Living The Sweaty Life

It has been a month of living the sweaty life with ClassPass and I am loving every minute of it! Being able to experience and enjoy new fitness studios has really upped my workout motivation. Usually I try to exercise 4-5 times a week, but with ClassPass I have been working out 6 days a week!  I was so eager to try as many workouts and fitness studios I possibly could in just one month. Side note: I calculated the cost of all the classes I took and I would of have spent around $250 instead of $79. When I first started using ClassPass (talked about in this past post), I threw myself right into Crossfit and TRX training, both of which I have never done before. I wanted to continue with experimenting different methods of fitness training to see which would be the most beneficial to my body. Here is what I have done thus far.

Woman vs. Machine

The machine wins.

The Butcher Shop’s pilates megaformer (called Lagree Fitness) class is no joke. I looked up what Lagree Fitness means….. “an aggressive approach to full body conditioning”. Yeah, duly noted. I have taken plenty of Pilates mat classes before, so I went in a little too assertive. Within the first 5 minutes of class I had the “holy moly I am going to be sore tomorrow” thought, along with “my core suuuucccckksss” whimper, and the standard “if I leave, who is with me!” look around the room I give during every workout–and no one ever reciprocates. You use the machine as a resistance and counter-resistance conditioning to pinpoint contraction in order to exhaust the muscles. Each movement is to be done as slow as possible to achieve this. As a full-body conditioning, you are strengthening, toning, and elongating the muscles. It can also improve endurance, body composition, flexibility, and postural alignment. The class is 55 minutes long, and the method, I feel, is really effective. The machine consist of many different moving parts and it takes a class or two to fully understand what the heck is going on, what end should I be on, what is my foot placement, and which bands to use. Once you get the hang of it, it can be pretty enjoyable.  It’s like riding a magic carpet ride Flintstone style, and the result is a killer toned body. I can’t wait to do it again!

Can We Work On Savasana?

A question that has yet to fully be explored (and usually ignored) by your yoga teacher, and the only thought going on in my mind during class. If you are looking to namaste in every position hoping to get zen, this place is not for you. V Power Yoga is a physical, more athletic practice– I do like a good push-up while flowing through sun salutation. Movements are practiced through repeated sequences working on strength, balance, flexibility and stamina.  Done in a slightly heated room, I always leave feeling energized and detoxed. 

It’s Getting Hot In Here, So Hot

Hot Box was not as physical as I assumed it would be.  I see how the method of using heat to fatigue your muscles while performing movements can improve your strength. There were movements I could barely do during the class, but without the heat, there would be no problem in fully doing them. Each movement was simple–push-ups, core-strengthing, barbell curls, squats, etc.  A portion is done on the floor using Pilates movements and core conditioning, while the next portion is weight training. I left the class exhausted and a little too dehydrated. Although I feel there are other methods that are more beneficial and can give you better results than working out in a sauna,  I do encourage trying it at least once. I also suggest taking a hot yoga class first before trying Hot Box, this way you are comfortable exercising in a heated room. 

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