from those damn bike seats that are NEVER comfortable) but my legs felt like jello for the rest of the day. 

The one thing that I will say was slightly off-putting at The Shed was hearing of an interaction Jess had at the desk. She relayed that when she went to sign the waiver the woman made a comment like, "oh, I just love all the new 'resolution-people'!" -- she said she wasn't sure if it was couched in some slight sarcasm or not but the instructor also mentioned how full the class was and put all the newbies together. I appreciated that last part from the standpoint of feeling like I was surrounded with people I was comfortable with.. but nothing irks me more than comments about "busy gyms" or "resolution people".. just because I'm new at YOUR gym does not mean I'm a resolution person, and so fucking what if I am!? The comments always come off as pretentious and unnecessary. I understand it's moderately inconvenient to have a busy gym but you should never be an asshole to people who are trying to better themselves- regardless of when in the year they begin. 

Lastly, some thoughts on classpass as a whole: 

Positives:

• VARIETY: I am really, really, enjoying the variety of workouts. It keeps things interesting and motivates me to want to sample a bunch of different types of gyms. I realize they have some of these at Lifetime (although Pilates and "boot camp" type classes cost extra at Lifetime) but there's something about these smaller gyms that motivates me more than Lifetime classes. 

• ACCOUNTABILITY: In addition, one really nice feature that I think would lessen the number of times I justify skipping the gym, is if you no-show to a class they charge you $20. I'm not sure if that would apply with my free trial since I never gave out a credit card, but when you know you're literally reserving a spot and not just popping in if/when you feel like it, there's a lot more guilt in bailing. AND if I were to buy classpass next month that threat of $20 for someone on a budget is enough to shame me into keeping my reservations and attending class! 

Negatives:

• MORNING CLASSES: This is less class-pass's fault and more the types of gyms, but one of the bummers for me is that most of these gyms don't have showers. I would prefer to work out in the morning before work, but due to the varied locations of the gyms, it wouldn't be feasible for me to go to the gym, go home to shower, and go to work. That's one thing Lifetime has that makes it really easy for me to workout in the morning. 
• THE "SALE": It remains to be seen whether this is just me and my anxiety playing a factor, or a correct perception, but a part of me feels like these smaller gyms expect classpass to be a trial run of their gym from which I will then go on to purchase memberships or individual classes. I'll admit I don't know the compensation system with respect to the participating gyms or if there even IS one. I will say for myself, if I were to use classpass after my trial- it would be so I don't HAVE to sign up at each of these gyms individually.. or pay drop in fees. I would treat it as a gym membership and not a trial run. I wonder if the idea is the 3-visits-per-gym limit would incentivize people to revisit those gyms that they really love MORE per cycle and thus, pay the drop in fees? I am maybe ashamed to admit this but I have zero loyalty to a gym.* I would happily create a schedule that would only make room for 3 visits to a gym a month. (i.e. Yoga Tuesday nights for 3 weeks, Spin on Sunday mornings for 3 weeks)-- the other reason this is feasible is there are SO many gyms on the list that I could in theory still go to spin twice a week- at two different gyms. As long as you're not scared of some variety or a new gym, you could get in the types of workouts you want all month long. All that to say, is I worry I'll go to a gym and feel guilty as a classpasser (it has yet to happen) or feel pressured into being "sold" on additional classes. It remains to be seen how this pans out and I'll definitely update with my thoughts on this as I attend more classes!

Overall this has been a really fun experiment so far. It's giving me some serious pause about quitting Lifetime (and saving $30 a month). If I can find a routine that works for me to go a few nights a week and/or weekends, I seriously may. Stay tuned. 

*I used to be the same way with haircuts, too.. I know so many women who are BFF with their hairstylist but it used to be- I wanted a cut/color so impulsively, I'd call salons until I found one to take me THAT NIGHT- yes I was crazy-- I have since found a salon home and have seen the same girl THREE TIMES since finding it- that's freakin' commitment people. 

CLASSPASS

*FTC Disclosure: I was provided a month free of classpass to try out in exchange for promotion of the program, all opinions are my own. 

Every once in a while this little blog affords me the opportunity to do something really neat. 

This is one of those times. 

I was contacted by Jess to participate in the launch of classpass in Minneapolis. 

What is classpass? 

Since they'll explain it better than I ever could: 

Basically it's a REALLY SWEET alternative to a traditional gym membership. 

I have a lot of friends who love Pure Barre and Corepower Yoga, and other boutique fitness clubs. BUT like most people, I love some variety. This is, in large part, why I haven't ever committed to joining a single studio. Classpass lets you do just that: for LESS than the cost of a traditional gym membership, you get to take unlimited classes at multiple types of studios (no more than 3 times at each studio). 

Another plus is it lets you discovery new studios that you may not have otherwise had the opportunity to attend! AND even better? No yearly membership requirements. It's month by month, no commitment. 

Check out classpass.com to see a list of participating studios as well as the FAQ page for more details! No better time to start on those New Years resolutions...right? ;-) AND Classpass is already in NINETEEN other major cities- check out the FAQ for a list of the cities! 

Me? I'll be yoga-pilate-cycling it UP this month. Follow along on IG (kellybea14) with #classpass  #livingthesweatylife #ClassPassMinneapolis. I'll post some studio reviews and updates on here as I go as well!